Summary
- Fear in horror games engages players more, akin to fear in horror films.
- Some horror game enemies are relentless, invincible, and require skill to survive.
- Unique enemies like Truebred Eve and Mr. X create intense fear and tension in gameplay.
Horror games are special because the fear players can have will engage them more, which is similar to the fear that audiences can have while watching horror films. While there is some safety in knowing that many horror games include ways to fight back, sometimes a sword, gun, or whatever may not be enough.
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They can encounter enemies that cannot be stopped or are so aggressive that players will find it hard to kill them without losing a lot of life in return. This can make the fear more intoxicating, so for those looking for the creepiest and most adrenaline-pumping enemies in horror-related games, these are some standouts.
7 Truebred Eve (Parasite Eve)
The Ultimate Being
Parasite Eve
- Released
- September 9, 1998
WHERE TO PLAY
Parasite Eve is a smooth combination of horror games and turn-based RPGs, with a little flexibility in battle as players can move around the battlefield. Players will go around New York City as detectives, fighting mutated animals as an epidemic is plaguing the area.
When players beat the game, they can go to an optional dungeon, the Chrysler Building, and at the top is a boss called Truebred Eve. During the boss fight, her attacks are more relentless than any other boss, plus she can one-hit kill players, which is beyond cheap. It’s not a good time for anyone.
6 E.M.M.I. (Metroid Dread)
Samus’ Greatest Threat
Metroid Dread
- Released
- October 8, 2021
WHERE TO PLAY
Metroid Dread was a great return to form for the franchise, bringing Samus back to her 2D roots. While not complete horror games with scares, the vibes are definitely creepy, especially in Metroid Dread, hence the name.
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There is a robot called E.M.M.I. That will pursue Samus through certain locations on the map. Getting through these cramped spaces can require speed and a bit of stealth, and it’s easy to slip up and die. After cursing, players have to reload and try again because this entity cannot be killed like normal enemies.
5 The Keeper (The Evil Within)
Trapped
The Evil Within
- Released
- October 14, 2014
WHERE TO PLAY
- ESRB
- M for Mature: Blood and Gore, Intense Violence, Strong Language
- Developer(s)
- Tango Gameworks
- Genre(s)
- Third-Person Shooter, Survival Horror
- Platform(s)
- Xbox One, Xbox 360, PC, PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4
- OpenCritic Rating
- Fair
The Evil Within was a spiritual successor to the Resident Evil franchise helmed by the master of video game horror, Shinji Mikami. Players will encounter quite a few horrific entities in the game, but chief among them is The Keeper.
It looks like a grotesque human with a giant safe on its head, like it came out of the Saw franchise. When players face him multiple times, it will not only track players down like a bloodhound, but it will sneakily place traps too. If players get caught while running away, they can be in some hot water.
4 Mandarin (Silent Hill 2 2024)
Underneath It All
Silent Hill 2
- Released
- October 8, 2024
WHERE TO PLAY
- ESRB
- M For Mature 17+ // Blood and Gore, Language, Sexual Themes, Violence
- Developer(s)
- Bloober Team
- Platform(s)
- PlayStation 5, PC
- OpenCritic Rating
- Mighty
Silent Hill 2 is one of the more celebrated horror games on the PS2, and its 2024 remake gave fans mostly what they wanted. However, there was one major change that turned into a bit of frustration for some players because the Mandarin enemy became a lot more hostile.
The enemies will appear late in the game, hiding under the metal grated flooring of the dungeon and attacking players with their tentacles. Not only is it hard to see them, but even with good headphones to hear them instead, they are not easy to kill. Even running away is difficult, as their tentacles always find a way to hit like they are heat-seeking missiles.
3 Zombie Hordes (Days Gone)
Like Human Ants
Days Gone
- Released
- April 26, 2019
WHERE TO PLAY
- ESRB
- M for Mature: Blood and Gore, Drug Reference, Intense Violence, Sexual Themes, Strong Language
- Developer(s)
- Bend Studio
- Genre(s)
- Open-World, Action, Adventure
- Platform(s)
- PC, PlayStation 4
- OpenCritic Rating
- Fair
Days Gone may not get as celebrated as The Last of Us as far as PlayStation horror franchises go, but its zombies are some of the most terrifying versions in any video game. That’s because they are fast and typically travel in hordes.
The scariest thing is exploring a ruined station only to see a wave of them flood the area, and there’s not exactly a good way to kill dozens of zombies in a row. If Days Gone did anything right, it’s creating panic within players with these zombie hordes that rival other zombie-infested games from Dead Rising to Left 4 Dead.
2 Mr. X (Resident Evil 2, 2019)
A Proper Gentleman
Resident Evil 2
- Released
- January 25, 2019
WHERE TO PLAY
- ESRB
- M for Mature: Blood and Gore, Strong Language, Intense Violence
- Developer(s)
- Capcom
- Genre(s)
- Horror
- Platform(s)
- PC, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S
- OpenCritic Rating
- Mighty
Mr. X was in the original release of Resident Evil 2, but in a limited capacity for the second run of the game. In the 2019 remake, it almost has an omnipresence in the game as it will pursue players with a foreboding stomp through Raccoon City’s police station. Once the enemy gets unlocked in the story, there is no escaping it, which can be frustrating when players are trying to gather resources.
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Mr. X technically can be repelled, but when it gets enough damage, it only takes a knee for a brief few seconds before getting back to it again. It’s like The Terminator, only less engaging because Arnold Schwarzenegger isn’t saying any fun one-liners.
1 Xenomorphs (Alien: Isolation)
A Film-Worthy Adaptation
Alien: Isolation
- Released
- October 7, 2014
WHERE TO PLAY
Xenomorphs are some of the scariest antagonists in movies, and most of the game adaptations haven’t translated their scary nature correctly. In most Alien games, Xenomorphs die quickly with a few shotgun blasts, but that was not the case in Alien: Isolation.
The Xenomorphs in this game are ten times worse than Mr. X or E.M.M.I. Because they are faster and can crawl through small spaces, seemingly able to attack from all angles. They can be killed, but ammo is extremely scarce, and it takes a long time to even get the best weapons in the game. These things aren’t going down with a few pistol rounds, let’s just say that.
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