Moments in non-horror games that scared the shit out of you?

[BobblyDrink]

I remember this part in Fable II making me jump out my skin.

Spoiler: Video

Sure it's not the scariest thing possible, but it really freaked me out the first ever time it happened while playing through.

is your avatar from master reboot?

its an interestign indie game but I hate jumpscares so...bit of conflict there

OT: Bioshock Infinite Burial at sea isn't exactly a horror game but some elements were suposed to be unsettling

[spoiler/]the Labotomy scene...this wasn't just a cheap jump scare this was pure OH MY GOD NO NO NO NO THEY DID NOT level horror, I literlaly squirmed in my office chair, unable to watch[/spoiler]

that and whenever I see a Sectopod in XCOM...its not fear so much as a resigned sense of dread

Yeah it is.
Yeah agree with the dislike for jumpscares, but personally found Master Reboot a little too obvious for when something was about to jump out. More just a tense, mostly curious exploration, than a edge of seat jumpscare experience. But that's just my thoughts.

Does make for a nice avatar pic though.

 

[Ix Rebound]

I remember just recently at the end of the main Skyrim questline, I had just jumped through the portal to Sovangarde
I had recently used Storm Call on the dragons outside and it was still on a cooldown, so I couldn't remove the mist.

I could hear Alduins roars as he devoured the lost souls and then it suddenly stopped, a few seconds later as I was walking and could barely see 10 feet in front of meet, Alduin was suddenly in the middle of the path.
While you couldn't consider Alduin as physically scary in the light, the darkness of the mist made the little of his features stand out, especially his blood-red eyes.

I let out an audile fearful yell in real life when I saw, luckily for me, he didn't attack me on sight, he just took of back into the air with another roar. OK I thought, my heart won't explode just yet.
Except a few seconds later he came swooping down and scooped up my ghost friend who I had promised to lead through the mist.
Wounded pride and thundering heart aside, I made my way towards Shors Hall...

 

[Vault101]

Yeah it is.
Yeah agree with the dislike for jumpscares, but personally found Master Reboot a little too obvious for when something was about to jump out. More just a tense, mostly curious exploration, than a edge of seat jumpscare experience. But that's just my thoughts.

Does make for a nice avatar pic though.

SPOILER-ISH

there was one part in the school level where I think I came across some showers...I looked behind a shower wall and I think one of the creepy girls was slowly walking towards me...I got the fuck out of there

I also like the snowy playground where in some parts you can hear footsteps behined you...creepy (and the girl on the bench in the background..just watching you) I think jumpscares are cheap....its the stuff that gets under your skin thats really creepy

 

[LaoJim]

Those moments in Spleunky where you think you're doing well, you let your guard down for a second and one of those spiders drops from the roof.

In many racing games, but especially NfS Shift, when you get in the most powerful cars, I just jump out of my skin whenever I go that little bit too close to the curb and end up spinning off the track.

Geometry Wars, when I'm in the zone racking up the points and then suddenly blam something I haven't seen wipes me out. (Different from the Spleunky example because to play GW well you kind of have to space out and rely on pure reflexes, whereas with Spleunky your supposed to go slowly and mistakes are made when you get too cocky)

 

[BobblyDrink]

Yeah it is.
Yeah agree with the dislike for jumpscares, but personally found Master Reboot a little too obvious for when something was about to jump out. More just a tense, mostly curious exploration, than a edge of seat jumpscare experience. But that's just my thoughts.

Does make for a nice avatar pic though.

SPOILER-ISH

there was one part in the school level where I think I came across some showers...I looked behind a shower wall and I think one of the creepy girls was slowly walking towards me...I got the fuck out of there

I also like the snowy playground where in some parts you can hear footsteps behined you...creepy (and the girl on the bench in the background..just watching you) I think jumpscares are cheap....its the stuff that gets under your skin thats really creepy

Yeah most scary games can't seem to figure out that lingering creepy memories from a game, or subtle unsettling situations, are much more effective over all than instant loud noises that came from long silences, as something plays peek-a-boo behind a door and nothing else.

 

[fix-the-spade]

The ladder in FEAR.

The ladder in FEAR.

Panic jump to empty magazine, every single time, probably the ultimate jump scare in gaming.

