- 4 months ago
Last of Us horror hits different.
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00:00If you've ever played a horror game, you'll no doubt be familiar with that sinking feeling of
00:04dread when confronted with a shadowy new area to explore. You've no idea what lies in wait,
00:09but you simply have no choice but to push on if you want to see it through to the end.
00:13And more often than not, the survival horror genre makes thorough exploration a key component
00:18in its gameplay. So not only will you need to venture into the scary unknown, you're going
00:23to have to search every nook and cranny to find precious resources. That or you'll find something
00:28whose favorite food just so happens to be your face. I'm Jess from WhatCulture and here are the
00:3210 most terrifying horror game locations. Number 10. The Attic. Remothered. Tormented Fathers.
00:39A throwback to the likes of Clock Tower and Haunting Ground, the Remothered series has been quietly
00:44flying the flag for old school survival horror for the past couple of years. And for those that love
00:49the run and hide type of horror games, they're an absolute treat. After being constantly chased up
00:54and downstairs by a psychotic moth-controlling nun and a naked old man, yes, you did hear that
00:59correctly, you're urged to go up into the mansion's attic, which definitely sounds like a good idea.
01:05There's only one entrance and you're going to know if you're followed, which does go some ways to
01:10making you feel safe. Well, sadly for you, Tormented Fathers loves to pull the rug out from underneath you,
01:16and upon entering the attic, you're confronted with a small army of creepy mannequins.
01:21You've got no choice but to wade through them in search for your next key item. And the palpable
01:26tension that this relatively small area conjures up is truly frightening. All of which is perfectly
01:32punctuated by a highly telegraphed but ultimately very well-earned jump scare that immediately throws
01:38you straight back into the white knuckle chases the rest of the game's made up of.
01:42Number 9. Titan Elementary School. Dead Space 2. There's certainly no shortage of truly terrifying
01:48areas to be found in the Dead Space series, or at least in the first two entries. But if you had
01:53to single out the one that freaked out players the most, it'd definitely have to be Titan Elementary
01:58School. Given that these games are a constant barrage of white knuckle enemy encounters and truly
02:03nauseating body horror, players could already feel the hairs on the back of their neck stand to
02:08attention upon coming across the seemingly wholesome-looking school. Its brightly lit front door
02:14and child-friendly aesthetic are in stark contrast to everything else around it, making it feel that
02:19little bit more threatening. Upon stepping inside, everything seems completely innocuous. That is,
02:24until you see a lady in an adjacent room beckoning over a deformed worm-like baby that proceeds to
02:31explode, filling the entire room with viscera. Things don't get much better from here as you're
02:35quickly besieged by plenty of the nasty little buggers who can cause you a great deal of damage if they
02:41explode when next to you. They go down with a single shot most of the time, but keeping them at bay will
02:46keep you constantly on edge. 8. The Vocational Block
02:50Outlast Whistleblower
02:51Exploring a supposedly abandoned mental hospital isn't really something that any sane person would
02:56think to do, but the protagonists of both Outlast and its subsequent prequel DLC Whistleblower seem to
03:02think it's a good idea, and you, as a result, are going along with them for the ride. Naturally,
03:07the hospital is not abandoned, and the inmates have very much taken over, brutalizing anyone who
03:12dares enter with numerous creative and nauseating methods, which further hammers home the idea that
03:17you simply shouldn't be there. During your time with Whistleblower, you'll end up in the Vocational
03:22Block, a learning space that has lost all notion of rehabilitation and instead is the stalking grounds
03:27for The Groom, one of the series' most deranged and downright dangerous foes, and one that has every
03:33intention of you being his new bride, in both the literal and physical sense. The Groom's lurking
03:39presence makes this area bad enough on its own, but the open-plan classroom areas and narrow windows
03:44for escape make this an especially hectic and stressful area to be pursued through, and you'll
