A Defense of Jumpscares
Year: 2026
Type: article
Abstract: In 2004, a flash game told players to turn up their volume and guide the cursor carefully through a maze. On the last level, a screaming face filled the screen. Izzy Tobias, who admits to hating the moment of the jumpscare, starts with the Scary Maze Game, the purest version of the "cheap" scare, and holds it up against Amnesia, Outlast, and Alien: Isolation. Why play a game you know will make you scream?
Source: Washington State University
DOI: 10.7273/6e37-wh51
Author: Tobias, Izzy
Language: English
Topic: Digital Games and Media
Subfield: Sociology and Political Science
Field: Social Sciences
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W7223990643