Scariest Games Ever

[JackDark]

It's very rare that I find a game that actually frightens or unnerves me. Usually games which are specifically designed to this (read: Resident Evils, Silent Hills, Eternal Darkness...) fail miserably (not that they are bad games). However there have been a few titles which surprised me with their ability to frighten. I'm interested in knowing which games have had the same effect on you.

Here are my nightmares:

Thief - The Dark Project (PC)
http://www.jackdark.com/OTHER/S1.JPG
The most immersive game I've ever played combined with extremely realistic audio and truly frightening zombies, undead, and mindblowing locale.

System Shock 2 (PC)
http://www.jackdark.com/OTHER/S2.JPG
The tension this game induces is incredible. A binary nightmare.

Alone In The Dark (PC)
http://www.jackdark.com/OTHER/S3.JPG
The plot became more and more insane the more you unraveled it. The ambient sound effects still freak me out.

Shadowgate (NES)
http://www.jackdark.com/OTHER/S4.JPG
I had this game when I was 10. Not only did it's puzzles bewilder my young mind, but the music and monsters molested it.

Sweet Home (NES)
http://www.jackdark.com/OTHER/S5.JPG
Despite it's graphical limitations, this game WILL unsettle you. The score is creepy and the monsters random and violent. Not to mention the haunted mansion you're in with all it's illusions and traps.[/img]

[dave2236]

I got the crap scared out of me the first time I played Code Veronica for Dreamcast. It was like 3:00 AM house was pitch black and my brother was watching me. All of a sudden the dogs burst out from the grates, I yelled : holy shit" and threw the controller out of my hand.

[Slipdeath]

the first time i played slient hill iand i heard the little kid crying in the bathroom that scared the shit out of me

[Masco73]

Shadowman always did it for me. There is something messed up with that game.

[SoulBlazer]

This thread has been done before, but....

YES! I agree FULLY with you on System Shock 2! I REFUSE to play that game at night! It is just too damn SCARY! Especily hearing those creepy mdwifes and fighting the spiders (shudder).

You did'nt find Eternal Darkness scary, though? I did, in parts.

I also agree with you on the Thief games.

[maxlords]

System Shock 2 was awesomely scary, expecially at the very end.....UGH! The second time through it lost a lot though.

I also found the following semi-creepy:

Clock Tower 3 (for the graphic serial killing scenes)
Silent Hill (great creepy ambiance)
Thief was quite suspenseful, and I really loved it!
Alone in the Dark: New Nightmare (shiver)
Fatal Frame (way creepier than I expected!)

Games that did NOT scare me:
Resident Evil
Eternal Darkness

[Balloon Fight]

I didnt like Code Veronica either. I hate it when shit pops out of windows. especially at night. (shudders)

[hikura]

I would say silent hill was freaky as hell espically when you get the phone call as just your about to leave the room in the school.I jumped and was like holy s#!t.Plus in silent hill 3(have yet to finish it though) your in the bathroom in the alternate shopping mall.You knock on the door someone knocks back but there is no one on there.twilight zone time.Plus you can start to reach in the toilet but then you pull out and she is like i am not putting my hands in there.That was kinda freaky but funny.Overall fatal frame has you on the edge of your seat most of the game.I enjoy stuff like this.Makes you aware.

[kai123]

The Splatterhouse games scared the crap out of me as a kid. The third game really was bad with his wife and kid turning into demons and stuff.

[BigBoogie]

Im a hardcore FPs guy. But man the first time I played unreal and that first skarj comes out of the dark. Holly shit i nearly jumped through the roof.

[JackDark]

The Splatterhouse games scared the crap out of me as a kid. The third game really was bad with his wife and kid turning into demons and stuff.

I 100% agree. The 3rd one was pretty freaky, especially with the moaning faces flying out of the screen from the crystal in the intro.

[SoulBlazer]

I'd like to check out this Sweet Home game. Has the ROM been translated?

[chadtower]

Killing Time... very very creepy!

[brandver3]

FATAL FRAME!!!

Everytme this thread gets done, I will stick to it. That game gave me the hibbity jibbities something fearce. I had to sleep with light on earlier this week due to some bringing it over to my house.....but that doesn't make me a wuss...

