The Top 5 Scary Gaming Moments as voted by gamers
To celebrate the spooky season we have been on the hunt for the scariest moments in gaming to share with you. Our exclusive poll of 500 UK gamers has revealed the jump scares and horror scenes they wouldn’t play before bed. Those of a delicate disposition, leave the lights on and invite a friend, as we tell you the top 5 scary scenes.
We must warn you though, whilst every effort has been made to keep the specific details out, this list may contain some minor spoilers.
5. Alone in the Dark (1992) – the Attic
Realism is overrated when it comes to scary game moments (Image: Infrogames)
Taking a very respectable 5th place is Alone in the Dark. Arguably the original survival horror, this is the game that inspired Resident Evil and the rest of the genre. With point and click puzzle-solving, fixed camera angles, and deeply unsettling music, Alone in the Dark really pulled players in. Once they had you, they could catch you completely off guard, and the attic scene famously did just that.
4. Last of Us Part II (2020) – the Rat King
Screenshot from The Last of Us Part II (Image: Sony)
Scary gaming moments are certainly not limited to horror games, and The Last of Us Part II is testament to that. Technically this is an action-adventure, but it’s hard to ignore the horror elements of a post-apocalyptic survival game riddled with zombie-like creatures.
The ‘Rat King’ is the name given to a particularly grotesque and terrifying creature you must face. It’s also, perhaps more unnervingly, based on a real-life phenomenon.
3. The Evil Within (2014) – Chainsaw Ambush
Facing off against monsters in The Evil Within (Image: Steam)
The Evil Within is a game packed full of jump scares, gore, and all-round creepiness. It’s a survival horror game that set out to cover seemingly every horror theme. It has traps, scavenging for survival, bomb defusal, monsters, a mental asylum, and lots of blood. There’s a fear for ever player in this game.
But in a very retro turn of events, it’s a chainsaw-wielding humanoid that earns 3rd place for The Evil Within. For first-time players this fight is sure to catch you off guard.
2. Silent Hill 2 (2001) – Pyramid Head Encounter
Silent Hill 2 made frequent use of psychological horror (Image: IMDb)
Whilst officially a survival horror, Silent Hill 2 is an incredibly psychological game. The psychology of the characters and what they represent to the story is one of the reasons this game is so greatly revered. Silent Hill 2 is a game that can freak you out for days as you ponder the distorted embodiment of emotion. It will probably leave you wishing something would jump out at you instead.
The first encounter with Pyramid Head is famously disturbing for players. As evidenced by its place on this list, some 22 years after it was first played.
And finally, the moment you’ve been waiting for, drumroll please…
1. Resident Evil (1996)– Dogs through the window
I could swear the graphics looked revolutionary at the time (Image: TheXboxHub)
As well as the scariest, this has got to be the most iconic moment in horror game history. Resident Evil picked up what Alone in the Dark was putting down and defined the survival horror genre. After 25 years, 10 core games and countless spin-offs and remakes, this is still the scariest moment that has stuck with all of us.
I think what makes this moment so memorable is that so much of the original Resident Evil is endearingly bad. In 2008 it received the accolade for Worst Game Dialogue Ever in the Guinness World Records Gamer’s Edition. But nobody was playing Resident Evil for the dialogue in the early days. It was the quintessential horror, running around a mansion, solving puzzles, and shooting zombies. The high intensity of Resident Evil is what has cemented this scare as the best.
