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The 5 most terrifying moments and levels in non-horror gamesThese games have no right being this scary
These games have no right being this scary
I’m not a very big enjoyer ofhorror games. On the very rare occasion that I do boot up a horror game, a chemical change seems to occur in my body. The part of my brain responsible for going “holy mother of hell get me away from this scary thing” is dampened. I expect to be scared, and therefore I’m more resilient to said scariness. I might just not be very good at getting into the horror games mindset. My brain is too busy battening down all the hatches and readying the engines of war against the oncoming spookies and ghosties.
The times I’ve been most scared playing a game are when I don’t expect to be scared. And what better way to lull myself into a false sense of security this Halloween than to play an otherwise not-so-scary game, with just one particularly horror-esque moment?
Scorn Is A Really Gross Game That Doesn’t Hold Your Hand | My Fav Thing In… (Scorn Review)Watch on YouTube
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Turns out there are a lot of games that fall into this category. So I’ve put together a few suggestions of the very best ones in case you’re like me. Some are great at jump scares, others at making you face up to the psychologically horrifying implications of your actions. But with each of the below games you should expect a single moment of terror, a foreboding, jagged rock of creepiness, amidst an otherwise calm sea.
And yes - I know that your favourite example of this is missing from the below list. Look, I never finishedHalf-Life 2, alright? I know, I know. That’s the most horrifying thing about this post. Deal with it.
Batman Arkham Asylum: Killer Croc’s Lair
Rawr.
Ask anyone what the most memorable moment is from Rocksteady’s 2009 masterpieceBatman Arkham Asylum, and they’ll likely say: Scarecrow. It’s understandable. It’s hard to forget attempting to navigate Scarecrow’s nightmare-fuelled realm in the dark and rain while avoiding the blistering gaze of a gigantic Scarecrow. But it’s still not the scariest moment in the game. That accolade belongs to Killer Croc’s Lair.
Towards the end of the game, Batman must venture into the sewers where Killer Croc resides so you can gather spores to counteract Joker’s Titan serum. The sewers are a confusing maze of similar looking twists and turns, and you have to take it all very slowly. If you rush along the floating platforms then Killer Croc will sense your vibrations and emerge to instantly kill you. Instead you must pay careful attention to the motion sensor on the left of your screen at all times, and make sure you’re not sending too many vibrations down to the monster below.
Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order: Darth Vader Appears
- Heavy breathing intensifies *
Speaking of unbeatable villains. I felt a true sinking “Oh, fuck” moment at the end ofJedi: Fallen Orderwhen Darth Vader appeared. I’d at last defeated what I thought was the final boss of the game, and then… that iconic breathing in the background began. And I knew I was in real trouble.
It’s a surprisingly powerful moment when you’re given control back of Cal as he faces down Vader, because it highlights just how incredibly outmatched you are despite everything you’ve been through and how much you’ve grown in power throughout the game. This is the ultimate warrior of the galaxy. He deflects your first few lightsaber swings like child’s play before using the Force to disarm you and throw you about like a ragdoll. Fighting simply isn’t an option, and the game quickly helps you to realise this as Vader begins to tear apart the fortress around you with his inconceivably strong Force powers.
Inside: The Huddle
Its love language is physical touch.
Insideis a pretty disturbing game - as we’ve come to expect from anything that Playdead produces. But the final segment of Inside really takes the cake. The tale of a small boy infiltrating a foreboding facility of scientists researching into mind control comes to a rather gruesome body-horror-esque climax, as he jumps into a giant tank of water and finds at its centre a gigantic, living mass of pasty flesh and grasping limbs.
The Huddle, as it’s called, quickly grabs the boy as he attempts to disconnect it from the wires keeping it in place, and pulls him deep into itself. From that point onwards, the player controls the Huddle - a horrific and overwhelmingly strong being that breaks free of first the tank and then the facility, causing chaos and sending all the workers in the facility fleeing in terror in the process. It’s certainly not a jump scare, but it’s psychological horror - a good deal more impactful for many people.
Mass Effect 2: The Collector Attack
Hitting you where it hurts since 2010.
Being completely powerless to stop your crew from being killed is not a familiar feeling in Mass Effect 2, which is why the Collector attack hits so hard. We got a taste of it at the very beginning of the game with the attack that destroys the first Normandy. But back then, it was quite clearly telegraphed that everyone was getting to safety, and the only casualty was Shepard - which doesn’t really hit very hard since the player understands that Shepard obviously can’tactuallybe dead. But the later attack is very scary indeed. It’s not a far-off ship assault, it’s a boarding and capture, you can’t do anything to stop it, and you genuinely don’t know what’s going to happen to your friends and crewmates.
Grounded or Subnautica: Your Worst Fear
Time to turn off the PC for a while.
Survival games are among the scariest non-horror games out there. Surviving takes a long time, and starting from nothing and building up your tools, skills, and homes means that when danger comes knocking, the stakes are high. And your survival instincts really start to kick in. A lot of people talk aboutMinecraftbeing one of the scariest games they’ve played, because you’d turn around while deep underground in a cave, your inventory groaning with diamonds, and a silent Creeper or Enderman is right in your face. But times have moved on in the survival game genre, and Creepers aren’t the scariest things out there anymore.