[MarioAllStar2600]

I was laying on my friends couch playing Code Veronica on PS2. ANd someone knocked at teh door as zombies where popping up. SCared the living crap out of me. @_@

[chadtower]

Did you pay to have the shit cleaned off of their furniture?

:puke: :puke: :puke:

[Neil Koch]

I don't get scared by video games, but Aliens Vs Predator and the RE games have made me jump a few times. The last couple of levels of Return to Castle Wolfenstein are pretty suspenseful as well.

[RetroYoungen]

I completely agree with a lot of those. Shadowgate, Code: Veronica, and DEFINATELY Eternal Darkness. I won't play ANY of these games at night (I think it's because of the ingrown paranoia) or with the lights off. But the scariest game of all, and I refuse to play it at ANY time...

Shaq Fu. :puke:

[chadtower]

Hey man, who removed all my pukeys?!

[Zubiac666]

Eternal Darkness
scariest story and atmosphere ever
those whispering voices in the main-house scared the hell out of me
and the part when u see yourself in the bathtub DEAD in blood
I had to stop playing the game at night at this part
http://www.smilies.nl/sad/nervous.gif
http://www.smilies.nl/errrr.gif

[Voodoo]

Silent Hill 3 actually creeped me out. I jumped so bad at times, I dropped the controller. It takes a lot to scare me these days since I've been jaded by growing up watching horror movies, but SH3 is just plain messed up! X_x

[sisko]

Max Payne.

My surround sound was cranked *really really* loud when I got to the first blood trail. I fell off and the baby's crying got so loud so fast it scared the bejeezus out of me.

[Dire 51]

Spice World for the PSX. Just seeing it in the store almost scared me into having a heart attack. LOL

[RoboticParanoia]

When I was a little kid, I thought Super Mario Bros. was very scary, because I was afraid Mario would go down a pipe and never come back.

Now, RE scared me. I usually stay away from scary games...but the original Clocktower sure is tempting.

[Sothy]

the first time you play any resident evil game.

RE remake for Gamecube probably takes the cake now.

If you have never played the series before and played that one i gurantee some shit your pants moments.

Half life had its moments and yeah system shock 2 definitely.

White men cant jump for jaguar actually made me cry.

[vincewy]

FATAL FRAME!!!

Everytme this thread gets done, I will stick to it. That game gave me the hibbity jibbities something fearce. I had to sleep with light on earlier this week due to some bringing it over to my house.....but that doesn't make me a wuss...

My vote goes to Fatal Frame as well, to me, violence/gore disgusts me, but don't scare me, what scares me the most is anything real and involving 6th sense and paranomial, the game is based on the true story and there're pics of the actual locations, sometimes you take the pics the ghosts will show up on the pic, you don't see them when you take the pics, now that just creeps the hell out of me. Anyone thinks Silent Hills is scary should try this at night.

[BHvrd]

I have been "scared" by very few gaming "moments". The dogs in the original Resident Evil springs to mind "when they jump through window first time" as does the moment in Eternal Darkness when my head feel off, and a few others...

What it really comes down to is "atmosphere", and what game has drawn me into its atmosphere and twisted my senses. Games like Silent Hill don't do it for me though, it has to be faster, it's just "creepy'" imo, with moments that are toooooo built up. Actually only the first Silent Hill was creepy the second game was just a god damn laughable mess imo. :/

When it comes to atmosphere though I would say Shadowman, and more recently The Thing have both done a good job at twisting my reality and taking me to a great "horrific" world "they also had a few great really genuine scary moments", more than just BOO though, more like "RAAAARRRRFFFFHHHHH" "SCREECH" "THUD THUD" "BUZZZZZ" "WAHHHHH", lol. ;)

I can't think of many others than those really, like I said i've had very few jump outta my pants moments, but I love a good horror game, but it takes alot to get my ball rolling, and I like more than just one, BOO! O_O THRILL ME MOTHA FUCKA! :angry: WAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH x_x, next....

[JackDark]

I appreciate all of the replies... I'm gonna have to try Fatal Frame definitly. I'd just like to reiterate: If you like scary games and you've never played Thief, you must do so. Scariest game EVER, mostly due to the atmosphere.

