The time of year has come around where human beings have this insatiable desire to scare themselves silly. From haunted houses to horror movies we seek out all the thrills and chills we can when Halloween rolls around. In the spirit of the season a bunch of the COG writing team have assmebled their single scariest gaming moments for your enjoyment. There’s some surprises in this list too… a few things you might not expect! Whether it’s something that stuck with us or a solid cheap scare this is what made us shiver. We’d also love to hear about your scariest moments in the comments… what makes you put your tail between your legs and run?
Silent Hill 2 – The Elevator Scene – Brian Connor
I remember playing Silent Hill 2 in high school with a friend of mine. We often played single player games together and took turns. This was the first and only game in which we both preferred watching over playing. Playing was uncomfortable and scary. There are several iconic moments to choose from, but for me it’s the “Elevator Scene” that affected me the most. By that point in the game the Pyramid Head monster had established itself as one of the scariest bad guys in gaming, and also as an unkillable enemy to be avoided.
The genius of this moment is the lack of buildup, you turn a corner and BAM! There he is, and he just starts chasing you. The camera reverses so you have to see him gaining on you as you run away. It all ends with an intense cinematic and a death you ultimately feel responsible for. I watched the sequence on YouTube today and the whole thing still gives me chills.
Heavy Rain – The Taxidermist – Judi Azmand
So you’re venturing out to the home of the suspected “origami killer” and when you arrive he isn’t there. You enter his home and snoop around to find multiple stuffed women and a dead corpse in a pool of blood in the tub. As you start to panic and decide what to do, the taxidermist returns and it’s up to you to escape without getting killed. The intensity and dread packed in this horrifying and crazy moment had my heart racing and my palms sweating. It’s a gaming moment I will never forget…or rather, can’t forget!
Resident Evil 3: Nemesis – Police Station Chase – Doug Mercer
It was very early on that I realized I can’t deal with horror in any form. There have been games that have given me far more jump scares but the moment that stays with me as the scariest gaming experience was when I first played RE3: Nemesis.
You’re in the police station and after uncovering lots of weird stuff about Raccoon City’s police chief you’re heading back outside. Then, behind you, the walls begin exploding as Nemesis comes for you. The camera is fixed so you can’t see anything as you bolt through the station, Nemesis pulverizing his way through each room you run through. You can only hear Nemesis roaring as he destroys the station trying to eat your face. I was scared enough that I literally just turned the game off. Even though it had been some time since I saved, I couldn’t handle the chase and the inevitable show down(s) and opted just to quit. Turns out I wasn’t just quitting the game but pretty much the horror genre entirely.
Halo – The Flood – Shad Forsyth
Cheap scares aside, very few games have legitimately sent shivers up my spine. The standout moment for me was when I was first introduced to the Flood when playing the original Halo on Xbox. Halo was one of the first games I experienced in full 5.1 channel surround sound. The build up to the reveal was perfect and the resulting sound of thousands of insect legs scurrying towards me from all directions made the hair on my arms stand up.
Silent Hill 1 – Opening Sequence – Nicholas Plouffe
Possibly the most terrifying experience I’ve ever had in a game was during the very first Silent Hill. Of course my parents had no idea what they were purchasing at the time and giving me for my birthday… I won’t ever forget taking my new possession downstairs and starting my play through. I arrived in Silent Hill and thought to myself, “oh this isn’t so bad.” No big deal, it’s just kind of foggy, right? Wrong. I made my way through town and chased Cheryl into an alley. A Broken wheelchair greeted me, with nobody around but the wheel still spinning. A gurney lay just past it, filled with a bloody corpse. As the fear started to really settle in, I found a mutilated body strung up with razorwire on a chain-link fence. Needless to say, I was terrified enough without the demon children rushing me from the darkness and killing me without mercy. That’s just how the game starts. Welcome to Silent Hill.
Eternal Darkness – DELETE ALL SAVE GAMES!? – Matt Cullen
Back on Nintendo’s Game cube system there was a survival horror game that will always leave a lasting impression on me named Eternal Darkness. It was one of those games that loved to mess with the minds of the player by warping the gameplay and having stuff occur that may or may not be happening in front of your eyes. One such moment was when I was quite far into the game. I went to reload my game and saw the message “delete all save games” suddenly appearing on the screen. My heart sank and remember yelling “no” very loudly only to have the game basically go “ha ha fooled you” and my saves magically appear. There is nothing more scary than having hours upon hours of gameplay erased and all that progress lost. What a bunch of jerks.
