Why people play games that scare them (Ashley Bardhan) (Patreon)

Sure, spooky season is over. But listeners, the scary season has just begun at Post Games. To prepare you, I have invited one of my favorite horror critics, Ashley Bardhan, to explain the appeal of playing horror games – and how they might make your life less scary.

This is one of my favorite (and most surprising) conversations yet!

Act 1: The case for playing more horror games

Act 2: Horror as therapy

Patreon bonus: 5 horror games for the holiday season

Act 3: The news of the week

Act 1: Why You Should Try Games That Scare You

The REAL reason i play until dawn… (Plant or Beast on YouTube)

One in 1,000 deaths: Halfway to heaven in Shadows of the Damned (Plant or Beast)

One Japanese school is using Hideo Kojima's unfinished Silent Hill game PT to teach students English, and it sounds like a great way to memorize the words "murder his entire family" (Games Radar)

Terrifier (JustWatch)

The Conjuring (JustWatch)

Criterion Channel (Criterion)

Jacob’s Ladder (JustWatch)

Christopher Lee (Wikipedia)

PewDiePie (YouTube)

Markiplier (YouTube)

Fightincowboy (YouTube)

Act 2: Horror as Therapy

Rosemary’s Baby (JustWatch)

The Dakota (Wikipedia)

Immaculate Conception and Assumption (Catholic.com)

Patreon Bonus: 5 Games to Play During the Holidays

Christmas Massacre (Steam)

Cronos: The New Dawn (Steam)

Bloodborne (PSN)

How Fish Is Made (Steam)

The Tooth Fae (Itch.io)

Haunting Ground (Wiki)

Rule of Rose (Wiki)

Act 3: News of the Week

Yes, after 13 years it really does look like retrofuture survival horror Routine has a release date (RPS)

So, What Happened to ‘Routine,’ That Promising Space Horror Game From 2013? (Vice)

The Dark Side of the Moon (Giant Bomb)

Alien: Isolation review (Eurogamer)

This Week in Video Game Links

The Outer Worlds 2’s satire has a Microsoft-shaped problem (The Verge)

SpongeBob SquarePants: Titans of the Tide Made Me Laugh Harder Than The Show Has In Ages (Exalclaw)

Dragon Quest 1 And 2 Remake Are A Fascinating Reimagining Of Two Of The Most Important RPGs Ever Made (Inverse)

These Video Games Want Only Some of Your Attention (NYTimes)

The Team Behind One Of 2017’s Most Underrated Games Is Back With Another Banger (Kotaku)

Floorboards creak, spooks spook and I harass a man with a bell in detective puzzler The Séance of Blake Manor (RPS)

 ​​​​McDonald's Monopoly game has become an exasperating mess (Polygon)

13 years on, TimeSplitters Rewind will finally launch this November, smooshing all three Free Radical games together (RPS)

​​Powerwash Simulator 2 review (PCGamer)

Sex With a Sadist: The psycho-homosexual drama of The Evil Within's intro (Stop Caring)

The Texas Chainsaw Massacre / Halloween (Wizard Video, 1983) (Exp Zine)

What Else I’m Enjoying

Folk Horror and Generational Trauma in the Original ‘Halloween’ Novelization (nbrehmer.medium.com)

In Ancient Spain, a Nail Through the Skull Could Mean Enmity, or Honor (NYTimes)

30 Years Ago, Homer Entered The Third Dimension (Kotaku)

America is more divided than ever — but how is it affecting our love lives? I spent a year dating conservative men to find out’ (Cosmopolitan)

Masters of Horror Gave a Generation of Horror Legends Their Due (Inverse)

One of the year's best coming-of-age movies stops at year three (AV Club)