- 2 days ago
Last of Us horror hits different.
Category
🎥
Short filmTranscript
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. 10. The Attic – Re-Mothered Tormented Fathers
00:39A throwback to the likes of Clock Tower and Haunting Ground, the Re-Mothered series has been quietly
00:44flying the flag for old-school survival horror for the past couple years. And for those that love
00:49the run-and-hide type of horror games, they're an absolute treat. After being constantly chased
00:54up and downstairs by a psychotic, moth-controlling nun and a naked old man – yes, you did hear
00:59that correctly – you're urged to go up into the mansion's attic, which definitely sounds
01:04like a good idea. There's only one entrance and you're going to know if you're followed,
01:09which does go some ways to making you feel safe. Well, sadly for you, Tormented Fathers loves to pull
01:14the rug out from underneath you, and upon entering the attic, you're confronted with a small army of
01:20creepy mannequins. You've got no choice but to wade through them in search for your next key item,
01:25and the palpable tension that this relatively small area conjures up is truly frightening,
01:31all of which is perfectly punctuated by a highly telegraphed but ultimately very well-earned jump
01:36scare that immediately throws you straight back into the white-knuckle chases the rest of the game's
01:41made up of. 9. Titan Elementary School – Dead Space 2
01:45There's certainly no shortage of truly terrifying areas to be found in the Dead Space series,
01:50or at least in the first two entries, but if you had to single out the one that freaked out
01:55players the most, it'd definitely have to be Titan Elementary School. Given that these games are a
02:00constant barrage of white-knuckle enemy encounters and truly nauseating body horror, players could
02:05already feel the hairs on the back of their neck stand to attention upon coming across the seemingly
02:10wholesome-looking school. Its brightly lit front door and child-friendly aesthetic are in stark
02:16contrast to everything else around it, making it feel that little bit more threatening. Upon stepping
02:21inside, everything seems completely innocuous. That is, until you see a lady in an adjacent room
02:27beckoning over a deformed worm-like baby that proceeds to explode, filling the entire room with
02:33viscera. Things don't get much better from here as you're quickly besieged by plenty of the nasty
02:38little buggers, who can cause you a great deal of damage if they explode when next to you.
02:42They go down with a single shot most of the time, but keeping them at bay will keep you constantly
02:47on edge. Number 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.
03:06Naturally, the hospital is not abandoned, and the inmates have very much taken over,
03:11brutalizing anyone who dares enter with numerous creative and nauseating methods,
03:15which further hammers home the idea that you simply shouldn't be there.
03:19During your time with Whistleblower, you'll end up in the Vocational Block,
03:22a 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,
03:32and one that has every intention of you being his new bride, in both the literal and physical sense.
03:38The Groom's lurking presence makes this area bad enough on its own, but the open-plan classroom
03:43areas and narrow windows for escape make this an especially hectic and stressful area to be
03:48pursued through. And you'll have very little time to take in your surroundings, as The Groom will be
03:52on your trail in a moment's notice.
03:54Number 7. The Rat King's Lair The Last of Us Part 2
03:58Often when The Last of Us is put under the critical eye, the praise is always lavished on
04:03its 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.
04:21Case in point, the Lair of the Rat King in The Last of Us Part 2
04:25The level starts off like any other Last of Us mission, with players sneaking into an incredibly
04:29dark area full of the infected, in the hopes of retrieving some much-needed medical supplies.
04:35Upon finding what you are looking for, The Rat King makes itself known, cornering you with an
04:40ambulance. After kicking out the door, a multi-stage battle with the deformed monstrosity begins,
04:45which sees you having to run through plenty of narrow corridors, avoid obstacles,
04:49and mash the buttons on your controller into mush to get through some rather hairy quick-time events.
04:54It may not be particularly long, but it's undoubtedly the series' finest horror moment.
05:00Number 6. Spencer Mansion Resident Evil Remake
05:03In a really creepy collection of corridors and carnage, the GameCube remake's revamped version is a
05:11literal smorgasbord of unending horrors and genuine frights that can still get the best of players on repeat
05:18playthroughs. Essentially taking the bones of the original game's mansion and grafting on a few
05:23unholy appendages, this new iteration has plenty of new rooms, areas, and nasty surprises that will
05:29not only put new players through the ringer, but also throw nasty curveballs at returning fans.
05:34If the moody gothic atmosphere and nonsensical design weren't enough to keep you on your toes,
05:39the plethora of zombies, mutants, and other such nasties that roam its holes will be enough to make
05:44you fudge your undies. The added inclusion of crimson heads only serves to make the locale even more
05:49dangerous, as the roads most travelled can still harbour unforeseen dangers and surprise attacks.
05:55And whilst navigating the luscious mansion is a tension-filled rollercoaster, there are a few other
06:00horror game locations that are as fun and rewarding to unravel. Finding new shortcuts in workarounds for
06:05preview having to make your way through one that's been overrun with demonic entities was never going to be an
06:10ideal scenario to find yourself in. But for death row inmate Torque, that's the very situation he's in.
06:16Not only is Abbott State Penitentiary a drab, dreary, and overly depressing place generally,
06:21but once all hell breaks loose, it becomes a whole lot more oppressive and hostile.
