Low Danger, High Intensity: When Little Moments Mean Everything

Why sometimes a paper cut is worse than a rocket to the face.

By: Dennis Farrell
December 27, 2011

Action tends to take center stage. For hours at a time, it gives us something to prod, explore, and hopefully conquer as we settle into comfortable gameplay rhythms which aren’t disrupted by peaks and valleys in the mayhem. Aside from the occasional jump-scare or ridiculous moment of ultra-violence, action rarely leads us to feel much beyond a compulsion to place holes in the enemy before they can return the favor.

Oddly enough, when games let up on the madness and place us in situations with little to no danger, we sometimes discover far more intense moments than what’s found in the biggest set piece battles.