Creepiest bosses in non-horror video games

[Grach]

Not a Boss, but a Stalker... The Dahaka from Prince of Persia: Warrior Within.

Creepiness added due to the fact that you couldn't see him since he was behind you, but then whenever he got too close you could hear his evil gibberish.

Actually, you could fight him if you found enough secrets (it's the canon ending by the way, something I dislike).

Definitely this guy.

Spoiler

Just look at that creepy ************. Probably not so creepy now that I'm an adult, but imagine fighting this thing when you're six years old.

God, that thing is creepy NOW. What game is that, and why were you playing at six years old?

 

[BearShark]

I found Nihilanth form Half Life to be incredibly creepy, especially with the way he talks to the player. I find the "ALONE...NOT YOU...ALONE..." to be the creepiest.

 

[MASTACHIEFPWN]

It's not really a horror game, so I guess the Master from Fallout.

That guy was made of pure nightmare fuel.

 

[Orinon]

How the hell has Giygas from Earthbound not been mentioned yet???

That boss gave me the creeps well after I beat it, and I didn't go to sleep until I damn well saw the sun come up.

I'm not even going to post a pic or vid of that thing. *shudder*

Yeah he's not that bad, not if you haven't played the game, I'm also planing on making a top ten and he gets an honorable mention but he isn't really terrifying or makes me put down the game, It's concept and origin are solid but reall It's just a bad trip.

 

[white_wolf]

Kuon is creepy all around including the bosses, and MGS's psycho mantis would be another one.

 

[Broderick]

Not a Boss, but a Stalker... The Dahaka from Prince of Persia: Warrior Within.

Creepiness added due to the fact that you couldn't see him since he was behind you, but then whenever he got too close you could hear his evil gibberish.

Actually, you could fight him if you found enough secrets (it's the canon ending by the way, something I dislike).

Definitely this guy.

Spoiler

Just look at that creepy ************. Probably not so creepy now that I'm an adult, but imagine fighting this thing when you're six years old.

God, that thing is creepy NOW. What game is that, and why were you playing at six years old?

I do not wish to interrupt, but that is "Dead Hand" from The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time. It is a boss in The Bottom of the Well, as well as a mini boss in the Shadow Temple. Quite creepy, but I remember him fondly.

 

[darkcalling]

Not a Boss, but a Stalker... The Dahaka from Prince of Persia: Warrior Within.

Creepiness added due to the fact that you couldn't see him since he was behind you, but then whenever he got too close you could hear his evil gibberish.

I agree with you on that one. He wasn't speaking gibberish though. He was speaking BACKWARDS. If you use your rewind power right after he speaks you can understand him during the rewind. Brilliant touch that I didn't notice 'til my third playthrough.

 

[Specter Von Baren]

The Water Wraith from Pikmin 2.

That thing... Has a "funny" story with me. When I first saw it come down from the abyss, a fear welled up in me. It wasn't even the fact that you can tell what it's going to do with those rollers when it gets to your precious Pikmin, that was a thought in the back of my mind. No, something about that thing scared me, but that's not the scariest part. What IS the scariest part is that when I beat it and got back to the ship, the log about the creature described the exact same thing that happened to me. Holy crap.

Also, Lil' Ronnie and her Lancer, from Fate/Extra.

Spoiler

Ronnie is a psychopath in clown wear that constantly talks about wanting to eat you and how tasty you will be and her Lancer is an insane incarnation of Vlad the Impaler and one of his attacks involves him skewering himself on his own spear.

Captcha: Bread of life.

...........

 

[Reise]

Shadow Hearts series has a ton of horrifying bosses. Including one that's a ball of giant dead babies. Heck, some of the random encounters are as creepy as they come.

 

[Ishal]

Dark Souls man, this guy...

Utterly sad and tragic. Especially when you learn the backstory. This thing is a father carrying his wife and son on his back. They are bound to him because as a necromancer he wanted to bring them back, but instead the spell backfired and they became Pinwheel.

Then these guys from the same game. It isn't so much them, though they are creepy, but the abyss you fight them in. Just black... I'll readily admit I've had at least two Nightmares about these things.

It's the creepy stuff that gets me, not the on the nose scary in your face stuff. The things that make you uneasy, that make you think. Manus could be in here too, for his lore and his appearance.

 

[EyeReaper]

Well, I can think of one right now. Ladies and gentlemen, the Khezu.

Spoiler

And now ladies and gentlemen, here's the khezu eating a deer

Spoiler

 

[WhiteFangofWhoa]

This video came to mind...

Spoiler: Warning: Rated M

Part 1 has a bunch that that aren't quite as visceral if you care to look.

The SA-X from Metroid Fusion is one he didn't catch that I found panic-inducing during the first playthrough. There's a nice closeup of its blank, white, pitiless, inhuman killing machine eyes when it first arrives, and it's armed with the unstoppable arsenal from Super Metroid that I mastered long ago. Knowing that you are being hunted by a version of you that is several times more powerful is quite stressful when you can't find the way out, at least until you find the flaws in its AI...

