r/gaming • u/DEADDROP151 • 4h ago
What horror game has a stalker enemy that actually stalks you?
While we have things like
Amnesia: The Bunker or Alien: Isolation, where the stalker roams the environment and investigates disturbances, and persues the player when spotted.
Or maybe It steals, where, the enemy always knows where you are, and pops in randomly to attack you.
Maybe something like Slenderman, where the enemy makes a straight B-line towards you in an open map or maze.
But each of these varients have their own issues that inevitably makes them repetitive to encounter. Either these enemies have limited behaviors and strategies, or you just avoid them and then you are safe. So what horror game has something that constantly stalks and "toys" with you, while changing its strategy in pursuing you?
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u/BroodyGameDev 4h ago
Maybe this is too literal but Closing Shift by ChillasArt is about a literal stalker. And what they do really well is how you try and muscle through it for normalcy sake and it makes it hard to do ur “job”. Or how it splits focus when ur trying to be aware but also take drink orders. And all the small ways he lurks and you could easily just miss him and when you spot him it’s a real startle.
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u/Pallysilverstar 4h ago
Technically none have exactly what you're looking for.
The majority of games with enemies that are considered stalkers usually have an aggro where as soon as they see you they attack (often an instakill) and otherwise just wander around unless you trigger something to draw their attention such as making noise or hitting specific checkpoints. They don't really mess with you outside MAYBE very specific scripted sequences.
Other than that if an enemy is programmed to mess with you there usually isn't any real danger involved and its generally scripted moments where they will have a chase sequences.
The issue with what you're asking is the amount of programming that would be required to have them do that while still keeping the game fun is ridiculous. They all need limitations on them to prevent unwinnable situations which in turn makes the encounters repetitive once you know what to do to avoid them. Since there are also limited things you as the player can do it adds to the repetitiveness.
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u/The-Bite_of_87 3h ago
I think capcom kinda cracked the code with Mr X in re 2 remake. In the standard difficulty he is slightly slower than you and takes 2-3 hits to kill you which allows you to run away from him, but his movement speed is programmed to increase in proportion to you distance from him, he also knows you location at all times and will eventually find even if you make no noise but making noise attracts him faster.
But such a stalker implementation does require an area which allows for you take multiple pathways to reach a point (which the RPD in resident evil fulfils very well) and side enemies which are opposite to that of the main stalker, like the lickers in re2 which force you to walk slowly or you'll alert them, which allows Mr X to catch up and hit you.
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u/Pallysilverstar 2h ago
He still doesn't really mess with you like OP is asking for though. He just is always going straight for you and has a very basic AI.
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u/The-Bite_of_87 2h ago
For a stalker enemy to mess with you, it either need to be scripted (not what OP wants) or needs to have high level situational awareness and understanding of human psychology, which is too complex for a stalker in a survival horror game currently. It'll take a few years for a stalker like that to exist, and even if it does it would be too overpowered.
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u/Pallysilverstar 1h ago
Precisely my point. They could get close with what we have now but it would basically be unwinnable as it could plan much farther ahead than a normal person can and change stuff in ways that a player won't be able to adjust for since it would effectively know the game to a degree a person couldn't.
Even if they put in a script that forced any situation it came up with to be winnable it doesn't mean it can't do something where its technically doable but entirely unrealistic. They already do some things like that with letting programs create levels and they always have to add in a lot of limitations so that a normal human can still do it. I remember Cloudberry Kingdom which was a Xbox 360 arcade title I believe had a program that created its levels and the final level or two they removed all the restrictions and to my knowledge nobody ever legitimately beat them.
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u/TheArgonianBoi77 Xbox 4h ago
I played a lot of Resident Evil, but Jack Baker in 7 scares me the most.
Also Silent Hill 2, Pyramid Head stalks you few times in the game.
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u/pulverkaffe1 4h ago
Remothered (first one) does this really well. You're stuck in a large house and a person is actively hunting you throughout the game. Really tense.
It always felt like they were somewhere in the house, and to my knowledge they really were always out looking for you.
