Creepiest Moments You've Had... in Non-Horror Games

[Lewg999]

Not intentionally creepy since its a glitch rather than a gameplay element but Skyrim produced one genuinely creepy moment for me. At a character's funeral where the entire town came out to watch I got as far as burning the body before , as the body turned to ash , The entire populace just froze. Staring , dead eyed , at a burning corpse. They didn't even blink. I couldn't progress or attempt to continue without resetting the console so for 5 minutes I was left with a crowd of static zombies , some of them carrying torches , staring intently at a burning corpse.

It was unnatural to the level of unsettling me.

 

[Mikejames]

I don't care what anyone else says, when I saw this thing...

Spoiler: Mass Effect 2 ending

Honestly, I think seeing one of the colonists liquify was probably the most disturbing scene in the ME series for me.

I'm playing Dreamfall again now and I have to say I find some of the character's really creepy, mostly the way that ONLY their mouth moves when they talk. There are some exceptions and I know it's down to technical limitations at the time but... damn.

Also, totally excited about Dreamfall Chapters. That's a project I was happy to help fund.

I'd probably defend the visuals as a whole, but I do recall some stiff character animations. Ah well.

Seconded on Chapters, it has been too long. Now I shall pine for possibly unattainable stretch goals.

 

[bemusement]

twilight princess http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VcJJLZnhSlY < that scene, so out of place.

 

[Zagzag]

I was going to post something about Shadow of Chernobyl that wasn't actually meant to happen, then I realised it actually is classified as survival horror.

The S.T.A.L.K.E.R series is one of my favourites, but I really struggle to classify it as "horror" or even "survival horror". I certainly play it more like a horror game, and it creeps the shit out of me sometimes, but the game doesn't really have any particular horror elements to back that up. I have no problem calling it "survival", and have had several heated conversations about this in real life, but it doesn't really feel like it's trying to scare you.

 

[twaddle]

The first time you look in the tank to see Jenova and later on after you escape the cells and head to the top floor and the all the halls are covered in blood. Oh and when you look inside the back room tanks in the flash backs to nibeliheim. Creeps me the fuck out

 

[Tryforlive]

pretty much all of majoras mask freaked me out as a kid. But the most recent would be fallout 3 which i played with low brightness in my basement with headphones, screw that scared me half to death

 

[Saviordd1]

All of the fucking Dragonborn DLC.

Lovecraft would almost be proud of Bethesda on that one.

 

[Smeggs]

Hephaestus in Bioshock gave me the creeps. Sure, the other parts were plenty creepy, but Hephaestus was just foreboding as hell. It was that single level that really made me feel like the entire weight of the ocean and all of the hostility in Rapture was focused solely on me.

Not sure if Ravenholm in HL2 counts, since that level was specifically designed as a horror level.

And then, there are most underground levels in gritty shooters. Turok, for example. I fucking hate giant bugs, and I hate enclosed spaces, as I can't see around corners, nor can I see if there are any enemies lurking around said corners, and there is less space to flee. So, giant bugs underground is awful. This was also the case in HL2: E2, and in that one you're being chased by Antlion Guards the whole time, so god help you if you don't spot the tiny crawl space you're meant to run to in time.

 

[Chester Rabbit]

My Most Unsettling, Creepy to downright horrifying moments in non horror themed games

Mass Effect 2 Project overlord : The score and those god damn cameras *shudders* oh and let?s not forget the VI screaming.

Also let me just throw in there the Lilith Collector Pod scene as well. I honestly cannot watch that scene to this day *sigh*

Mass Effect ? The Thorian Creepers. Just the sound those things make and how they run at you...

Skyrim ? Anything involving the Falmer...creepy little bastards.

Fallout New Vegas: Jason Bright and the Great Journey mission. I?m new to fallout but yeah this place hell, this game carries a pretty heavy atmosphere; but what really makes this stand out for me was a bunch of elements coming together that created one hell of a tense experience. Sneaking past all those Ferial Ghouls (which are just creepy on their own)along with the Nightkin patrolling the basement with that cloaking on as I tried my best to be as quiet as a freaking speck of dust along with the basic environment...yeah it makes for one creepy frightening experience.

Oh and of course my first encounter with a mother flipping Death Claw. I was warned about them but figured hey I can run past whatever the hell a Death Claw is I?m sure. Then I see a giant scorpion think ah so that?s a Death Claw eh no prob. Shot it out of the way and went on my way down past the rail way tracks and into this kind of crater half way to the other end I hear this...breathing behind me...and it?s getting louder I stop wondering if it?s my character...no it?s still getting louder.. I turn around OOOOH FUUUUUUUDHGDJHGKJH!!!

Tenchu Stealth Assassins: The Manji Cult level. A level which you are dealing with a deranged cult and mad zombies who used to be the denizens of the village which the psychotic cult has taken up residents in. Meanwhile this magical stone that has been the cause of all of this is actually crying like an infant as you run or sneak about this level. Top all that off with some pretty heavy atmospheric music and yeah you have a pretty unsettling stage in a stealth ninja game.