[RJ]

Fatal Frame, all Silent Hills (even #2), certain parts in Resident Evil(s, not #2)

Playing SH3 last night (almost done), w/ one light on in the house & just my Corgi pups w/ me, the phone was ringing like mad. I dont often answer it if I'm playing, but I did. The 1st call was a solicitor; I'm used to a few/week. It rang again just after I sat back down; I grudgingly answered, but no one spoke. A short pause before speaking is the sign of a telemarketer, so I hung up. Upon answering the 3rd call, I actually heard them hang up! I didn't even answer the 4th calll, I was so f'ng creeped out!

BTW: you know someone'll redo this topic w/in a month, before Halloween!

[Flack]

I know I jumped at least once while playing Dino Crisis ...

Flack

[ShinobiMan]

Shadowgate is one creeped out game. It's just so eerie all around... the demented music (processed in all it's 8bit goodness), the strange images (The princess that turns into a jackel after you stab her), the traps and deaths haunting face, the time limit and the paranoia music as your torch is burning out.

GREAT GAME THOUGH! I have many fond memories with it.

For some reason, Ghost Manor on 3DO creeped me out when I was younger. Anyone else?

More recent scary games for me have been Eternal Dark (The bathtub scene).

And anyone else freak out at the dreamcast game Illbleed? Great game!

[adaml]

Back when I was on the Turbolist, I seem to remember people agreeing that Silent Debuggers was kinda creepy. Alone in space...silence...aliens ambushing you out of nowhere...

I never actually got to play it, but can anyone elaborate further on the game?

[ShinobiMan]

Oh man! I love Silent Debuggers! Such a great name... one of my favorite and most memorable names for a game. I second your creepy emotions, that game has it all.

[lionforce]

I know many gamers probably would not agree with me but back in the day Friday the 13th for the NES use to freak me out probably because of the music especially when it became night time, it set a scary mood that scared me more than the silly movies did, although I must admit that I did enjoy Freddy vs Jason :-D

[ROBOTRON]

Splatterhouse series....definately. @_@

[Sotenga]

Splatterhouse scared me as well. After beating the fourth boss, that peaceful organ music played, then it stopped. Then, wait for three seconds... EEP. That dissonant racket transformed my spinal cord into an icicle. Oh, not to mention that I was a little guy when first playing this game, and everything else really creeped me out. ^^;

Splatterhouse 3 is the scariest game out of the three, IMO. Mostly owing to the cutscenes, especially the shot where the boreworm overtook Jennifer. I only saw that once, at about 9:00 pm. I don't intend to see it again. :eek 2:

[gamegirl79]

I actually lost sleep over Silent Hill one night when I played it in a dark room for about 3 hours. Needless to say the rest of that game and the sequels I only played during the day. :)

A close second would have to be Clive Barker's Undying for PC. Creeeeepy game!!

[Sniderman]

One game I recently gotten back into playing is the original Clock Tower - the one with Scissorman. It's quite eerie trying to escape from a serial killer. You'll hide under the bed in one room, he'll coming lurching in, look about, the music swells, and he'll leave. Othertimes, he'll stagger in, look about, then PLUNGE THE GIANT SHEARS THROUGH THE BED AS YOU SCREAM AND GURGLE YOUR DEATH THROES.

Wow, it still gets me to see my on-screen persona mutilated like that.

[KirbyStar27]

Return to Castle Wolfeinstein!!!

Man, that game is scary when your playing it at 1 AM. The catacombs with mummies pooping out, and blades flying out of the walls (scary. X_x ) You play that and you want to curl up into a ball in the corner!

[inkor]

1.silent hill1
2.silent hill 2
3.fatal frame1
4.fatal frame 2
5.re 3
6.re 2
7.re remake
8.cold fear
9. ObsCure: The Aftermath
10.Call of Cthulhu: Dark Corners of the Earth
11.re zero
12.doom 3
13.alone in the dark new nightmare

[johndarkness]

The only game I've got scared was Alien Vs. Predator on Jaguar. Every time when the little alien thing from the egg jump on the screen and you didn't notice he is around I've got a heart attack :)

[megasdkirby]

I know many gamers probably would not agree with me but back in the day Friday the 13th for the NES use to freak me out probably because of the music especially when it became night time, it set a scary mood that scared me more than the silly movies did, although I must admit that I did enjoy Freddy vs Jason :-D

I agree. It had great potential. Maybe if they would have given it a bit more time, with more haunting music, it would be been great.