While I'm at it, the crazy door in X18, in fact, all of X18, up until that point I'd had a pretty good handle on STALKER, kill bandits, occasional mutant monster, then everything started... moving.

 

[Sectan]

The Silent Boy in The Wardens Office on Bioshock Infinite,
I had to pause the game and take a quick 'time out' after that bit.

They play the same game in the original Bioshock when you're going through the doctor's offices. I turned around "BLAAH AAAAH" *WRENCH WRENCH WRENCH*

 

[ihavetwo]

The ladder in FEAR.

The ladder in FEAR.

Panic jump to empty magazine, every single time, probably the ultimate jump scare in gaming.

While I'm at it, the crazy door in X18, in fact, all of X18, up until that point I'd had a pretty good handle on STALKER, kill bandits, occasional mutant monster, then everything started... moving.

FEAR is kinda a horror game and we are talking about non horror games.

Dust: An Elysian Tail had a moment where you get chased by a invincible ghost that can halve your health in one hit and, when it appeared all hell broke loose.

 

[AbsoluteVirtue18]

"I can hear you breathing. No one in the cradle does that anymore..."

The Cradle in Thief 3 was scary enough, but that line...*shiver*

 

[Denamic]

Not sure if Dark Souls counts as a horror game or not, but the sludgemonsters that drop down from the ceiling scared the everliving shit out of me the first time I encountered them. Or when they encountered me from above.

 

[immortalfrieza]

I remember this part in Fable II making me jump out my skin.

Spoiler: Video

Sure it's not the scariest thing possible, but it really freaked me out the first ever time it happened while playing through.

That was a little creepy, but for Fable games that's not half as scary as whenever ol Chesty appears. Everything about the thing is just unnerving. Oh, and "THEY WATCH ME THEY WATCH ME THEY WATCH ME" is pretty creepy. Players of the games will know what those are.

 

[fix-the-spade]

FEAR is kinda a horror game and we are talking about non horror games.

Not really, it's an FPS starring a guy with super powers, there's very little actual 'horror' in it when you're doing a flying scissor kick into a clone trooper's face, although the super natural elements can veer into full on horror territory at time it's not a horror game.

 

[BobblyDrink]

I remember this part in Fable II making me jump out my skin.

Spoiler: Video

Sure it's not the scariest thing possible, but it really freaked me out the first ever time it happened while playing through.

That was a little creepy, but for Fable games that's not half as scary as whenever ol Chesty appears. Everything about the thing is just unnerving. Oh, and "THEY WATCH ME THEY WATCH ME THEY WATCH ME" is pretty creepy. Players of the games will know what those are.

Yeah that's true, Fable has quite a few kinda creepy aspects to it. Remember some mission in Fable II, where you get told those Hobbe creatures are actually children that other one's stole away at night or something.

 

[gargantual]

Psycho Mantis reading my damn save files for the first time in MGS. *shakes fist* Kojima!!!

When the AI started to first glitch out in MGS2, and started talking about 'selection for societal sanity'. I mean gimme a break. I was young, never took philosophy 101, so wasn't ready for that discussion. At least until Matrix Reloaded brought it up again.

 

[Aeshi]

Any big fish in the water in video games ever. With the exception of Darksiders, I can't stand feeling helpless in the water as a giant fish comes out of nowhere and attacks you... Okami...

When in Okami are you attacked by big fish? You mean the creatures in the haunted ship?

He could be referring to the Water Dragon at Ryoshima, it does chase you down & kill you if you swim too far out.

OT: My votes would be:

- Candlestick Keeps in Spiral Knights, thanks to the giant invincible ghosts that patrol it save for a few "safe" areas. Even the smaller ghosts you can kill are somewhat unnerving, with their cute :3 faces turning into gaping maws when they see you and their unusual deep-pitched death cries.

It's even worse when Black Kats are around, since they're even tougher, inflict the worse status in the game, summon hordes of zombies (who also inflict said status) seem to be burning up from the inside and have a death cry that sounds like an autotuned Cat being strangled to death.
.

