#9. The Meat Circus [Psychonauts]
Psychonauts plays with the spooky and paranormal throughout the entire game — I mean, you enter an asylum filled with deranged patients halfway through the game! But even in the strange Milkman Conspiracy neighborhood, there’s something funny to keep you going. There really isn’t anything funny about the Meat Circus, the final lair of Psychonauts.
The Meat Circus is exactly what it sounds like — an amalgam nightmare where a colorful circus is made completely out of meat. It’s gross and disgusting, and the wacky music totally adds to the weird dissonance of it all. It’s also really difficult and frustratingly tough to complete. It all adds up to a memorably twisted end to an especially strange little game.
#10. Kali [Gravity Rush 2]
What happened? Gravity Rush 2 is a game that isn’t afraid to go big. In the second act of the game, you’ll return to your flying hometown in the clouds, and do battle with a fallen hero — who has transformed into a nightmarish monstrosity. The former military project has exploded in size, turning into something out of the ending to Akira. In an otherwise family-friendly game with no other horror elements, this boss is a shock to the system.
Look, I don’t even know how to explain this thing. Just watch the video above. I played Gravity Rush 2, and my jaw was on the floor during this fight. It’s a mass of flash, covered in screaming faces, tentacles, arms, and legs — all misshapen and awful. Nothing else in the game even comes close to this encounter.
