Definition: The visceral childhood terror triggered by low-poly horror games or sudden jump-scares in otherwise non-horror titles, where blocky graphics and creepy sound design hijack your imagination. Think zombie dogs bursting through PS1 windows or phantom hands in a N64 temple.
Years later, replaying it reveals laughably primitive visuals, but your amygdala still fires like it’s 1998. That nostalgic cringe when adult-you realizes a 16-bit skeleton once made you sleep with the lights on.
Example:
Replaying that PS1 mansion game now, the blocky zombie dogs look silly, but the sudden jump-scare through the window still makes me flinch involuntarily.
The nostalgic cringe hit hard when I realized how those N64 temple’s low-poly phantom hands once fueled weeks of visceral childhood terror and sleepless nights.