Steam has a halloween sale on the FEAR franchise (loved the first ones) and on Condemned: Criminal Origins. In my opinion the first FEAR (and the two "expansions") are some of the scariest games I've played in the FPS genre.

Condemned is in a league of its own. The player takes on the role of Ethan Thomas, a crime scene investigation agent with the FBI's Serial Crime Unit, as he traverses the seedier sides of the city. A FPS, the focus is on examining crime scenes, puzzle solving and melee combat. There are some weapons but they are limited in ammo supplies. It is survival horror-y, has a few quicktime events iirc and you can and will die. A lot.

What do you recommend as you-ve-got-to-play-it-at-least-once horror games?

Hands down. The scariest game I've ever played is Amnesia: The Dark Descent. It's pure survival horror. I tried to play it a second time and couldn't bring myself to finish it because I knew about the scary parts!

I vaguely remember reading that "Amnesia: The Dark Descent" doesn't have combat.

Is that actually true, Draclvr ??

And if it is, how do you avoid getting caught and killed every five minutes ??

If it means constant sneaking I'd never cope. I am a very poor sneaker !!

Oh eeek, I don't think my blood pressure can stand playing horror games.

That's right, Mad. There is no combat at all. You must hide and be very, very careful. It's just plain scary...

The Dark Descent is a really good game. At one point I really had to push myself to leave a safe well-lit room. It is in my top 10.

I've finished downloading Amnesia: A Machine for Pigs which sounds just as creepy. It was on sale at GOG and I couldn't resist!

Oh Gosh. I'm getting close to the end of Risen and now I have to get back into Amnesia. Please, stop me. Save me from myself.

Sorry, Hagatha, I tried.....

Thanks for the info, Draclvr. But I doubt I'm any better at hiding than I am at sneaking !!

FEAR and Condemned very different but great horror games!

Oh, Dark Descent is ALL about hiding, Mad! Get into a very dark corner, crouch and pray it doesn't find you. BUT, staying in the dark too long starts draining your sanity. Oh, my...

Nope !! Don't think I could cope, Draclvr

I have FEAR and never played it. Maybe after I'm done with Amnesia.

The first FEAR is the best in my opinion. Avoid 2 and especially avoid F3AR. An even worse disappointment than Max Payne 3.