Tomb Raider – The ‘Endurance’ Bug – Shawn Petraschuk
I know, I know… what the hell is Tomb Raider doing on a scariest moments in gaming list. Sure it has some exciting moments but scary? Not so much. See, here’s the thing; I don’t do horror. I’m a pansy. Still, this glitch scared me more than any jump scare ever could. At a later stage in the game Lara acquires a new piece of equipment called the rope ascender and essentially needs to use this to make a crate crash through the floor providing access to the next area of the game. A rare glitch made this task impossible to do and I was one of the unlucky few to encounter it. I had no other game saves to go back to and was facing starting the game right from scratch… my heart was placed squarely in my throat. Luckily, I heard of a glitch that solved the glitch involving walking over one area until you fell through the floor and could continue. It took me over an hour of fiddling but I managed… next thing I did, made multiple save slots.
Final Fantasy VII – Nibelheim Sequence – Paul Sullivan
Jump scares and slashers don’t really scare me – but a creepy atmosphere will get my blood pumping every time. Though not terribly modern, Final Fantasy VII’s Nibelheim sequence stands out for me in terms of pure creepiness. As Sephiroth searches for the origins of Jenova, his insanity begins to become apparent. Meanwhile Cloud, the player character, tries to discover Sephiroth’s intentions while battling his own internal demons. The truth is a carrot dangling in front of the player throughout the sequence, and the missing puzzle pieces serve to create an atmosphere of palpable tension. Eventually Sephiroth sets Nibelheim ablaze, and one of the most famous images in gaming history is presented. At the time, I believe I howled the 11-year-old equivalent of “Holy s*** that is one scary badass motherf*****”. Or similar.
Resident Evil 1 – Zombie Dogs x 2! – Kirby Yablonski
I have never been a horror fan, be it movies or video games. I got my first taste of any horror game when my friend gave me a copy of the original Resident Evil on the PS one. It was the start of a new franchise and something that scared the bejeebers out of me. Sure, the game itself is not a visual masterpiece by today’s standards, but back during the original PlayStation days the visuals were amazing as they were 3D polygons and not a 2D image. Having been amazed at the visuals, I got caught up one night playing the game. I was in my basement with my 32 inch CRT TV and Dolby surround sound (oh how we have come so far). The lights were low and I was glued to the on screen action. I was walking down a hallway when all of a sudden the sound of breaking glass and a Zombie Dog appeared. Yep, it was that one scene that defined gaming in this genre for me, as I never expected anything to jump through a window in the manner it did, and it was a Zombie Dog for goodness sake. I won’t lie, I jumped out of my seat and let out a little yelp myself. Anyhow, now when I see pictures of this one particular scene from the game I chuckle at how it scared me that much. Oh well, I’ll admit it, I am a sissy-pants, but hey, admitting it is the first step right?
More Resident Evil Dogs – Lou Sytsma
Dogs. Why did it have to be zombie dogs? As a horror aficionado, I like to believe I am above getting caught by jump scares, having seen the best and worst of them. This ranges from various horror flicks such as John Carpenter’s Halloween and The Thing and through the seemingly endless raft of slasher flicks. But a video game did get me once. Big time.
It was the first Resident Evil game. Right after successfully avoiding a zombie attack, I entered a long, narrow hallway where I thought I could catch my breath. While the hallway was narrow and limited movement, at least it gave clear sight lines. So if trouble showed up, I felt confident I would be to make it to safety. So I moved cautiously down the hallway, gun held poised, checking cabinets along the way looking for goodies. All looked good but I did not notice, or failed to take into account, the windows.
Smash! The glass from the windows flew insides towards and then zombie dogs jumped through the broken windows to attack me. I literally jumped back in my seat and dropped the controller. At least the first time I died quickly. After that I always would tense up waiting for the sound of breaking glass when I had to go down that hallway.It’s also the moment that made me fall in love with the series, clunky controls and all. Then came Resident Evil 4 and Nirvana.