06:26With numerous bloodthirsty enemies ready to burst from the cells, as well as the ghosts of Torque's
06:31victims haunting him, it's safe to say that this is an environment that is not conducive to anyone's
06:36rehabilitation. Each wing of the prison is also home to its own unique creatures, all of whom are
06:41based upon the various methods of execution that death row inmates are subjected to. Perhaps the
06:46most disturbing of all is the mainliners, creatures whose spines and eye holes are adorned with lethal
06:52injections, and they love nothing more than leaping on Torque so they can stab him in the eyes with
06:57their sharp facial appendages. Probably best to stay on the right side of the law.
07:01Number 4. The Town Itself, Silent Hill Series
07:04No matter if you're playing the groundbreaking first run of Silent Hill games or the less refined
07:08later entries, the one constant amongst all of the horrifying weirdness is that you're gonna have
07:13to trek through the foggy streets of this once serene vacation town. And every single time without fail,
07:19it'll have you on the edge of your seat. Originally brought about by technical limitations,
07:24the overbearing fog that obscures the city streets ended up being a defining asset of the game's overall
07:29design, and helped to amplify the already palpable sense of dread that the game was conveying.
07:34The actual streets themselves may be rather large and barren, but the implication of what may be
07:39hiding in the fog, coupled with unnerving soundscapes that hint at unseen dangers,
07:44makes any excursion between major areas an unbearably tense experience.
07:48Should you have the guts to go exploring, however, you'll find a bounty of health and ammo pickups that'll be
07:54beneficial in the long run, as well as several smaller set pieces and details that help add further
07:59weight and context to each game's narrative? It's a classic locale for all the right reasons,
08:04and one we hope to revisit again sometime soon.
08:07Number 3. Abandoned Shopping Mall
08:09Condemned Criminal Origins
08:11Dolls and mannequins may seem like shorthand for lazy scares these days, but when implemented correctly,
08:17they can produce some of the most terrifying set pieces the medium has ever seen.
08:20Case in point, condemned criminal origins, infamous abandoned shopping mall.
08:25Of all the decaying urban environments you'll have to explore during your time playing as SCU
08:30investigator Ethan Thomas, the shopping mall is definitely the one that'll linger in your
08:34nightmares for the longest time. Upon entering the disused shopping plaza,
08:38we immediately catch sight of mannequins in the distance. Creepy enough on its own,
08:43but then we see some walking around in an inaccessible area. From that point on,
08:47the gloves are off, and any mannequins that are strewn around the area are a potential enemy
08:52that's ready to pounce on you at a moment's notice. You'd think that surviving that onslaught
08:56would be the end of the nightmare, but oh boy, you'd be very wrong. We'll avoid specifics as you
09:01should absolutely experience this one for yourself firsthand, but the level's final set piece is
09:06undoubtedly one of the most terrifying and memorable horror set pieces that the medium's
09:11ever seen. Tread carefully and be suspicious of every mannequin.
09:15Number 2. House Beneviento Resident Evil Village
09:18You no doubt saw this one coming. Despite Resident Evil Village not being an out-and-out
09:23scarefest, House Beneviento is a clear attempt by Capcom to prove to the naysayers that not only
09:28were they capable of upping the terror in their flagship horror series, but they were able to stand
09:33toe-to-toe with any other horror game out there. Tapping into the current horror game zeitgeist and
09:37stripping away any semblance of combat, House Beneviento is a nerve-shredding excursion that
09:42starts with you taking apart a mannequin, lots of mannequins, to uncover key items, and it ends
09:48with you barely escaping a giant, gelatinous, malformed baby that wants nothing more than to
09:53swallow you whole. It's an expertly placed and well-constructed sequence, one that starts with
09:58the player exploring an eerily quiet house which gives way to a dollmaker's workshop, and that's soon
10:04plunged into darkness. From there, the intensity and sense of paranoia builds to unbearable levels,
10:10as the world around you becomes increasingly more hostile. It was a smart decision by Capcom to focus
10:15the game's marketing on both the werewolf enemies and the woefully underutilized Lady Dimitrescu,
10:20because this particularly harrowing surprise is one of the reasons that players will never forget
10:25their first time playing Village. Number 1. SCP Foundation Secure Facilities
10:30SCP Containment Breach Born from the darkest recesses of the internet,
10:34the infamous SCP Foundation's facilities are the perfect distillation of pure, unbridled terror
10:41within the video game medium. For those unaware, the SCP Foundation makes it their mission to capture,
10:46imprison, and research numerous supernatural entities, housing them all within its bleak and
10:51oppressive facilities that are full of precarious corners, cleverly designed blind spots, and tight
10:56claustrophobic corridors, all of which are not particularly helpful if one of those beings
11:00should escape its confines. And as luck would have it, that's the exact scenario you'll find
11:05yourself in should you be brave enough to tackle the SCP games. It doesn't matter which of the monsters
11:10you're up against, because no matter the threat, the facility itself will always, always be against
11:15you with its labyrinthine design, which is made all the worse by its layout being randomly generated in
11:20each playthrough. Exploration of your surroundings will yield useful findings, such as items that
11:25will aid in survival, but your running shoes are likely going to be your sole saviour in this
11:30never-ending stretch of corridors. You'll never truly be ready for the horrors of the SCP facility,
11:36and that's why it's so damn terrifying. That's the end of our list, but let me know down in that
11:40comment section what your pick is for the most terrifying horror game location. As always,
11:45I've been Jess from WhatCulture. Thank you so much for hanging out with me. If you like,
11:49you can come say hello to me on my Twitter account, where I'm at JessMcDonald, but make sure you stay
11:53tuned to us here for plenty more gaming goodness. Thanks!
Be the first to comment