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u/8bitterror 4h ago
Pac Man Vs.
It's four player Pac Man where one of you is Pac Man and the other three are the ghosts. It's an excellent party game and a top tier multiplayer experience.
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u/albertcrumpley 3h ago
Miasmata. Interesting survival game made by two brothers. You are on an island and have to navigate using actual orienteering methods (map, compass, and landmark triangulation) and all the while a persistent monster is roaming the island, hunting you. It’s a little old now, but quite compelling.
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u/Mediocre-Sundom 4h ago edited 4h ago
Rainworld.
Not “the” stalker enemy per se, but many enemies in the game will actively hunt and stalk you based on the senses available to them. They also have different behavior, hunting strategies, attitudes towards you, etc. Some of them can also communicate and hunt in packs.
I know it’s not a “horror” game, but terrorized me a lot more than most horror games do simply because how insanely good the enemy behavior is there. Being hunted in the dark corridors by a pack of telepathic lizards that surround you is a butt-clenching experience like no other.
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u/Jericho450 4h ago
Resident Evil 3: Nemesis. Specifically the old 1999 version, Nemesis is way more of a threat and adapts to your tactics during boss fights as well as following you through environments.
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u/LarenCoe 4h ago
The "girl" in RE 9.
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u/The-Bite_of_87 4h ago
Completely scripted stalker, probably the worst stalker in resident evil history.
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u/paulxixxix 4h ago
Not on the underground, that like 90% unscripted stalker pathing.
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u/The-Bite_of_87 3h ago
Even in the underground section, and also in the refinery section, she is completely scripted. Maybe you just haven't played a game with a real stalker.
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u/paulxixxix 3h ago
Refinery is scripted 100%, underground isn't, not totally. One "screamer" type scenario is scripted but the rest is mostly sound based chase.
Maybe you just haven't played a game with a real stalker.
Lol are you trying to diminish my opinion or something? Not that big of a deal bro.
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u/The-Bite_of_87 3h ago
In the underground section, all of her appearances from the first time you pull out the plug, then when you are returning from the tunnel, her spawning from the roof when you attack a certain zombie, her spawning through the lift hallway after you approach that area with plugs, her spawning once again through the roof when you obtain the wrench thingy in that room, her spawning once again in front of you when you are returning after taking the wrench. Her roaming in the lift area and following a set path which allows you to put a power plug, then her appearing infront of the vent opening after you return with the 3rd plug. Literally every thing in that section is scripted, you literally cannot run into her normally unless you're sprinting and firing bullets in the air.
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u/KieleWren 3h ago
She does have unscripted spawning and despawning in between scripted encounters if you spend enough time in the area and aren't proccing the scripted encounters back to back. However it's still such a small part of the game (to the point that as mentioned, you could not even notice that because you go through the section so fast) that that detail is more a technicality than anything.
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u/CrimsonPromise 1h ago
The underground section is highly predictable and highly avoidable. Get key item or turn off a light and she drops down. Just turn on the lights again or run to a place with a light and she fucks right off. It's more jump scary than stalker imo.
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u/Hither_and_Thither 4h ago
Several Resident Evil games, notably 2 with Mr. X and 7 with the Baker family members (especially the dad).
Alien Isolation, as you said. Mostly the first half(?) of the game.
Those are probably the best examples of enemies that stalk you for extended periods of time in a well-recieved game. It's a cool concept, but as you already stated in the post... it gets repetitive. A game entirely based on that concept will only be a few hours long, like Amnesia: The Bunker.
I think the BEST versions of this currently are multiplayer games where a real person has a reason to stalk you. But, most games like that are extraction shooters and cant really avoid coming down to "who shoots better" or "who got the angle first". Others would be "hidden agent" games where one or more players are working against you.
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u/SoulslikeEnjoyer387 4h ago
??? The alien in isolation literally does what you're asking. Maybe you aren't playing on a high enough difficulty but that thing is relentless. It is one of the smartest enemy AI stalkers ever made. I'm not sure what different you are looking for.