00:00Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we're counting down our picks for the most unnerving levels
00:15in gaming that had us reaching for the pause button repeatedly.
00:3010. The Morgue – Arkham Asylum
00:39Playing as the Dark Knight in Rocksteady's seminal first entry of the Arkham Trilogy didn't
00:43inspire fear. We were fear. We struck terror into the hearts of criminals and lunatics
00:48everywhere in our pursuit of the Joker. At least until Scarecrow showed up to play.
00:53Exposed to his signature hallucinogen, Batman is transported to a mental hellscape, forced
00:57to face the deaths of his parents, again, before having to sneak past a kaiju-sized Scarecrow.
01:03The way in which the game handled the shift from reality to a mind-altering prison based
01:07on moral terror was so seamless it had us questioning our own sanity.
01:119. I Need Some Transportation – Dead Space 2
01:26Isaac Clarke's fight for survival on the Ishimura was an incredible example of sci-fi horror
01:30from start to finish. But if we had to pick a singular area from the franchise that terrified
01:35us to our cores, it would be Isaac's jaunt through a necromorph-infested elementary school.
01:40Having to face the remnants of the children, who have since been mutated into abominations,
01:44is bad enough. But when they start spilling out of the woodwork in mass droves to try and
01:48rip us apart, it's hard to imagine anything worse.
01:518. The Ladies' Quarters – Little Nightmares
02:03You'd think after zigzagging between bloated, disfigured cannibals, Six's misadventure aboard
02:15this cruise ship from hell couldn't get any more eerie. Oh, how wrong we were! The mysterious lady,
02:21seemingly the ruler of the overseas vessel, is a whole other kind of terrifying. While her magic can
02:26be defeated by using a mirror, the raw dread of waiting for her to emerge from the shadows,
02:30from any conceivable direction, had our hands sweating all throughout her boss encounter.
02:35You know you've nailed the tone when players would rather head back to the dining room full
02:39of obese flesh eaters than spend another second waiting for another jump scare.
02:437. The Quarantine – Alien Isolation
02:47Medical's nearby, but I didn't want to leave her.
02:49I'll go and investigate, see what I can find. You stay with her.
02:52We all knew it was only a matter of time before we came face to face with the xenomorph
02:56haunting the now derelict space station, and the initial reveal did not disappoint.
03:01After an immense buildup, Amanda Ripley is left well and truly alone as her newly found ally Axel
03:06is swiftly torn to pieces, leaving her no choice but to flee deeper into the station as the titular
03:12alien begins its hunt. There are few experiences in modern gaming that will bring you closer to
03:16cardiac arrest than having an uber smart extraterrestrial stalking you constantly with minimal
03:22places to hide.
03:286. Camp Belka – Wolfenstein – The New Order
03:39This is a whole different shade of disturbing. There are no monsters or magic to fear, only the
03:44knowledge that you're infiltrating a death camp while on a mission to disrupt the plans of Death's
03:49Head and his Nazi war machine. Wandering through the grounds, witnessing the torture of political
03:53prisoners, trying to sneak past the Third Reich's resident bloodthirsty cheer squad, it all makes
03:58for an uncomfortable, oppressing sensation whose parallels to historical events, minus the giant
04:03robots of course, add another grotesque layer to the level, just as intended.
04:085. The Reaper IFF – Mass Effect 2
04:22Exploring the corpse of a world-ending machine is creepy enough, but things get taken to another
04:26level when Commander Shepard and his crew discover that even when deceased, a Reaper is still something
04:31to be feared. Not only do you have to face swarms of reanimated husks, but you'll also come across the
04:36bloody remains of the Cerberus operatives who came before. Turns out that even a derelict Reaper can
04:41twist the psyches of organic life via indoctrination. Insanity, death, and techno-undead around every
04:47corner. This mission is a living nightmare even for a Spectre.
04:50For now, we've stored it in ED's AI core. We need better equipment to fight the Reapers.
04:55An intact geth would be invaluable to Cerberus' cyberweapons division.
04:594. Mr. Gluskin – Outlast – Whistleblower
05:03After everything Mount Mass of Asylum has thrown our way, from murderous doctors,
05:16to a cyber ghost, to Chris Freakin' Walker, you'd think they'd have run out of ways to evoke screams
05:21from us. And that's when we met Mr. Gluskin. Even among the deranged inmates, this bachelor is truly
05:26unnerving. He actively hunts and captures anyone who falls into his corner of the asylum, before
05:31castrating them with a buzzsaw so he can make them his bride and start a family.
05:35It's as twisted as it sounds, made all the worse by the first-person perspective. Talk about a close shave.
05:453. Nightmares – Max Payne
05:54Not everything can be solved by bullet time, and that includes horrendous sequences where
05:58everyone's favorite grizzled ex-cop must navigate a pitch-black maze in order to awaken back to
06:03reality. The only guide? A trail of blood. All the while, screams of his murdered wife and child
06:08constantly echo in our ears. It's the furthest thing from pleasant. Combine the traumatic fever
06:14dream with tricky traversal, and you have an interim that will leave you as shaken as Max when he finally
06:18snaps out of it. 2. We Don't Go to Ravenholm – Half-Life 2
06:32The days of my life have vanished like smoke. And my bones are much like ash. And let all my
06:38impurities be as fuel for that fire until nothing remains.
06:43Mr. Freeman really should have heeded the warnings, because Ravenholm is the last place you want to
06:48visit, even with an alien invasion occurring right outside. Why? Because this not-so-tranquil little
06:54mining town is filled to the brim with more headcrabs and zombies than you can throw a crowbar at.
06:59The ingenious use of traps and expert influence of refined horror elements has made Ravenholm one
07:04of the most iconic levels in gaming. And even decades on, never fails to make us jump out of
07:09our skin when one of those headcrabs gets too close for comfort. Before we continue, be sure to subscribe
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07:24settings and switch on notifications. Number 1. House Beneviento
07:31Resident Evil Village. We didn't even know it was possible for a video game to scare us this deeply
07:36until we stepped foot into the accursed household of the Beneviento family. The silent corridors and
07:41doll-related puzzles were creepy enough, but none held a candle to the absolute horror waiting for us
07:46at the end. Coming face to face with a giant, monstrous fetus, all you can do is run, hide, and run some
07:52more in the hope of making it out alive as this deformed, screaming baby stalks you. We still
07:57haven't recovered from this. Which level in gaming left you traumatized? Let us know in the comments.
08:22We'll see you next time.
08:27Bye.
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