Games That Made Us Regret Everything
Horror games are already stressful enough, aren’t they? Why do we need guys bursting through doors or evil dentists making us neglect our teeth in real life? Nothing ruins your fake confidence faster than a carefully placed jump scare, and if we had to live through the, so do you! These are 20 moments that sent us through the ceiling.
Bandai Namco Entertainment America on Wikimedia
1. Resident Evil: The Dogs Crashing
The original Resident Evil didn’t waste time trying to make friends. No, it went full-force with the Cerberus dogs bursting through the mansion windows—even as we were still learning the game’s slow movement and fixed camera angles. It’s one of those classic moments that you’re glad you’ll never have to relive.
2. P.T.: Lisa Appears Behind You
That’s right. Yes, we’re back on P.T., but can you blame us? This freakshow is already packed with dread, and Lisa rushing up from behind is immediate nightmare fuel. To make it worse, the hallway loop trains you to look ahead and overthink every sound, which makes her appearance even more horrifying. (It’s either this or her dropping the window on us.)
3. Dead Space: The First Necromorph Attack
The opening stretch of Dead Space makes you helpless before you even understand what’s going on. Sure enough, when the first Necromorph forces Isaac to run for the elevator, it just about immediately teaches you that this isn’t a normal space adventure.
4. Outlast: Chris Grabs You
Outlast loves reminding you that a camcorder isn’t a weapon, and Chris’s sudden introduction makes that painfully clear. To put it lightly, when he bursts through and throws Miles around like luggage, the scene forces you into panic mode. You came to investigate a creepy asylum, and the game just loves to remind you how stupid that was.
5. Five Nights at Freddy’s: Foxy’s Sprint to the Office
Say what you want about this campy series, but the first jumpscare was in a class of its own. Seeing Foxy sprint down the hallway is bad enough, but the real fright comes when he slams into the office door—or gets inside. Oh, and it’s loud, too, so that’s fun.
6. F.E.A.R.: Alma at the Ladder
Look, we don’t make the rules; Alma is the scariest little kid to ever come out of a horror franchise. F.E.A.R. knew that we’d be vulnerable, so it picked the worst possible time to introduce Alma up close. An unassuming ladder in a horror game? There’s no such thing.
7. Alien: Isolation: The Xenomorph Drops From the Vents
Video games or movies, it doesn’t matter—Alien doesn’t need cheap tricks when its main monster is already a walking panic attack. That said, the Xenomorph suddenly dropping from a vent is a brutal reminder that being on your guard just isn’t enough.
8. Resident Evil 2 Remake: Mr. X Smashes Through the Wall
Yes, we love it when scary monsters crash through the wall. More of that, please! As if his horrifying, lumbering footsteps weren’t enough, when Mr. X crashes through the wall, you bet we regretted ever picking up our controllers.
9. BioShock: The Dentist Behind You
BioShock isn’t always filed under horror, but don’t let that fool you—the dentist scare in Painless Dental earns its place. After the room fills with fog (strike one), you turn around and find a Splicer standing right in your face. That’ll teach you to check for loot.
10. Silent Hill 3: The Mannequin Room Scream
Mannequins are creepy enough. So is Silent Hill. So, what did we expect when worlds collided? You hear a scream, return to the room, and find one mannequin suddenly missing its head. The worst part is that it’s not even a monster jumping at you; it’s just the timing that’s nasty.
11. The Evil Within: Laura’s Entrance
Laura’s already a nightmare before she starts showing up without warning. So, when she finally crawls into a scene with her twisted limbs and breakneck speed, there’s not much else for you to do but wish you played another game.
12. Amnesia: The Dark Descent: The Water Lurker Reveal
Amnesia is all about making invisible danger feel ridiculous and terrifying at the same time. Sure enough, the Water Lurker’s splashing attack is a great scare because you can’t fully see what’s after you—but you can hear it. (If only that made us less afraid.)
13. Until Dawn: The Wendigo Through the Window
Until Dawn is built like a playable horror movie, so it knows exactly when to shoehorn a scare into frame. Lo and behold, the Wendigo feels especially awful because the game has spent hours making you care about everyone’s survival. Now you’re not just jumping because something moved; you’re jumping because all it takes is one bad move to get someone murked.
14. Condemned: Criminal Origins: The Mannequins
We said it before, and we’ll say it again: mannequins suck in horror games. So, imagine our surprise when we encountered a whole department store full of them. As if that wasn’t enough, these figures move when you aren’t looking, making you question what changed and when it happened.
15. Fatal Frame II: Crimson Butterfly: The Woman in the Box
The beauty of this series is that it doesn’t rush its scares. The downside is that the slow burn is exactly what makes its ghosts even scarier. The Woman in the Box basically punishes your attention with a face full of horror, and since your camera is also your defense, the act of aiming becomes a whole lot more stressful.
16. The Mortuary Assistant: The Body Sits Up
Here’s a nightmare you never want to live. While you’re trying to embalm bodies and act like a responsible professional, one corpse suddenly sits up to shatter every bit of calm you had left. It’s a perfect jump scare, too! Now, you’re never sure whether the next body is a task or a threat.
17. Visage: Dolores in the Hallway
Visage isn’t exactly interested in letting your house feel like a home. Dolores helps with that every turn she gets, appearing in halls, rooms, or corners you thought you had already checked. Her very presence makes normal exploration unsafe.
Alicia Christin Gerald on Unsplash
18. Little Nightmares II: The Teacher’s Neck Stretch
Little Nightmares II mixes eerie charm with deeply unpleasant surprises, and the Teacher is probably its best example. When her neck stretches across the room to search for you, the whole thing makes you freeze before you remember to run. It’s not just the visual that gets you, either; it’s the realization that hiding under a desk isn’t enough.
RuinDig/Yuki Uchida on Wikimedia
19. The Last of Us: The Clicker Ambush
Museums are supposed to be fun! Too bad no one told The Last of Us, a brilliant, atmospheric gold mine that throws infected at you in tight spaces. You bet that a sudden Clicker attack can make stealth fall apart—and it does.
20. Resident Evil 7: The Jack Baker Wall Burst
Apparently, Resident Evil just wasn’t finished with the wall-breaking. Everyone, meet Jack Baker, the guy who just can’t wait to explode through the wall in a scare so loud and direct that we audibly screamed. The only thing worse is that he knows you’re running out of options, and he’ll use that against you.
