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- Happy Halloween, Kotaku.

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When you think of the
scariest video games ever,

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a few come to mind.

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Silent Hill, P.T.,

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Resident Evil,

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Alien Isolation and many more.

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But what if I were to tell
you that there's a criminally

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underrated game that will
get your heart pounding,

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keep you up at night,
and also might awaken

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your inner photographer?

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I'm talking about the
truly terrifying Madison,

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by Bloodious Games.

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- [Announcer] Which is fine,
we found the legal owner,

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which is fine.

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- I recently stumbled upon a case study

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by Broadband Choices called
the Science of Scare Project.

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Since 2020, they've conducted research

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in defining the
scientifically scariest game

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based on a player's average
heart rate while playing,

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measured in BPM, beats per minute.

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The rank list featured
all the usual suspects

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except for the one perched at the top.

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Madison, a game I had
never heard of before.

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So as a horror junkie and
slight masochist, I had to

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give this so-called scientifically
scariest game a try.

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Folks, I cannot stress this enough.

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This game is on a whole other level.

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You play as Luca, a
confused teen who wakes up

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with a terrible headache
and covered in blood.

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You begin wandering
around your family home,

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where you find a nicely
wrapped birthday gift

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from your parents
containing a cursed camera.

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Thanks, mom and dad.

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Like it or not, you're
stuck with this crappy gift.

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Your only chance to escape
is solving increasingly

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difficult puzzles and completing steps

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for a demonic ritual.

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I like to consider myself a horror vet.

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I've played my fair share of spooky games

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and usually I don't scare easily

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but Madison shattered my horror hubris.

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- [Announcer] Why is this happening to me?

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I gotta get the hell out.

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- Nothing comes close

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to the feelings of unease,
discomfort, and anxiety

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from this game.

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I could feel my heart
pounding every time I had to

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take a picture of a pitch black room,

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dreading what would appear in the flash.

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Not knowing if your
photo will reveal a clue

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or some eyeless demon made
for a horrifying experience.

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There's a ton of jump scares in Madison

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but the creativity with how they're sprung

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manages just to make
each uniquely stressful

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and will keep your heart rate spiking.

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Don't be shocked

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if your smart watch thinks
you're working out while playing.

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Now, the camera horror
trope has been done before

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like in Outlast or Fatal Frame, but to me,

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Madison does it best by a mile.

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I can positively say
that it's earned its spot

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as the scientifically scariest game ever.

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I'm also deathly afraid
of Polaroid cameras now.

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Did I sell you on some
demonic photography?

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Let us know in the comments below.

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For more gaming coverage, hit kotaku.com.