What you find scary will be very different from what scares me. Whether it’s a jumpscare, sound design, or a unique and unsettling atmosphere, there are few moments in video games that have sent shivers up my spine. Strangest of all, most of these games aren’t classified as horror.
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I suppose these scary moments worked so well because I didn’t head into the game expecting to be scared, but these scenes often left me terrified, where I either retreated to the menu for comfort, or left the room altogether to remind myself: “It’s only a video game.”
These video games may not evoke the same feeling from you, but here are a handful of scary moments I will never forget—but really want to.
Assassin’s Creed II: Piece of Eden
Am I the only one to find Assassin’s Creed II Piece of Eden puzzles unsettling? Oh, it’s just me? Okay. There’s something about looking at real photos, searching for the golden apple in random pictures, while (what I can only describe as) ominous sounds played in the background. I hated these puzzles and actively avoided doing them as they made me squirm. There’s no reason this should scare me, and yet it did. I often needed a break to chill at the menu or had to mute the game because it was creeping me out too much.
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I can’t place what it is about these puzzles that freaked me out so much, but the combination of the soundtrack and images made me feel like I was being watched or that something was going to jump out at me. Nothing felt virtual about these encrypted Aminus files—it felt like I was tapping into something cosmic. I so desperately wanted these puzzles to end.
BioShock Infinite: Boy of Silence Jumpscare
Jumpscares work best when you’re least expecting them. Most horror games dish out jumpscares left, right, and center, making them repetitive, forgettable, and annoying. But when something jumps at you from out of nowhere, without a lead-up to make you nervous, it’s impossible not to get scared. Like a child playing the scary maze game, the Boy of Silence’s appearance following a standard BioShock Infinite cutscene will surely pull a scream out of you. It is an unexpected scare that’s cleverly placed following a brief cutscene that’s meant to supposed to give you a moment to breathe.
A new objective given, you will naturally and inevitably turn back around from where you came from, only to have the Boy of Silence in your face. You cannot predict this jumpscare will come for you, having already spent so much time in BioShock watching cutscenes where you can’t move until you regain control of Booker.
Goosebumps Escape from Horrorland: Trash Monster
Yes, I’m aware this is a horror game…but it’s for children. It’s not meant to actually be scary, right? It’s shameful, I know, but there’s something about point-and-click horror that makes me feel uneasy—regardless of their target demographic. Escape from Horrorland has a particularly effective soundtrack that still makes me nervous. There’s the perpetual feeling that you’re being watched, but at least you had the ridiculous FMV cutscenes and the occasional cameo from Jeff Goldblum to bring you back down to reality.
But where true terror lies is inside Escape from Horrorland‘s trash cans. Diving into these is cosmic horror in itself, used as a fast travel system where coins lie in wait for you to greedily snatch up. But curiosity always kills the cat. The ambience and screams of the monster in the depths of this claustrophobic labyrinth sets up a gnawing feeling that you’re not alone down here. It may not be much when you see the creature slowly running at you, but the anticipation and a glimpse at it running past is enough to make me Jordan Peele NOPE right out of there.
IMMORTALITY: First Encounter With The One
Ah, IMMORTALITY, what a game. My sister and I were fully immersed in the story and happily searched through seemingly endless clips, piecing them together to figure out what happened to the lead actress. The mystery and simplistic mechanics kept us engrossed, but there was something tugging at us—something we couldn’t put our finger on. It wasn’t until I saw a particularly creepy clip of the star, Marissa Marcel, that I decided to rewind for my sister to see. But here is where horror lay in wait.
IMMORTALITY cleverly hid its scares within the rewind feature, where The One arrived, arms widened like a religious figure in black and white. Years of playing Call of Duty taught me to hide behind cover—and that’s exactly what I did. Like a child hiding from the monster hiding under their bed, I sought comfort from a cushion. This jumpscare worked brilliantly because we weren’t expecting it at all. We went into IMMORTALITY thinking it was just a simple FMV mystery game. The One’s first appearance is different for everyone, but it was incredibly fitting that The One greeted us with open arms—like she was something to worship, be in awe, and completely terrified of.
Max Payne: Nightmarish Scream
Anyone who played Max Payne on PC was safe from this one. The blood maze was haunting for its sound and level design that kept us in the dark, navigating around a maze we couldn’t see clearly. Nothing could be made out aside from the cries of the past and a single trail of blood leading you out of the dream world. But those playing on Xbox would have to listen to the blood-curdling scream of Max if they fell off the map.