[Videogamerdaryll]

One game I recently gotten back into playing is the original Clock Tower - the one with Scissorman. It's quite eerie trying to escape from a serial killer. You'll hide under the bed in one room, he'll coming lurching in, look about, the music swells, and he'll leave. Othertimes, he'll stagger in, look about, then PLUNGE THE GIANT SHEARS THROUGH THE BED AS YOU SCREAM AND GURGLE YOUR DEATH THROES.

Wow, it still gets me to see my on-screen persona mutilated like that.

When I read the thread title without reading any replies Clock Tower instatly came to mind..


went to post and saw your reply..

This is the game that used to scare the crap out of me.

I think I still have a PS copy...I saw one at the Flea Market for $5.00 bucks,not sure if it's worth that as I'm pretty sure it's a game i still have.

[Sniderman]

went to post and saw your reply..

From Oct. 2003 I see...



I think I still have a PS copy...I saw one at the Flea Market for $5.00 bucks,not sure if it's worth that as I'm pretty sure it's a game i still have.

It is certainly worth that as the game has become fairly hard to find and a bit pricey when you do find it. I would've grabbed it for $5 even ifI already had it.

Coincidentally, I'm playing through it again right now.

[megasdkirby]

Clock Tower was fantastic. It wasn't fair that it received poor ratings due to it's graphics. Underneat everything was a great horror game, though a tad easy.

Clock Tower: Thre Struggle Within was also pretty good, just lacking. Plus the story did not make any sense.

I hope one day they go back to the old mechanics and with Scissorman as the villian.

[NESGamer24]

The three that come to mind are:

1: Resident Evil for Sega Saturn. I remember renting this game. I think I was 11 or 12, and sitting in my room with all the lights out in the middle of the night and being freaked out. But you can't put it down once you start.

2: Silent Hill 2: Not really scary but freaky. playing that in the dark and the sounds effects and feeling of it is surreal.

3: Condemned: Once again not scary but on 360 in HD with a surround sound system in the dark def has some moments that make you jump. Especially when you are turning around and a guy is right there.

[Videogamerdaryll]

From Oct. 2003 I see...



It is certainly worth that as the game has become fairly hard to find and a bit pricey when you do find it. I would've grabbed it for $5 even ifI already had it.

Coincidentally, I'm playing through it again right now.


ROFL..I didn't even notice the post date..

Thanks,I'll try to grab it if I see the vendor again..

I have been wanting to play the game again myself..

[GameBoyGeek]

Scariest game ever? Heh easy...Barbie game girl. *shivers in fear*

[nensondubois]

Out of This world for the SNES was scary when your guy melted form the creatures, was chased by that beast or dematerialized from the ray gun.

[sebastiankirchoff]

The original Resident Evil on PS. I first played it when I was 6, and that stupid hallway with the dogs scared the living shit out of me everytime. I actually screamed and ran into the other room when that happened for the first time, and I refused to touch my PlayStation for a week in fear the dogs would get me again.

[allyourblood]

The original Resident Evil on PS. I first played it when I was 6


!!!!!

[sebastiankirchoff]

!!!!!

Don't worry, I was watching Dawn of the Dead, RoboCop and the Terminator even before I played RE.

[allyourblood]

Don't worry, I was watching Dawn of the Dead, RoboCop and the Terminator even before I played RE.

Somehow, those don't phase me. I caught Robocop in the theater (!), at the tender age of 8.

[Lo0kY]

Amber: The Journeys Beyond for the PC sorta scared me back then. Awesome game though.

Resident Evil 4 for the GC freaked me out a couple times.

[primalmaster]

Scratches and the dark fall series ( the adventure game not the mmo) also think the Shalebridge Cradle level in Thief 3

[ReTrO-pLaYeR]

When I was a kid, "Altered Beast" always gave me chills. There's just something about the soundtrack that is unsettling. Also, it always creeped me out whenever the nameless macho-man died. "Auuughhhh!!!!" sounds like he's getting stabbed in the stomach with a Civil War bayonet while being raped by Barney the Purple Dinosaur.

