Strogg Processing [Quake 4]
Don’t rip me apart just yet. Yes, Quake and Doom are both games with strong horror foundations, but I’d only call one game in their combined runs ‘scary’ — and that’s Doom 3.
Quake 4 is the Rambo 2 of Quake games. Developed by Raven, fine purveyors of B-Tier FPS thrills, Quake 4 is all-action, all-the-time. You’ll be blasting aliens within seconds of landing on the twisted world of Stroggos, but things don’t get really scary until you’ve been captured.
In a sickening sequence, your formally invincible super-stud marine is forced to endure a disgusting transformation. Buzzsaws remove your legs, giant syringes plunge through your chest, and your body is remade right before your eyes. There are more absolutely disgusting sections of the game, but this moment really made us feel the fear.
The Quarantine [MGS5: The Phantom Pain]
The final moments of Metal Gear Solid 5: The Phantom Pain are strange, tragic, and deeply disturbing. Far past the moment you’ve defeated the villain and achieved your revenge, the game’s story continues — and takes increasingly deranged turns. Former allies are tortured, soldiers begin to die one-by-one, and eventually a quarantine sector is established on your base.
It all culminates in an outbreak. Returning to the labs, you’ll execute your loyal soldiers — some of them standing to salute you in a cruel echo of the salute Big Boss once delivered to his mentor’s grave. What makes it all worse is that you’re killing people you’ve recruited or rescued. They aren’t faceless NPCs. They’re actual soldiers that each serve a function in your base.
This bleak, apocalyptic moment continues to haunt us. Like the Phantom Pain itself, we just can’t get this one out of our heads.
That’s 10 more scary moments in non-horror games. If you look hard enough, there’s spookiness everywhere — and we might scrounge up enough content for yet another list of terror in regular video games. Let us know your favorites moments!
