The Chainsaw Guy [Zombies Ate My Neighbors]
Zombies Ate My Neighbors is horror-themed, sure, but if your little brother can play it without freaking out, then it totally belongs on this list. Most of the spooky critters here are more comical than creepy. That all changes when you encounter the Chainsaw guy in his natural habitat — the hedge maze.
The chainsaw guys — officially called Stanley Decker — are unstoppable psychos patterned after Jason Voorhees. Like that stalker, nothing can stop him. He’ll plow through walls and any other barriers you can only blast open with a Bazooka. Whenever you hear the buzz of his saw in the distance, it fills us with childhood dread. This guy is seriously the worst.
The Vortex Queen [Ecco The Dolphin]
Ecco The Dolphin is a simple little game about treating sea life (and the ocean) with respect. It’s also a trauma-inducing creepfest that ends with a giant monster alien face menacing your dolphin. If you’ve got a fear of the ocean, Ecco is probably creepy enough with all real-life horrifying sea monsters lurking in the dark. It gets worse when you mix unknowable entities from deep space in the mix.
Most of us could handle the low-level frights and enjoy this peppy little eco-friendly adventure. But the ending is straight-up terrifying. I mean, just look at that monster up above. The Vortex Queen is an elongated skull with oversized teeth, and the boss fight is really hard. Like, were the developers trying to give little kids nightmares?
Gird your loins, and prepare for even more super scary moments from non-horror games on the next page.