- Any time in Warframe that the Stalker attacks. I haven't played Warframe in ages, but that screen flicker and demonic whispers of his never ceased to scare the bejeesus out of me, even when I became strong that he couldn't beat me in a fight. It's probably even worse now since I've heard they've added some similar enemies, one of whom is apparently a super-fast Robot Jaguar that takes you to a lab to be dissected if it beats you.
.

I'll also second the haunted mansions in Dust: An Elysian Tail
.

I'm so cold

YOU ARE NOT HELPING MY NERVES ANY, CAPTCHA!

 

[Euryalus]

The part in OoT where the gohma eggs drop from the ceiling in the Great Deku tree. I always tried to run through and get to the hole before they hatched. I just didn't like them and hated knowing they were behind me as I was running to escape.

I had no problem fighting them, it was just that running away bit that scared me. Not sure why.

And I was doing it to save time basically.

 

[Eve Charm]

Fragile Dreams - Farewell Ruins of the Moon, it's kinda horror but not suppose to be that wow that was creepy messed up horror that it can get at times. Your exploring kinda deserted places finding memories and junk to fight with, but you meet some creepy characters along the way.

 

[raeior]

The Silent Boy in The Wardens Office on Bioshock Infinite,
I had to pause the game and take a quick 'time out' after that bit.

They play the same game in the original Bioshock when you're going through the doctor's offices. I turned around "BLAAH AAAAH" *WRENCH WRENCH WRENCH*

Oh god I remember that one.
Also that scene in Burial at Sea Part 2 in the restaurant/bar area. The game basically announces "Hey we're gonna spook you now" but I still nearly jumped out of my chair -_-

While I'm thinking about it. The haunted hotel in Vampire Bloodlines. That was really unexpected.

 

[GamemasterAnthony]

One thing that creeped me out, and not in the sense of ghosts or anything else spooky, was in Sam & Max - Chariots of the Dogs. It was a scene where you went back in time and met Mama Bosco, Bosco's mom, as you try and figure out what happened to Bosco that made him half cow. Now...Max says something (can't remember what) and suddenly...

...Mama Bosco seems to be...interested in Max!

First thing I thought: OH DEAR CRAP!!! BOSCO'S GOING TO TURN INTO A BOSCO/MAX LOVE CHILD IN THE FUTURE!!!

Thankfully, that wasn't the case. But it still was a scary thought to be put into my internet weakened mind.

CAPTCHA: bonus points

No, Captcha. Just...no.

 

[Chester Rabbit]

Wandering/sneaking through this massive Falmer cave in Skyrim was a pretty nerve racking experience for a number for reasons.

One, I don?t like creepy statue like robots or anything old and malicious which features a creepy old man face and empty eye sockets. Seriously bearded old faces just creep me out..I don?t know why it might have something to do with the West Wing scene from Beauty and the Beast *shrugs*.

Two. Falmer are just creepy creatures in general and knowing their back story only adds to that.

Three, I was a stealth character so trying to play the whole way through trying your best to see your way through these dark caves on a dark outdated TV trying to remain unseen can make one pretty anxious.

Donkey Kong 3 water levels.

The opening of Tomb Raider Underworld. Deep sea diving no problem...showing me a layer of sharks before I even get near my goal well then we have a problem. Add that it?s dark, there is some unsettling underwater ambiance going on and the uncertainty of if those sharks are coming down to get a better look at Lara and you just have the perfect mix for HELL NO!

Mortal Kombat 2011 ? Fuck you screamer! Okay not just because of him wandering through the Blood Marsh combined with the atmospheric music can make one feel some discomfort.

Tenchu Stealth Assassins The Manji Cult. The premise of the level is enough to make one feel uneasy. Basically you are infiltrating a town that has been driven insane and fanatically loyal to this magical stone and from what I can tell might even have possible transformer a few into these...belly dancing insane Gollum things which will laugh hysterically if they see you and they breath fire...

Then add to that the music which is quite unsettling and foreboding which perfectly conveys the evil that this town fell victim to. Then there is the ambient sound effects of baby cries (which I am pretty sure is the stone itself..) and the off crow caws and that it takes place in the dead of night so there is nothing beyond the town but darkness.

Oh and ps Tenchu Wrath of Heaven?s Grave Yard level. Just look up the soundtrack and you?ll get the idea.