I've been off this site for a long long time, and while I've been away, I've studied programming & other useful skills for a game developer. I plan to put those skills in use now.

Which brings me to my question here. What makes a good horror game?

I personally like more story based psychological horror. Jumpscares are a cheap way to scare a person, I think. I've decided to keep things simple, and tought about making a game based on mostly choices you make. Do you guys have any that kind of games in mind you've find scary/interesting? Do you prefer linear or non-linear story-telling in such games? I'm curious to know!

Suspense is key, having dark scary music affects the whole mood too so having a suspenseful walk where you're waiting for something to happen with music slowly rising always gets me. i also get shook in horror games when i turn around and something is in front of my now that wasn't there before.

-The Story (story that player need to discover is best for horror game)
-BGM and SFX (mostly, 90% what makes horror game spooky is the bgm and sfx. Door shut, wind blows, foot steps, dark music.)

And this is a good horror game base on my opinion:
-Layers of Fear (there's almost no monster chase you like in many horror game. Many unexpected thing in the game, don't know those count as jump scare or no. Full of Twist)
-DokiDoki Literature Club (Well, it is not that horror, it doesn't have jumpscare. But the story is unexpected horror)

Be authentic. Find a piece of you that scares you and put it in the game.

Building a game is like building an album, or a piece of art, or anything creative. It takes tools and pieces of you (or your team)to create something unique. Music, and atmosphere are some of the most important aspects of horror games. Good visuals help the player take the game more seriously.

-MTM

I've personally always enjoyed silent hill 2, it completely matches the description you've mentioned with a great story, it also atmospheric horror as well as psychological