A while ago I was looking for a new game to play. I was a bit bored of the new Battlefield, and Call of Duty. I like almost all type of games, from shooter games, to puzzle games, to horror games.
I was looking on the internet for new game releases or other fun games to play, when I stumbled on a game called ‘‘Obscure’’. I went to their site and saw that their new game just released. The game was based on Silent Hill, Layers of Fear, and those type of games. Me still being salty that Silent Hill P.T. was cancelled, I thought I’d give it a go. The game was from a small developer and it was only $15 so why not.
The game was about a man who got into a car crash, and somehow entered a seperate, gritty reality. In the opening cutscene, he was driving home from a long day of work when he got a text from his wife telling him to stay safe on the road. When he looked back onto the road a deer jumped in front of his car, which caused him to swerve off the road and crash into a ditch. Anyhow, I played the game for like an hour or so. Eventually I had to go into a building but every single time I went through a certain door, the game would freeze and it would crash. I tried it a couple times but it was always the same door that made my game crash.
I went back to the games’ website and looked through the forums and I noticed other people had the same problem. I also noticed multiple people saying they experienced nightmares from the game, and trouble sleeping. I thought ‘‘It cant be THAT scary’’ so I just jokingly brushed it off. Then I saw a comment about someone taking his own life because he couldn’t take the nightmare anymore. I thought it was some kind of sick marketing stunt so I once again didnt think anything of it. Eventually I found a fix, someone said to put the game into windowed mode, enter the door, and then put it back into fullscreen or whatever. That worked for me.
I played for another 30ish minutes, eventually a jumpscare happened with a face appearing in the mirror behind the character, which really scared me. I then decided it was enough for that night because it was getting late.
That evening is when the trouble already started, I indeed had some trouble sleeping. I never had any trouble sleeping so it was kinda strange to me. I kept waking up in the middle of the night, like every hour or so. This went on for a couple nights, but it kept getting worse and worse. I started to have very realistic nightmares, those kind of nightmares where you’d wake up the next morning and would be relieved it was just a dream. My nightmares all revolved around me being in a bad situation. In one dream I got kidnapped, in one dream I got glass stuck in my wrist, and in another dream I also got sent to a seperate reality, and so on. Every morning I’d be relieved it was just a dream again. My girlfriend, who always sleeps next to me, jokingly said: ‘‘Whispering ‘‘Obscure’’ in my ear in the middle of the night really isnt going to turn me on.’’ This really frightened me because I never told her about the game, but also, I was apparantly whispering the games name in my sleep as well.
That same night me and my girlfriend were watching a show. She paused so she could get a snack, and I could go brush my teeth. When I was in the bathroom getting ready to brush my teeth, I looked at my own face in the mirror and I just zoned out. I felt like I was being watched, but I was just too deep into my own thoughts to move. After what felt like 2 minutes my girlfriend came in to ask if I was okay. She said I was gone for like an hour. (She thought I decided to go to bed, and she didnt want to wake me up, hence her not coming up to check on me sooner.) I told her I was fine and I decided to go to bed that night, and once again, I had a very realistic nightmare.
I remembered the comments on that thread, but I still didnt believe it, it just couldnt be. I decided to delete the game from my pc, which I havent played since the first time after that one mirror jumpscare because I didnt have time. When I tried to delete the game, it said the game wasnt on my pc anymore, even though I saw it sitting in my files right there. No matter what I did I got a message along the lines ‘‘Couldnt find Obscure.exe.’’ or ‘‘Can’t find Obscure.exe unins.’’ I did launch the game, and it launched just fine. Eventually I decided to factory reset my pc, and thankfully the game was gone.
After that, I was slowly able to sleep normally again. But I still had so many questions. Did all those people really had those nightmares just because of this game? Was there something evil attached to this game and was it trying to make its way into my life? I tried to go back to the games’ website, but I couldnt find it anywhere anymore. I really dont believe in any paranormal stuff, so I still brush it off as once HUGE coincidence, but its still not sitting right with me. But one thing I know for sure, is that if I ever stumble upon that game again, I am staying the hell away from it.