i’m not freaked out by jump scares At All and they’re over done to hell and back, but since polygons aren’t supposed to look realistic (at least by Modern Standards) it’s easier for polygon games to come off as creepy because they’re so… weird looking?
something like this –
is frightening because it doesn’t look real whatsoever, but that’s the appeal. it’s successful at being uncanny and having a neat monster concept as opposed to, i don’t know, a zombie or whatever you kids are scared of these days
I think low poly/playstation-era stuff also tends to come off as creepier because it leaves a lot to the imagination most of the time. with modern day graphics you usually know exactly what you’re looking at, but with 3d graphics in the mid-late 90s there was this vagueness with the texture and model quality where you weren’t entirely sure what you were looking at all the time
OP is completely correct, I remember the enemies in the old tomb raider games were absolutely terrifying, just take a look at them
the simplicity of it all gives off it’s own aesthetic, as well as making it equally terrifying, especially with low draw distance
Key and Teeth 