Having played Alien: Isolation for the 10th time recently, it occurred to us that other games have their tense and almost horror-esque moments, especially the titles that aren’t supposed to be terrifying that churn out the best out of left field horror moments. The best moments of fear, after all, often sneak up on you, perhaps even without a warning.
That sudden shift in tone, a weird sound in the dark, or even a whole part of the game dedicated to all things gruesome and macabre. These moments stick out because they break the rules of the game very effectively, leaving you clenching your mouse/controller.
Therefore, we’re now looking at the scariest moments in video games that aren’t necessarily horrors, and the times games took a welcome detour into the unsettling and delivered pure nightmare fuel when we least expected it.
The Scariest Moments in Video Games That Are Non-Horror
Thief: Deadly Shadows – The Shalebridge Cradle
Truly, we’ll start with the entry that has sparked the thought of even writing this article, what with Thief’s third (criminally underrated) entry already dealing in tons of shadows and tension. Nothing could really prepare players for the cradle, however, no matter how dark and twisted Thief’s world actually is. The cradle used to be a children’s orphanage, but it turned into an asylum – I think you can see where we’re going with this.
It’s one of the most haunting levels ever made, with every creak and whisper feeling eerily alive, and the ancient walls telling stories you wish they’d rather not. As you – playing as Garrett, the master thief – descend into the creepy building, you realize it has a memory. It traps the spirits of everyone who’s ever suffered there, and if that’s not the quintessence of what horror does best, I don’t know what is.
Batman: Arkham Asylum – Scarecrow’s Hallucination Sequence
Batman, a series that is no stranger to the weird and twisted, has never truly descended into full horror territory. That is until you meet Scarecrow. Then, all of a sudden, it becomes something else entirely, and calling it horror wouldn’t be an understatement.
The first time our leathery hero gets hit with the fear toxin, the world around him twists into a surreal fever dream. Corpses start talking, the corridors around Bruce shift, and the camera you’re used to control with pinpoint precision appears to have lost its mind.
Then you “die” and the game literally reboots – we kid you not. For a few insane seconds, players experiencing this for the first time thought their save had been corrupted, only to find themselves in a reversed recreation of the game’s iconic opening – but this time Joker’s at the wheel.
Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines – The Ocean House Hotel
If Batman: Arkham Asylum was more psychological horror, the Ocean House Hotel in Vampire The Masquerade Bloodlines is a mix of slasher horror and The Exorcist. And naturally, in a game where you’re the predator, being a vampire after all, it feels oddly fear-inducing to be the hunted for once.
The second you set foot onto the grounds of the Ocean House Hotel in order to help the Malcavian twins to find out what’s going on there, the music shifts.
The doors squeak, the floor seems to move, and you’re questioning yourself – did that lamp levitate? Did I see someone walking around that corner? The game masterfully manages to make you question your own sanity, and the ghostly apparitions – naturally tied to a tragic and gruesome story you begin to unravel – only get worse the more you explore this haunted joint.
The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion – A Shadow Over Hackdirt
As much as we’d like to include one or the other Dark Brotherhood quest, we cannot stop thinking about how horrifying the quest A Shadow Over Hackdirt was. Especially, since it really comes out of left field, it begins so damn innocent at first – you’re really just trying to find a missing girl, in true hero of Kvatch fashion. But upon arrival at the quiet village of Hackdirt, something just feels off.
The locals speak in whispers, the air feels heavy, and their eyes seem to linger a little too long. Granted, that might just be the Creation Engine and its insane character designs, but still.
There’s no two ways about it, this is a true Elder Scrolls take on Lovecraft, with a town hiding a cult that actually turn out to worship horrific beings in underground caves. The deeper you go into the stinky hole of Hackdirt, the more it feels like you wandered into a nightmare that wasn’t meant to be found.
Return to Castle Wolfenstein – The Crypt of the Damned
As much as World War II was horrifying, most shooters that depict that era fail to show the real horror, and Return to Castle Wolfenstein, with its over-the-top gore, is no different. But what this 2001 shooter does have is the Crypt of the Damned. In this turn of events, B.J. Blazkowicz finds himself in the middle of Nazis, skeletons, and undead knights.
One minute you’re blasting soldiers, trying to find Kessler in the village, the next you drop into a hot zone of undead ambushes – it’s more terror than horror, but it’s still masterfully crafted.