03:49have very little time to take in your surroundings as the Groom will be on your trail in a moment's
03:54notice. 7. The Rat King's Lair
03:57The Last of Us Part 2
03:58Often when The Last of Us is put under the critical eye, the praise is always lavished
04:02on its writing, character development, and well-constructed gameplay, all of which are
04:07completely valid things to praise, but the game's horror elements aren't usually given the same
04:12amount of adoration. This is particularly surprising when you consider that both games in the series
04:17feature several scary moments and set pieces that really crank up the intensity. Case in point,
04:22The Lair of the Rat King in The Last of Us Part 2 The level starts off like any other Last of Us
04:27mission, with players sneaking into an incredibly dark area full of the infected in the hopes of
04:32retrieving some much-needed medical supplies. Upon finding what you are looking for, The Rat King
04:37makes itself known, cornering you with an ambulance. After kicking out the door, a multi-stage battle with
04:43the deformed monstrosity begins, which sees you having to run through plenty of narrow corridors,
04:48avoid obstacles, and mash the buttons on your controller into mush to get through some rather
04:53hairy quick-time events. It may not be particularly long, but it's undoubtedly the series' finest horror
04:59moment. Number 6. Spencer Mansion Resident Evil Remake
05:03Whilst the original game Spencer Mansion was the thoroughly creepy collection of corridors and
05:08carnage, the GameCube remake's revamped version is a literal smorgasbord of unending horrors and
05:14genuine fright that can still get the best of players on repeat playthroughs. Essentially taking
05:20the bones of the original game's mansion and grafting on a few unholy appendages, this new iteration
05:25has plenty of new rooms, areas, and nasty surprises that will not only put new players through the ringer,
05:31but also throw nasty curveballs at returning fans. If the moody gothic atmosphere and nonsensical design
05:37weren't enough to keep you on your toes, the plethora of zombies, mutants, and other such nasties that
05:42roam its holes will be enough to make you fudge your undies. The added inclusion of crimson heads
05:47only serves to make the locale even more dangerous, as the roads most traveled can still harbor
05:52unforeseen dangers and surprise attacks. And whilst navigating the luscious mansion is a tension-filled
05:58rollercoaster, there are a few other horror game locations that are as fun and rewarding to unravel.
06:03Finding new shortcuts and workarounds for previously inaccessible areas is every bit as satisfying
06:09as it is life-saving. Number 5. Abbott State Penitentiary – The Suffering
06:14Prisons aren't exactly the most welcoming environments at the best of times, so having
06:18to make your way through one that's been overrun with demonic entities was never going to be an
06:22ideal scenario to find yourself in. But for death row inmate talk, that's the very situation he's in.
06:28Not only is Abbott State Penitentiary a drab, dreary, and overly depressing place generally,
06:33but once all hell breaks loose, it becomes a whole lot more oppressive and hostile. With numerous
06:38bloodthirsty enemies ready to burst from the cells, as well as the ghosts of Torque's victims haunting
06:44him, it's safe to say that this is an environment that is not conducive to anyone's rehabilitation.
06:49Each wing of the prison is also home to its own unique creatures, all of whom are based upon the
06:54various methods of execution that death row inmates are subjected to. Perhaps the most disturbing of all
06:59is the mainliners, creatures whose spines and eye holes are adorned with lethal injections,
07:05and they love nothing more than leaping on Torque so they can stab them in the eyes with their sharp
07:09facial appendages. Probably best to stay on the right side of the law.
07:13Number 4. The Town Itself – Silent Hill Series
07:16No matter if you're playing the groundbreaking first run of Silent Hill Games or the less refined later
07:21entries, the one constant amongst all of the horrifying weirdness is that you're gonna have to trek
07:26through the foggy streets of this once serene vacation town. And every single time without fail,
07:31it'll have you on the edge of your seat. Originally brought about by technical limitations,
07:36the overbearing fog that obscures the city streets ended up being a defining asset of the game's
07:40overall design, and helped to amplify the already palpable sense of dread that the game was conveying.