[mezrabad]

First game that gave me some chills was the original Alone in the Dark (1992?). Despite the low polygon count, the music and sound effects were effecting in making the game creepy.

Realms of the Haunting had a nice selection of chills in it, too, though I don't think I played it for very long.

Fatal Frames 1 and 2, awesomely scary. I don't get a gun? And I'm a little girl? Very intense, so much so that I'm usually exhausted after playing from all the adrenaline rushes.

Both System Shocks were scary, as were the Thiefs. Not so much in the supernatural way but in a "oh shit, they've seen me and they're coming after me" kind of way.

Siren - in all three iterations, still scares me. I just downloaded the demo for blood siren the other night and it still scares the crap out of me. When a Shibito sees me and comes after me, it makes my skin crawl.

[sebastiankirchoff]

Castlevania: Bloodlines use to give me the chills when I was a young one, especially when the first boss/wolf is howling and shattering all the windows. Also, the music was pretty creepy and the castle was even creepier.

[Legend Of Zelda]

Metroid would spook me when I was quite young. The music is just sooooo creepy. It haunts me still. :X

[JagMod]

I dropped the controller the first time the gate came up and the alien screeched and charged me in AvP on the Jaguar.

[Loremaster]

Siren - in all three iterations, still scares me. I just downloaded the demo for blood siren the other night and it still scares the crap out of me. When a Shibito sees me and comes after me, it makes my skin crawl.

I agree fully. Siren for the PS2 is my all-time favorite horror game, and even to this day when I hear someone yawn loudly at night I jump a little.

[ShinobiMan]

The Splatterhouse games scared the crap out of me as a kid. The third game really was bad with his wife and kid turning into demons and stuff.

Oh man Splatterhouse 3 is one HELL of a creepy game. As someone else mentioned, the cut scenes are what really makes it creepy. When they come randomly during the levels, it gives you that feeling that time is running out!

[allyourblood]

Metroid would spook me when I was quite young. The music is just sooooo creepy. It haunts me still. :X

Yup. Shocking that the NES' synth could output such a haunting soundtrack/score. There's something inherently isolated and bleak to it. Cold, distant, desperate... sort of like an ultra-early precursor to the music in the Silent Hill series.

EDIT: Oohhh! I want to add The Immortal. I didn't like playing that game by myself when I was a kid, and I think it's for the same reason that Metroid spooked me. It was just sort of a "lonely" game.

[Eyedunno]

I have never played a 3D survival horror game. Be that as it may, the only two games that have ever scared me were Super Famicom Clock Tower (the shower scene, holy crap!) and Portal ("Are you still there?" "Would you come over... here?").

[JimmyDean]

I agree with Dave2236. Code Veronica at 12:00 is very frightening. Those zombies making those moaning noises scared the living shit out of me.

Edit: Oh, and as for robocop, my dad had a movie called robofox. It was about a bionic fox. NOT LYING!

[slapdash]

Um... You should probably know that there's an entirely different movie called Robofox... Porn, you might say. Awesome cliffhanger too, oy. Never followed up that bachelor party viewing with the sequel, it turns out.

[JimmyDean]

I never watched it, so it probably was the movie you were talking about. LOL

[bartre]

back when i was a kid, i got scared by games super easily.
esp legend of zelda ocarina of time - forest and shadow temples freaked me out, i think it was the music.

anymore, not so much.
but still, i do find the occasional game.
currently, Clock Tower on the SNES. who would've thought that an snes game could be so scary.
but yet, here i am, a 10 year old boy again, playing a game and crapping my pants.

[Richter Belmount]

Silent hill series and Clock tower for the snes. Id love to hear some newer games on this list heh.

[BioHazardx3]

The original Resident Evil frighted me a hell of a lot the first time I played it. =\ That zombie in the closet especially. ¬¬
Also Dead Space, my boyfriend at the time sat up 'til the early hours playing it in the dark and I sat up to watch it. I've never jumped so much in my life.

