If you look at horror in video games, you'll notice a few different major recurring themes. In addition to the jump scare and the quiet feeling of dread that comes from atmospheric tension, you'll also see the chase scene.

Chase scenes work in video games because they strip away a lot of the power from the player, forcing them to flee in a panic instead of stopping to assess the situation. Siren Head takes this concept and crafts a very short game around a single chase scene.

A Minimal Amount of Horror

One of the more common recurring nightmares shared by humanity as a whole is the nightmare of getting chased. The idea of something big and deadly coming after you is a primal type of terror, something that games are very good at tapping into when they're done right.

Siren Head is a game that's about that terror and nothing else.

The concept here is about as simple as one can get, yet it's grabbed the attention of plenty of people. It pulls from the same kind of fear generated by games like Resident Evil or Amnesia, though it's boiled down to a much smaller experience.

Throwback Terror

It's tough to look at the graphics in this game objectively. They are probably designed to evoke a particular style. The game bills itself as a PS1-style horror game, so it looks like something that came out over twenty years ago. If you love that aesthetic, you'll love how the game looks. If you're trying to be objective, it's hard to see the game as anything other than ugly.

The sound, however, is relatively good. It does a fantastic job of building up the atmosphere, whether you're talking about ambient noise or the score. This is one of those things that's going to stick with you after you are finished playing the game, so it's a good thing that it's done well. Though it's probably not enough to erase the visuals from most minds, the audio is excellent.

Keep Running

It's not equitable to look at this game and compare it to much of what's on the market. Still, the fact that it's gained some popularity does require looking at what the limited amount of gameplay can offer.

There's so little gameplay here that this barely qualifies as a game.

There are two phases of gameplay here - you'll walk around the woods for a little bit, then you'll run away from the titular monster. That's it. There aren't any secrets to find, no monsters to fight, and no real endgame. This is a quick scene that probably works well as an art project or as a demo, but it's not ultimately something that is going to bring players all that much in terms of entertainment value.

A Good Idea

Siren Head is excellent for YouTube reaction videos, but it's not worthwhile for those looking for a scare. It's the same kind of chase sequence you've seen in a thousand other games, though with a little bit of ugly retro flair. This little game is suitable as a proof of concept or even as a demo for part of a larger game, but it's ultimately not something most people are going to want to play.

TL/DR

Siren Head is a short, creepy chase sequence that tries to call back to the PS1 era of horror games.