It’s not quite what you’re getting at, but in Bubble Bobble Revolution you can’t pass level 30 because the boss doesn’t spawn. It’s a soft lock but there’s nothing you can do to avoid it, and the game is on the DS so there’s no updates to fix it :D
Stalker: Shadow of Chernobyl. If you were too lazy to trek back to Cordon after deactivating the miracle machine (I think), you couldn’t get the true ending without abusing glitches and bugs.
Take a look at Dredge! It’s a creepy horror-ish game where you play as a fishing boat. There are some creepy elements at night but it’s fairly causal overall. I really loved the atmosphere and light story elements as well as the fun fishing games that is the majority of the gameplay.
If he’s a precocious reader, Sunless Sea is a horror game with a similar sort of theme. The content is much weirder and more horrifying than Dredge, but it’s 99.9% delivered via text, so the impact may feel more tolerable regardless.
But again it’s very text-heavy, possibly too much so depending on the kid. Probably too difficult, too.
I think bugsnax might fit, it takes until near the end of the game for the horror aspect to begin, and then it hits hard. Look up the ending so you can screen it for him and make sure it’s appropriate.
I would give My Friendly Neighborhood a try - it’s very much in the vein of Resident Evil 4 with just-different-enough Sesame Street puppets that give you a jumpscare and damage when they make contact. Put together by John and Evan Szymanski (brothers to and collaborators with David Szymanski, of several New Blood titles fame,) it’s made explicitly to be horrifying without relying on gore and excessive violence.
I think I remember a short scene where there is speculation Ramza and his sister did survive? I think the creator of the game also confirms they lived.
I’ve had success with playing scary games while they watch and when it gets too much I have the characters react in silly ways. Courage the Cowardly Dog, Are you Afraid of the Dark, Goosebumps, etc. You could also try meta horror like Cabin in the Woods, Tucker and Dale. Or something with laugh breaks to defuse the tension like Army of Darkness or Monster Squad.
Also Zombies Ate my Neighbours would be also great for kids, Im not sure what services its available on (but the rom is easy to find for emulation, it is on Snes)
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Aktywne