In fact there are quite a few Metroid bosses that might qualify depending on what freaks you out. Giant bugs, crustaceans with human skulls mounted on their heads that are eaten by their own children when they die, giant armoured fish that you can actually see into the mouth of, hives full of carnivorous acidic hornets, you name it.

 

[Chemical Alia]

Poison headcrab zombie (don't care that it's not a boss) and GOW Beserker are both pretty freaking scary, but this thing made me throw the controller.

Ecco the Dolphin Vortex Queen!

Spoiler

I also have a huge phobia over deep, dark water, so that probably didn't help.

 

[The Great JT]

I know it's not a real boss, per se, but I feel this is creepy enough to warrant a mention.

Spoiler: Kinda big, so it's back here behind the safety screen.

This is the Dunwich Building. For those who don't know, this seemingly-abandoned building in Fallout 3's Capital Wasteland is home to Ghouls, Feral Ghouls, Glowing Ones and if you're particularly advanced, Feral Ghoul Reavers. On top of which, the entire building is a massive send-up to the H.P. Lovecraft story, "The Dunwich Horror." The place is creepy, decrepit, full of flashes to when the building was in working order (like in the Lovecraft story), the place crawls with unpleasant. So why would you want to come here? Well one, if you have the Point Lookout expansion, a quest sends you here. Second, there's this:

Spoiler: Another slightly big one, just a precaution.

There's a bobblehead in there that will increase your Melee Weapons skill by 10 points. Now judging by how you play the game, this can run the gamut from vital to useless, but if you're one of those 100% completionists that the achievement system has made everyone into, you're going to have to brave the haunted halls of the Dunwich Building.

 

[Signa]

Definitely this guy.

Spoiler

Just look at that creepy ************. Probably not so creepy now that I'm an adult, but imagine fighting this thing when you're six years old.

Nope, still creepy. I came here to post him too. I think he got more horrifying as I got older, because I saw him less as another boss to kill, and more as the scary-as-fuck abomination he was designed to be.

The last OoT playthrough I did, I did my best to see everything as they would be with modern graphics (this was before the 3DS remake). The great faerie suddenly became a lot more M rated too. I don't know how that game wasn't M actually, when you consider her and sexual themes. She's only wearing ivy as clothing.

 

[TheVampwizimp_v1legacy]

For a shooter, I remember some of the bosses from the Wheel of Time Game to be rather creepy. The Animated pile of corpses in the deserted city of Shadar Logoth, The Black Wind, and the mirror image you fight in the White Tower were all some rather creepy and tense moments.

Dude, awesome, I'm glad someone else remembers that game. The whole Shadar Logoth section was probably my favorite part, with Mashadar, the deadly mist, hunting you everywhere. The Black Wind in the Ways is also a cool part. Really, the best parts of that game were mostly the creepy ones. Actually, I just realized, the fact that there is basically no music in that game makes those sections even creepier, because you have no musical cue to warn you something scary is about to happen; it just happens.

I played that game like 12 years ago, long before I even read the books. It's not even a very faithful or effective adaptation of the story, but it's somehow a really good game anyway. I'd play it again if I could find it somewhere.

 

[Oroboros]

For a shooter, I remember some of the bosses from the Wheel of Time Game to be rather creepy. The Animated pile of corpses in the deserted city of Shadar Logoth, The Black Wind, and the mirror image you fight in the White Tower were all some rather creepy and tense moments.

Dude, awesome, I'm glad someone else remembers that game. The whole Shadar Logoth section was probably my favorite part, with Mashadar, the deadly mist, hunting you everywhere. The Black Wind in the Ways is also a cool part. Really, the best parts of that game were mostly the creepy ones. Actually, I just realized, the fact that there is basically no music in that game makes those sections even creepier, because you have no musical cue to warn you something scary is about to happen; it just happens.

I played that game like 12 years ago, long before I even read the books. It's not even a very faithful or effective adaptation of the story, but it's somehow a really good game anyway. I'd play it again if I could find it somewhere.

Alas, I don't think Steam, GoG etc sell the game, so the only real way to get it nowadays is to somehow find a physical copy- a real shame because more people deserve to play it.

I agree the game was very atmospheric, particularly Shadar Logath and the Ways, although even some of the simple Trolloc encounters could be tense. Scariest part for me was definitely the Ways-having read the books, hearing a distant breeze while traveling the Ways instantly got me to the edge of my seat as I frantically searched for the exit.

I always justified the inconsistencies with the book plots as being a quirk of a different cycle in the titular wheel of time, each cycle is supposed to be different in some way or another, which is a convenient way of explaining away any inconsistancies.

 

[Blunderboy]

While you technically never fight him, there can be no doubting this guy is both creepy and THE Boss.

Spoiler

 

[Evonisia]

Gears of War 1's Berserker is pretty creepy, especially the first time I saw her and didn't have a clue how to deal with her. She's at her most creepiest when you can't call orbital lasers to kill her.

The deconstructor from Ulduar in WoW

Maybe its the concept of a machine child that promises not to "break" new toys that gets to me.

"NO NO NO NO NO!!!!" "I think I broke it". Oh Ulduar.