It’s a scream you’d expect from something like Sad Satan, being both deafening and terrifying. Resembling the wails from Hereditary and Midnight Mass, Max’s scream felt like it wouldn’t end as it increased in volume. It’s a scream you won’t hear in any other game and one that perfectly captures fear, anguish, and pain all in one. A single, prolonged scream produced by someone else is undeniably horrifying.
PARANORMASIGHT: That Opening
PARANORMASIGHT had a strong start that delivered surprise scares as a paranormal visual novel. While the rest of the game fell flat, the opening with Yoko in the park left me tense. What made this moment so anxiety-inducing was the stationary panoramic view you were trapped in, forced to slowly turn and face what Yoko was petrified of. I didn’t want to look, but I had to in order to progress. Panic only ensued when Yoko wasn’t moving, transfixed on one spot in the park I had no choice but to suck it up and look at.
But looking around achieved nothing, there was no spirit or person in sight that explained the terror on her face. It was only by taking our eyes off Yoko and focusing that the air around us changed, and so too did Yoko. This scene was the peak in PARANORMASIGHT that set the bar high off the jump, but sadly, nothing came close to the apprehension I felt in that moment.
Subnautica: The Dead Zone
Proudly self-diagnosed with thalassophobia: the fear of the ocean, Subnautica is terrifying for its setting alone. The angler fish in SOMA was enough to make me scream, but all aspects of Subnautica make me grateful we’re not aquatic animals. I wouldn’t survive 10 seconds out in the ocean, and it isn’t because I can’t swim. I was terrified of seaweed touching my ankles as a child, so diving into the great unknown in the “safety” of the Seamoth is enough to make me anxious.
I know it’s a video game, but Subnautica is life or death for me. What should be a calming experience is ruined by accidentally venturing into the Dead Zone and discovering a Leviathan. I realized my hatred for giant sea creatures when I got chased by Lagiacrus in Monster Hunter 3. This moment will be different for everyone, so this entry looks at Leviathan contact in Subnautica. I’ll gladly stay on land, thank you very much.
The Last of Us Part II: Hotel Ambush
I’m not one to run away from a zombie horde; in fact, I’ll be the first one to crowd surf head-first into the infected. While this survival horror isn’t particularly scary, it’s the craftily-placed Workbench jumpscare that had me screaming. Found in Seattle Day 2 – The Seraphites, TLOU2 tricks you into a false sense of security with its Workbenches. What was once a safe haven in this recurring feature for The Last of Us has since fuelled my anxiety that someone may run up on me, and that the sound of footsteps alone would shorten my lifespan.
Trapped in the weapon upgrade screen, rapid footsteps are overheard behind you, but you cannot react quickly enough to retaliate. Ellie is ambushed by a group of desperate WLF defectors. It is an incredibly realistic ambush as no one was expecting it, perfectly placed at a time when playing as Ellie felt most isolated and vulnerable without a companion by her side. Now I rely on the menu screen for safe passage. Hopefully, Naughty Dog won’t add anything like this in future releases that could jumpscare me.
Tomb Raider 2: The Damn Butler
There’s a reason people kept locking the butler in Lara’s freezer. He’s just way too creepy to keep around. Exploring the mansion and practising your platforming skills is ruined every time this snail-paced elderly man appears around the corner. You know he’s always around because you’re literally being stalked. Carrying his tray of tea around that he never offers, and for some strange reason, he barely talks. It is like experiencing the male gaze of Lara Croft first-hand, making me want to avoid the mansion at all costs.
No one wants to be followed. While he comes in peace and doesn’t do anything when he gets close, I wanted to keep a distance between myself and the butler at all times. I think something’s wrong with me when the butler scared me more than dinosaurs, wolves, and brown bears.
Who’s Lila?: Close Your Eyes
Who’s Lila? is a psychological adventure that had me feeling uncomfortable throughout. The main menu music was enough to make me not want to play, and I’d try to escape it the second I launched the game. This, paired with controlling William’s face and the surreal story and imagery only a mind like David Finch could dream up made Who’s Lila? an experience I’d like to forget so I can get proper shut-eye.
Strangely, it wasn’t watching a murder unfold on screen, nor having to manhandle William’s cursed grin to come across as “normal” in every social interaction that scared me. No, it was the school basement that made me feel uneasy, tense, and wary of what lurked at the end of the line. You had to find the source by following the eerie sound of flutes in the distance (the same song that played in the main menu). The entire sequence had me on edge, which quickly swapped to panic when a new prompt appeared on-screen. It read: CLOSE YOUR EYES.
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