07:46The actual streets themselves may be rather large and barren, but the implication of what may be
07:51hiding in the fog, coupled with unnerving soundscapes that hint at unseen dangers,
07:56makes any excursion between major areas an unbearably tense experience. Should you have the guts to go
08:02exploring, however, you'll find a bounty of health and ammo pickups that'll be beneficial in the long
08:07run, as well as several smaller set pieces and details that help add further weight and context to
08:12each game's narrative. It's a classic locale for all the right reasons, and one we hope to revisit again
08:18sometime soon. Number 3. Abandoned Shopping Mall. Condemned Criminal Origins. Dolls and mannequins may
08:24seem like shorthand for lazy scares these days, but when implemented correctly, they can produce some
08:29of the most terrifying set pieces the medium has ever seen. Case in point, Condemned Criminal Origins.
08:35Infamous Abandoned Shopping Mall. Of all the decaying urban environments you'll have to explore during
08:40your time playing as SCU investigator Ethan Thomas, the shopping mall is definitely the one that'll linger in
08:46your nightmares for the longest time. Upon entering the disused shopping plaza, we immediately catch
08:51sight of mannequins in the distance. Creepy enough on its own, but then we see some walking around in
08:57an inaccessible area. From that point on, the gloves are off, and any mannequins that are strewn around
09:02the area are a potential enemy that's ready to pounce on you at a moment's notice. You'd think that
09:07surviving that onslaught would be the end of the nightmare, but oh boy, you'd be very wrong.
09:12We'll avoid specifics as you should absolutely experience this one for yourself first hand,
09:16but the level's final set piece is undoubtedly one of the most terrifying and memorable horror
09:21set pieces that the medium's ever seen. Dread carefully and be suspicious of every mannequin.
09:27Number 2. House Beneviento. Resident Evil Village.
09:30You no doubt saw this one coming. Despite Resident Evil Village not being an out-and-out
09:35scarefest, House Beneviento is a clear attempt by Capcom to prove to the naysayers that not only were
09:40they capable of upping the terror in their flagship horror series, but they were able to stand toe-to-toe
09:45with any other horror game out there. Tapping into the current horror game zeitgeist and stripping
09:50away any semblance of combat, House Beneviento is a nerve-shredding excursion that starts with you
09:55taking apart a mannequin, lots of mannequins, to uncover key items, and it ends with you barely
10:01escaping a giant, gelatinous, malformed baby that wants nothing more than to swallow you whole.
10:06It's an expertly placed and well-constructed sequence, one that starts with the player exploring an eerily
10:12quiet house which gives way to a doll maker's workshop, and that's soon plunged into darkness.
10:17From there the intensity and sense of paranoia builds to unbearable levels, as the world around
10:23you becomes increasingly more hostile. It was a smart decision by Capcom to focus the game's
10:27marketing on both the werewolf enemies and the woefully underutilized Lady Dimitrescu,
10:32because this particularly harrowing surprise is one of the reasons that players will never forget
10:37their first time playing village. Number 1. SCP Foundation Secure Facilities
10:42SCP Containment Breach Born from the darkest recesses of the internet,
10:46the infamous SCP Foundation's facilities are the perfect distillation of pure, unbridled terror
10:53within the video game medium. For those unaware, the SCP Foundation makes it their mission to capture,
10:58imprison, and research numerous supernatural entities, housing them all within its bleak and
11:03oppressive facilities that are full of precarious corners, cleverly designed blind spots, and tight
11:08claustrophobic corridors, all of which are not particularly helpful if one of those beings should
11:12escape its confines. And as luck would have it, that's the exact scenario you'll find yourself in
11:17should you be brave enough to tackle the SCP games. It doesn't matter which of the monsters you're up
11:22against, because no matter the threat, the facility itself will always, always be against you with its
11:27labyrinthine design, which is made all the worse by its layout being randomly generated in each
11:32playthrough. Exploration of your surroundings will yield useful findings, such as items that will
11:37aid in survival, but your running shoes are likely going to be your sole saviour in this never-ending
11:43stretch of corridors. You'll never truly be ready for the horrors of the SCP facility, and that's why
11:48it's so damn terrifying. That's the end of our list, but let me know down in that comment section
11:52what your pick is for the most terrifying horror game location. As always, I've been Jess from WhatCulture,
11:58thank you so much for hanging out with me. If you like, you can come say hello to me on my
12:02Twitter account where I'm at JessMcDonald, but make sure you stay tuned to us here for plenty more
12:06gaming goodness. Thanks!
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