[spongerob]

I love horror games and have played some of the worst ones out there in my quest to let none go unplayed. I've played some great ones and some lumps of dung, but if you're looking for the absolute scariest game you can get, play Silent Hill 4. To me it doesn't get much scarier than that.

SH fans will moan about how this shouldn't be part of the series but that isn't what this topic is about. It's purely about horror, and there were moments in that game that would stop the heart of the weak lol. I loved it.

I still think the absolute best horror game ever was Silent Hill 2, by a mile due to plot, design, etc., but just solely from a horror standpoint, 4 is slightly scarier.

This is just my taste as I'm more into psychological horror and Konami has always had a direct link to the darkest parts of the human brain. I'm not really into "BOO!" scares but I still play 'em.

[allyourblood]

I still think the absolute best horror game ever was Silent Hill 2, by a mile due to plot, design, etc., but just solely from a horror standpoint, 4 is slightly scarier.

Agreed. Love, love, LOVE Silent Hill 2! My favorite horror game by far. Every time I compare the two, I almost wanna give the original Silent Hill the top slot simply because it was first, but really, part 2 is where every single element that makes the SH series what it is, just completely and perfectly came together to make the scariest, and likely saddest, game I've ever played.

[NomadGamer]

For me it was the first Silent Hill game. Just something about the atmosphere in the first one. Restless Dreams has been my favorite of the series though.

[allyourblood]

For me it was the first Silent Hill game. Just something about the atmosphere in the first one. Restless Dreams has been my favorite of the series though.

Now that I give it some more thought, If I had to break it down to which of the two freaked me out the most, I might have to go with the first game after all, simply because in part 2, I knew the overall vibe to expect; the original game was completely new to me and such a more methodical scare than anything I'd played before it.

But the second game just has this super-sad element that I really like. There were times when I'd be creeped out, but then moments later a feeling of sorrow or desperation would take center stage.

For anyone who's a fan of the original SH, have you played Shattered Memories? How does it stack up for you? I have yet to try it, but I feel like they tweaked a few too many elements for it to hold up to the original.

[spongerob]

Now that I give it some more thought, If I had to break it down to which of the two freaked me out the most, I might have to go with the first game after all, simply because in part 2, I knew the overall vibe to expect; the original game was completely new to me and such a more methodical scare than anything I'd played before it.

But the second game just has this super-sad element that I really like. There were times when I'd be creeped out, but then moments later a feeling of sorrow or desperation would take center stage.

For anyone who's a fan of the original SH, have you played Shattered Memories? How does it stack up for you? I have yet to try it, but I feel like they tweaked a few too many elements for it to hold up to the original.

I think the emotion evoked in 2 was partly a side effect of, in my view, the greatest game soundtrack ever by a mile. Yamaoka is an absolute genius and knew exactly what sounds would produce certain emotions. At the core it's a love story and a psychological character piece about the sadness, desperation and guilt of the human mind. Done in a way no one else could.

Shattered Memories is so hard to explain. I liked it, but it certainly wasn't SH. The controls were bad yet somehow I felt compelled to keep on going. They definitely nailed the idea of repeatedly asking questions and building up to the ending, which was a tad predictable if you're a SH nut like myself. Visually, it was pretty bad. Psychologically it wasn't on the level of 2 or 4 but it wasn't horrible. The pacing was just boring. 1) Advance the story 2) Run like hell 3) Repeat. I hated the running, it was a stressful kind of terror which isn't traditional SH at all and it felt cheap. It also made every other part boring because you knew you weren't going to be attacked at any point. That's what kept it from truly achieving SH status.

In any SH game, there's always the slight tension that something in that shadow, or behind that door something might be waiting for you. It tends to make a person start to anticipate it even if there's nothing, and eventually you start seeing what scares you the most in that darkness. You use your imagination almost out of instinct and you build your own horror. That's the soul of SH and it was ripped completely out.

Overall I think they "got" the idea of SH more than the guys who made Homecoming. Homecoming looked the part quite a bit, and I was impressed but when it came to everything but the visuals they seemed to just go violence crazy when SH isn't about shallow meaningless violence.

If I had to suggest anything I'd say, if you're a SH freak, play it. If not, play the other ones and don't let Shattered Memories be your first impression of the series.