Horror is a genre that always seems to do well in the entertainment world, with plenty of movies, anime, and games on offer for viewers who like to be scared. The video game section of the horror library is growing all the time, with new titles in everything from modern first-person shooters to vintage 2D sidescrollers.
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Every video game needs a good antagonist, and a horror video game also needs a villain convincing enoughto give the player a good scare. There are plenty of video game bad guys so terrifying that they never have to utter a word, and their silence is equally chilling.
1Reliquary of Souls (World Of Warcraft: Classic)
Is there anything in the Black Temple that isn’t a waking nightmare? This place even scares Death Knights. Most of the bosses here are terrifying, but one of the worst is the Reliquary of Souls, a giant disembodied head that represents the Essences of Anger, Desire, and Suffering.
It would seem that a multi-faced headwould have a lot to say, but this thing only makes a lot of weird, creepy faces. It’s a long fight, too, with several phases, guaranteed to be stressful as well as terrifying.
2Mr. X (Resident Evil 2)
The Tyrant has appeared in almost everyResident Evilgame. There are several versions of this fearsome character, and the one that scared everyone the most was Mr. X fromResident Evil 2. According to the lore, this was the third version of the Tyrant model and never at any point in their development did anyone think they needed to speak.
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The lore of the Tyrant goes back to the very first attempts by the Umbrella Corporation to make a weapon. The story goes that every time the player defeated the Tyrant, Umbrella would use the information to strengthen their design and try again. He’s a villain cloned from another villain, Sergei Vladimir, who tried to steal corporate secrets but was caught in the act and killed by Albert Wesker.
3Bongo Bongo, The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time
One thing everyone seems toforget aboutOcarina of Timewas how dark it could get. The Shadow Temple was a dungeon located beneath a graveyard, populated with mummies and zombies, and other undead minions, decorated with graves and pits, and instruments of torture. The final boss of this terrifying mess was Bongo Bongo, a speechless boss that consisted only of two hands and some kind of one-eyed Chthulu face.
This isn’t just one of the scariest bosses in the game, it’s also one of the most difficult. Players can finish the dungeons in a creative order of their choosing, at least in some cases, but the Shadow Temple andthe fearsome Bongo Bongoare usually among the last that Link visits.
4Icon Of Sin, Doom Eternal
The final boss ofDoom Eternalis just as terrifying when the player has to face them but the backstory of where this thing came from is even worse. Only the Doom Slayer can destroy the Icon of Sin, which was resurrected with the Berrayer’s heart by the Maykrs, and imbued with their technology.
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The Berayer was a person named Valen, and he attempted to make a deal with the agents of Hell to bring his son back from the dead. The catch was that his son return as the Icon of Sin, a fate that might even be worse than death and Hell. At least the player has a chance to wipe this terrifying slate clean without talking to the bad guy about it.
5Ridley, Metroid Franchise
One of this thing’s nicknames is The Cunning God of Death, and even in the old 2D platformers, he looks really scary. Ridley looks like some kind ofAlienderivative, which he is. He’s named after director Ridley Scott, whose movies inspired the wholeMetroidseries.
Ridley is also a space pirate that killed Samus' parents. This makes him one of the most deadly and infamous villainsof the wholeMetroiduniverse, and he never says a word in video games. An e-manga exists in which he does have dialogue but it doesn’t make him any less intimidating.
6Nameless King, Dark Souls III
It’s an optional fight, but a memorable one that players shouldn’t miss just for the lore. The name isn’t an expression. This boss used to be a king, but where and who he ruled over is a mystery. All that’s remembered now is that he was a great dragon-slayer, but then sacrificed everything to align with the dragons, even taming his own Stormdrake, and players have to fight both of them in phase one of the fight.
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The boss is summoned using a massive bell, which is pretty ominous, to begin with. The Stormdrake, named the King of Storms, doesn’t speak, and the humanoid figure that dismounts and descends to the ground in phase two is equally silent and intimidating. He doesn’t have a face, his helm doesn’t seem to have eyes, and he stands at twice the height of the player character.
7Big Daddy, BioShock Franchise
The Big Daddies are a whole class of antagonists inBioShock, and take the role of boss many times, either guarding doors or holding keys. These are also known as Protectors, and if the player even runs afoul of the Little Sisters they quickly come to understand exactly why. They began as human beings but were altered to be maintenance workers, hence metal diving suits being grafted over their skin.
However,the design of the Big Daddies then shiftedto make them defenders and fighters with savage powers. That’s not to say they don’t make any noise at all. The sounds they make are a series of grunts, roars, and moans that are a mix of human and metallic noises that would make any gamer’s skin crawl.