Oh and Mortal Kombat 2011 Krypt. They did an excellent job with the ambiance and sound effects that accompanied this little feature in the game. Each area was pretty interesting, but the area where all of this comes together to create a rather unsettling atmosphere is The Blood Marsh. An area where bloated bodies float upon the surface of crimson water...I think it?s water. I think what makes it even more disturbing is when it turns out the bodies aren?t actually dead.

Aaaand Donkey Kong 3 Water World ? Yep those levels have actually damaged me. The one level where you have to keep feeding Chomps (I think that was his name) or else he?ll get angry and eat you. That along with the music that accompanied those levels(shudders)...stuck with me for yeeears and were the reasons I would not dare swim alone....fuck you imagination.
Here have a taste

 

[Charli]

I think Majora's Mask was the first game to pull that shit on me.
I still get terrified by the 'Final Hours' music.

It's so eerie and... *shudder*

Something about that game was so unsettling, the only Zelda game to really blend fantasy with a little undertone of drama-horror. It was very subtle and you had to really look at it objectively. (I've always been a look-at-the-big-picture person even as a kid)

But yeah... it was there.


No BenDrowned doesn't scare me, before anyone says anything, I think the game is eerie all on it's own.

 

[Tomeran]

DayZ.(and no, not a horror game. although its a game about zombies, -very- few would honestly rate it as a horror game.)

There's the rare group of hackers on the public servers that dress out as serial killers and play the -creepiest- music while they stalk and ambush you.

I had a guy with a freaky bloody clown skin and a hatchet stalk me on MULTIPLE SERVERS while he played music in which some little girl was singing. While there was rain and frikking lightning.

Almost drove me frikking insane, and probably among the scariest non-horror game moments I've had.

"OH GOD WHY GET THE HELL AWAY FROM ME OH GOD SOMEBODY HELP!"

 

[Brainwreck]

I was going to post something about Shadow of Chernobyl that wasn't actually meant to happen, then I realised it actually is classified as survival horror.

The S.T.A.L.K.E.R series is one of my favourites, but I really struggle to classify it as "horror" or even "survival horror". I certainly play it more like a horror game, and it creeps the shit out of me sometimes, but the game doesn't really have any particular horror elements to back that up. I have no problem calling it "survival", and have had several heated conversations about this in real life, but it doesn't really feel like it's trying to scare you.

STALKER isn't trying to scare you, you're right. It does not try using scare chords and monsters popping out of vents for a cheap jump scare. Any jump scares the game might throw at you are unscripted, the simple consequence of monster AI being programmed the way it is. The horror comes from a setting so drenched in dread, you can literally see it seep off the walls.

Also, this.

 

[Susurrus]

Unreal.

Towards the end, you are progressing through an alien spaceship. At one point, you enter the detention area. There are huge numbers of very tough Skaarj units (and some pupae) locked behind force cages. They cannot get out and completely ignore you.

Eventually, you progress to a boss battle. It takes place at the power core, and in the process of killing him, you also knock out all the power to the ship.

So now the forcefields are down. And the lights are out. You open the door, and you are back in the detention centre.

 

[Tomster595]

Can't think of any really specific moments, but this reminds me of when I first started playing Minecraft and didn't know about all the dungeons and creatures yet. Getting lost underground and finding Mines for the first time filled with spiders was kinda creepy.

 

[ThatRandomGuy42]

Halo 4 had a really creepy moment when the Composer was fired. It essentially disintegrates people into data, and we get treated to a close up of it happening. Brrr...
Also, Eddie the deranged serial killer from Grand Theft Auto IV was really fucking creepy

 

[Scarim Coral]

That Dalton gate thing (that guy who had some how fuse with that gate) from the game Infinite Space creep me out for some reason, I guess it was his face as it he did look creepy.

 

[Nekron_X]

One part from Neir. While the aeire itself has been slightly creepy and the song for it doesn't help(especially since the song name is Cold Steel Coffin), i was never really creeped out by anything else in the game but that part, just one little line said by a guard because of how his voice changes was just out of place and...odd.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&list=PLAE46A0E4355D33CC&v=8T0E872jieM#t=375s

should start around 6:10-6:15....couldn't find just a short clip of what i was talking about so....while there were other more disturbing moments in Neir, they were things you could expect somewhat, and this one just kinda came out of....nowhere.

 

[AnthrSolidSnake]

Hmm...well just recently I've been playing FF7 again, and I'd say the first time I heard the "planets cries" sound effect. It was always so eerie to me. That and seeing Cloud in the wheelchair. Not really frightening, but rather unsettling.

 

[Zagzag]

Snip

The thing is you're right. I find STALKER to be pretty scary as games go, and I really hate the scripted jump scenes in most "horror" games these days, but for some reason I just can't consider the series "horror". I know I'm probably wrong, and I don't really begrudge other people the right, but the fact is that the game isn't really doing anything particularly psychological other than making you tense about being jumped on or murdered by random gribblies. The fact that nothing happening is actually scarier than something happening is usually the mark of a good horror game, and STALKER does manage this to be fair.

 

[MrBrightside919]

I'll agree with anyone who says Majora's Mask...before the whole Ben Drowned thing started...

Spoiler

That game is just plain spooky for the entire game, from when you get the main masks for the first time to the fact that the creep ass moon is ALWAYS WATCHING YOU...

It's just depressing and scary overall. Hell, even the game's logo is creepy...