Some of the most well-known horror game titles become irreparably memorable to players simply because of how brutal and barbaric some scenes can be. Over the years, horror has taken a steep incline on the need to make players writhe with discomfort. Even in psychological, non-gory, horror games, there can be gratuitous shocking content that doesn’t need gore to make those watching it sick to their stomach.
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Although there are plenty of graphic moments in horror games, such asResident EvilandOutlast,that are burned into the eyes of all who witness them, “gut-wrenching” doesn’t always mean gory. Sometimes it doesn’t take gore to send chills down a player’s spine.
8Error Message (P.T.)
Although it was never fully released,P.T.still remains one of the scariest, gut-wrenching experiencesfor any horror game fan. This constant sense of dread that fills players as they walk through the endlessly looping halls is thanks to a myriad of intentional game design choices that have littered the game files forP.T.
One of the most unsettling is undoubtedly the crash screens that were programmed to appear randomly, seemingly restarting the player’s loop of the house. As if distorted fetuses andghastly, ghost womenweren’t already scary enough, the fourth-wall-breaking crash screens are sure to make players' blood run cold. The crash screens can say anything from"I’m heading there now,“to"This game is purely fictitious. It cannot harm you in any way, shape, or form.”
7Bloater Fatality (Last Of Us Part 1)
ThroughoutThe Last Of Us Part 1,the run-ins that players have with various zombies stay pretty mundane. It’s mostly either a game of stealth or sharp-shooting to get the protagonists through certain areas unharmed. That is until Joel, Ellie, and Bill have theirfirst run-in with a Bloater.Not only is this behemoth of a zombie vile to look at, but it will viciously kill Joel in one hit if it manages to get close enough.
Joel’s death to the Bloater is easily one of the most jarring death scenes inThe Last Of Us Part 1.The sound the zombie makes as it takes Joel’s face in its bloated hands and tears his jaw open is haunting. What truly makes this scene so hard to watch is the distinct, wet snap of Joel’s jaw as the Bloater rips it open and plunges both its fingers into his eyes.
6Matt Gets Hooked (Until Dawn)
Until Dawnseems like it’s going to be acampy horror game… until it isn’t. There are alotof ways to get characters killed inUntil Dawn,but none might be more sudden and jarring than one of Matt’s first chances to be killed off.
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If players choose to save Emily when on top of the burning tower, Emily will lose her grip and fall, while Matt will jump to safety but pass out in the mines. When he awakes, he’ll wander for a bit before being dragged by a mysterious figure who promptly sticks his jaw through one of the hooks in the mine, leaving him strung up to bleed out.
5Need A Hand, Ethan? (Resident Evil 7)
Resident Evil 7was the first game to follow the black sheep of theResident Evilfranchise,Resident Evil 6. Naturally, the developers wanted players to know that they didn’t come to play with this gory, story-heavy addition to the franchise.
In one of the first scenes, Ethan is pinned against the wall by a screwdriver shoved through his hand by his wife, Mia. As if doing a quick-time-event to try and wriggle yourself free of the screwdriver while Mia comes closer revving a chainsaw wasn’t unsettling enough, the scene finishes with Ethan pulling his hand free just in time to shield himself from the chainsaw. Players watch on in bloody detail as Ethan screams in agony as his hand is sawed off, the amputated limb being left on the ground not far from where he lies.
4The Bogeyman Kills Murphy’s Son (Silent Hill: Downpour)
The Bogeyman might be one of the most chilling villains inSilent Hill,excluding the titular Pyramid Head. What solidifies this monster as one of the most heartless and unsettling antagonists is the first time players see it after collecting a rhyme to let the protagonist past a locked door that’s guarded by a young boy resembling the protagonist’s son, Charlie.
Murphy shouts the rhyme, which is a poem to ward off “the Bogeyman,” begging for the masked creature to spare the young boy because “he’s just a kid,” but to no avail. Once Murphy finishes the poem, the monster snaps the boy’s neck with a sharp crack and drops his corpse on the ground.
3The Dollmaker (Alice: Madness Returns)
Alice: Madness Returns,much like the first game in the series, doesn’t shy away from hard-to-swallow topics and unsettling content. One of the most gut-wrenching moments in the whole game might be the final reveal that the Dollmaker is the Wonderland incarnation of Alice’s psychiatrist Dr. Angus Bumby. The manipulative psychiatrist had been using hypnotherapy to try and make Alice forget his crimes, such as burning down her home and killing both her parents and her sister, whom Dr. Bumby had molested.
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The reveal of Dr. Bumby being the Dollmaker connects a lot of dots that continuously make the crimes of his character more, and more disturbing. Not only did he kill Alice’s family, trying to force her to forget their memory by using hypnotherapy, but he’s done the same to many other mentally ill patients before her. Dr. Bumby would brainwash these young children and force them into sex slavery, selling them off.
2Eddie Gluskin’s DIY Sex Change (Outlast: Whistleblower)
Eddie Gluskin is undoubtedly one of the most beloved antagonists in theOutlastfranchise. The sexist, maniacal killer has a unique concept and backstory to boot, making him an instant favorite to those who crave sympathetic yet sadistic antagonists.
One of the most memorable scenes inOutlast: Whistlebloweris being held hostage by Eddie. The protagonist watches through the cracks of the locker they’re inside as Eddie performs a brutal and graphic sex change on a male prisoner hoping to make them a biological female, so they can become Eddie’s wife. It’s a scene that creates intense dread in players as they realize they’re next in line to have their genitals mutilated.
1Val’s Cult (Outlast 2)
Outlast 2may have critically been lesswell-received than the first game, and it’s DLC,butOutlast 2comes with plenty of gut-wrenching material. While not all of it is as gore-heavy as the first games,Outlast 2certainly knows how to form a knot in players' stomachs.
While trying to rescue his pregnant wife Lynn, who’s been captured by Val and the Heretics, Blake stumbles upon a truly unsettling scene as he finds his wife strung up as a religious figure in front of all the cult members as they engage in an orgy. Blake is suddenly pinned down by Val, and it’s implied that he’s raped by her. If this wasn’t gut-wrenching enough, this event immediately triggers a memory of young Blake letting his friend Jessica be taken advantage of and later killed by their music teacher, Father Loutermilch.
