Video games have belonged to varying genres. From twisted stories to adventurous gameplay mechanisms, players have always gotten a taste of everything. Coming up with a story for a horror game and inducing skin-crawling moments isn’t easy.
Not every such game has been successful in spooking gamers but some games, to this day, never falter in scaring you and bringing you to the edge of your seat. So, if you have watched enough horror movies on your Cox TV packages and you still haven’t experienced a jumpscare that had you dumbfounded then now is the time to consider playing games with some skin-crawling moments.
1. Flesh Hungry Zombie Dogs – Resident Evil
The damn dogs again. The zombie dogs in Resident Evil are still as scary as they were back in 1996. You enter a corridor in the game and you are quietly walking through when suddenly the zombie dogs break through the windows and barge right into the corridor.
The moment makes you scream as you never expected that to happen. A mini panic attack is what you will get because the scene has been deemed more fear-inducing than all the time’s Tyrants follow you around in Resident Evil.
The game has been remade and the zombie dogs are still terrifying as ever but this time, with a new makeover. Your expectations to calmly roam about the corridors to find some loot and ammo are tarnished by the dogs and all you’re left with is a situation of panic where you cannot make out if you should shoot or run.
2. A Xenomorph behind you – Alien Isolation
The Alien vs. Predator movie franchise is notable enough to know exactly what we’re talking about when you hear the word ‘Xenomorph’. The franchise has earned great recognition in the entertainment scene and thus, a game couldn’t have been set aside so easily. Surprisingly enough, the game Alien Isolation didn’t end up disappointing gamers as it gives players the same thrilling experience as the Alien movies have.
What’s so skin-crawling about the game? Well, your spaceship has been hijacked by the unknown and you are likely the sole survivor. You are stuck in a locker for a good 15 minutes and then you wonder about to find any survivors. But little do you know that you aren’t the only one on the ship. You have the company of the uninvited hijackers – Xenomorphs.
The moment the spiked and lethal tail of the Xenomorph swings at the screen is when you lose your composure completely. You have to walk around in complete darkness and isolation to hide away from the Xenomorph. The only weapon you initially have is a flamethrower and well, we cannot say for sure if that alone will help you from falling prey to aliens.
3. The Cannibalistic Twins – Outlast
‘We give him a running start?’ Outlast evoked a new form of video game terror and became a favorite amongst gamers worldwide. The conventional horror game gameplay is to survive, hide and take down enemies by being as loud as you can be. Well, that’s not what Outlast makes you do. It just isn’t a game where your goal is to kill to survive rather, here you have to HIDE to survive.
You play as a journalist who’s been hired to investigate a shady asylum. Little does he know, it is more than insanity encompassing the area. He is no fighter. He is no Leon Kennedy. All he has is a flashlight who sucks the battery dry in minutes. But amidst this horrific dilemma, he encounters many creepy inhabitants who just want to kill him or might as well are only craving to eat him.
But what’s scarier are the twins who act as creepy stalkers coming your way. If that doesn’t creep you out then all they talk about is how they would eat you. Since most of the inhabitants in the asylum cannot speak, the twins’ ability to speak makes them even creepier. They will show up anywhere and you will be left confused.
4. Final Boss Giygas – Earthbound
Giygas seems like a creature right out of Junji Ito’s manga. The spiraling vortex of terror is the final boss in the cult-classic game Earthbound. Those who have played it can never get over the horror inducing visuals of Giygas.
What makes the boss fight is so scary is the thought that the game was meant for children. The twisted nature, character design and the few dialogues Giygas speaks set the eerie mood for the final boss battle. However, players have had their own speculations for Giygas’ story and his eerie existence.
The game’s creator has shared his outlook on the character and almost everyone who plays the game possesses a subjective opinion for the boss. The appearance of Giygas itself is very metaphoric and focuses on the traumatic experiences the game’s creator once faced when he was young.
5. Mia, Ethan and the Stairs – Resident Evil 7 Biohazard
Ethan enters the Baker family household located in a hostile neighborhood to find his wife, Mia. Initially, there’s nothing too gruesome and scary about the game but the tension builds up gradually. You won’t see any zombies or any flesh-eating beasts. It’s all about a simple man confusedly looking for his wife.
The moment he enters the household is when things become eerie. Raccoon City has ‘always’ been known for its virus outbreaks and the unfolding erraticism but Resident Evil 7 is a tad bit different. Ethan finds Mia and everything looks normal until she starts behaving oddly.
The scene in particular where Mia starts to crawl the stairs like the possessed girl from Exorcist exhibits references from Japanese horror movies. She begins to crawl further and jumps at you with a knife when you are least expecting.