Remember when horror games used to require gamers to hit the pause menu so fast because they needed to gather themselves first after a terrifying moment, only to end up dying right after or, even worse, quitting the game entirely?
Over the decades, we have been treated to fewer and fewer iconic horror moments in gaming, and it is fun to take a little nostalgia trip to the good ol’ days.
Some of these moments are timeless classics and worth playing even years after their release unless, you know – you hear another remake announcement. Here are some of the most iconic horror games, along with the most terrifying moments they brought to gaming history.
The Most Horrifying Moments in Gaming History
Resident Evil 2 Remake – Mr. X Introduces Himself
Mr. X has always been one of the most iconic villains in the Resident Evil franchise. Those random jumpscares of Mr. X breaking walls or his loud but ominous footsteps slowly approaching you will always be one of the most terrifying gaming moments in history.
When Resident Evil 2 Remake came out with a new version of Mr. X, people knew what was coming, but this was certainly not what they expected. As you come through a hallway in the RPD, you see someone casually lifting a helicopter, blocking your way back to the main hall. Initially, there’s nothing but silence. However, players still needed to go through the hallway, and being forced to face quite literally an unstoppable force was more terrifying than any jump scare.
P.T. – Basically the Entire Demo
While most people will probably never play P.T. at this point, the “Playable Teaser” was meant to shock gamers who downloaded the teaser on the PS4, only to see it be the most horrifying one hour of their gaming life. The Playable Teaser was meant to tease the upcoming Silent Hill with Hideo Kojima at the helm.
Players would go through an L-shaped hallway multiple times, with every loop being slightly different—the phone would ring, a door would slightly open, and if you took a peek, it would shut shut. The restroom was open with a fetus on the sink, you heard a crying baby, and more.
In one instance, you could peek into the ceiling and find someone on the second floor. It was creepy but harmless until you positioned your camera back to the hallway and found Lisa there to greet you in the next life.
It is sad to think about what could’ve been since Kojima and Konami couldn’t work things out, ending the whole project completely. I even kept my PS4 with the P.T. demo just to have this absolute gem stored.
Resident Evil 1 – Dogs Breaking through the Mansion Windows
One of the most iconic horror moments in gaming history is probably the dog scene in the first Resident Evil game. Hearing a glass shatter all of a sudden is a jump scare in itself, but having to deal with running zombie dogs after being accustomed to those cripplingly slow zombies is equally terrifying. Nobody wanted to deal with these dogs because of how slowly you turn while aiming. Good thing they can’t open doors.
Dead Space – The Screaming Necromorph
After going through the intro and seeing the first Necromorph massacring everyone on the ship in Dead Space, you’ll run and find a weapon to deal with the creatures. You end up picking up your first weapon and fighting your first Necromorph.
You needed all the resources you could find, and as you scrambled for loot and found yourself in a hallway dead end, that’s when you heard it: the iconic scream of the Necromorph behind you. The timing of first getting introduced to killing these Necromorphs and this particular jumpscare basically sums up how you’ll be playing the rest of the game. Once you think you are safe, you are most vulnerable.
Dying Light – Escaping the Sewers
While some might say that Dying Light isn’t that scary because of its parkour or fast-paced gameplay, it is because it brings a different type of fear. Most horror games thicken the atmosphere with something dark and ominous. However, Dying Light doesn’t share the same atmosphere as a Silent Hill game. But, when time isn’t on your side, and you need to make your way out of the sewers filled with nightmare fuel, it gets extremely terrifying no matter how fast you run.
Resident Evil Village – Baby Chase Scene
Resident Evil Village was not known for being scary, which disappointed a lot of fans because the previous title, Resident Evil 7 (Biohazard), drew a lot of praise for going back to its roots of making a genuinely terrifying game along with their new RE Engine.
As a Resident Evil fan, I agree. Even Lady Dimitrescu, who was essentially the game’s Mr. X, Nemesis, or Jack Baker, became popular for all the wrong reasons. However, after dealing with her, you go to the House Beneviento. You are stripped of all your weapons and possessions and forced to solve a long puzzle in a house filled with creepy dolls. For some, this is a huge “Nope” moment, but you have to persevere.
Once you reach the point of going into the sewers to get a key, you start hearing a crying baby out of nowhere. You go back to the center of the house, and in one hallway, you witness a huge unborn baby chasing you down. Now, you have to solve the rest of the puzzle while a baby is chasing you endlessly. Not only is it terrifying, it is downright disturbing as well.
Escape from Tarkov – Cultists
Escape from Tarkov is probably the most surprising game on the list, but only players who have played it will understand. While it is a PvPvE extraction shooter, the level of realism the game achieved amplified the horrors of the cultist group in the game.
Your goal is to do tasks, level up, grab some loot, make some money, fight other players online, grab their loot, and unlock cooler things. However, there are some occasions when you must finish some quests involving the cultists. These cultists only spawn at night with a low spawn rate so you need to go into multiple raids at night time to find them.
When you encounter the cultist, sometimes you don’t even know you have shot them down. However, in other cases, you just hear a faint sound of some maniac laughing. The way these Cultists were programmed is to make your game a nightmare.
They’ll hide in bushes, stab you and run away, or just shoot you in the head. The scariest part is that you don’t even know if they are spawning since they have a low spawn rate. Combine the immersive audio and feel of Escape from Tarkov, and it is one of the most terrifying things in gaming. As someone who played and finished every game on the list, this takes the cake.
Lethal Company – The Girl in the Red Dress
If you have never played or watched Lethal Company, the image above might not look as terrifying. You need a little more context to know how horrifying that little girl is – it may even give you some F.E.A.R flashbacks in the early ’00s. Lethal Company is all about landing on moons, grabbing loot, surviving the terrors in those moons, and selling them to the company just to survive.
You’ll deal with creepy Brackens, blobs, and even a horrifying Jack-in-the-Box that transforms into a monster, which already deserves a spot on the list. But, if you go to those other expensive moons, you might encounter the little girl.
What’s scary about the little girl is that she looks completely normal. However, that is a complete curveball in itself, because why would there be a little girl after seeing all those monsters?
Almost everyone’s first reaction is to be horrified and run away as fast as possible, and they were right to feel that way. The girl gleefully skips to you instead of running or walking. However, when she reaches you, you instantly die, making her one of the most dangerous beings in Lethal Company. Not only that, the little girl also chases players down to the ship. Every other monster cannot attack you while you are inside the ship… except for the girl in the red dress.
