Enemies That Scare You

[Blinge]

I don't mean scary enemies per se; just ones that actually have an effect on you, the player.

I've been playing Final Doom: Evilution on Hurt Me Plenty lately, cause I'm a puzz.
I shit my pants if an Arch-Ville spawns, they send me into a blind (literally) panic.

Revenants are pretty hard for me to deal with in groups also.

Another good example is a Crimson Head in REmake - coupling the horror with actual gameplay scarez.
Especially if it's a first playthrough and the player hasn't realised the consequences of leaving dead zambos everywhere!

Alright bitches, lets hear 'em.

[Sumez]

Well, there's the classic

[Xyga]

The first goomba.

[BIL]

Another good example is a Crimson Head in REmake - coupling the horror with actual gameplay scarez.
Especially if it's a first playthrough and the player hasn't realised the consequences of leaving dead zambos everywhere!

Crimson Heads are classic through and through. The law of unintended consequences is always good for a laugh! I treasure my first run. Near the endgame, combing the mansion for supplies with my big fuckoff magnum ready to correct any crimson friends... that's weird, I can't make a complete lap around this storeroom table, what's stopping m- *BOING* Ohoho, that's what was down there out of shot - hello again my murderously glaring friend! I was so stunned and mildly embarrassed at bumbling into my own mess, it got a free slash in before I introduced it to the most powerful handgun in the world™, blow your head cleeean awff.

From a similarly psychological/tactical perspective, once Silent Hill 2's midpoint confirmed Pyramid Head was less lumbering stalker than inexplicable force of murder, I spent the latter half of the game in nervous resignation any time a tight corridor loomed. They loomed frequently. I like that

Spoiler

the handful of times you do encounter them post-Brookhaven, they're just milling around in relatively open, escapable places. Felt like a subtle mockery after Brookhaven's pair of cruel ambushes.

Gun.Smoke's grey bandit must surely qualify for some zako award or another. I've never seen a humble footsoldier make grown men wail and gnash their teeth and give up all hope like that. They even drove this guy to account suicide, after causing a brainfart so debilitating he mixed up the AC and NES controls! Every time it's been too long, I'll get shot right in my fucking face until I get my missing steps back. If you're not regarding them with a healthy, controlled degree of fear (something more akin to respect), you're going to die horribly. A dear friend of war!

[Stevens]

Evil Otto was my first run in with - "Oh shit" in a game. It was the Hall Monsters in Venture though, complete with swarming bees sound effects, that scared me as a kid.

[Squire Grooktook]

ReDead genuinely stopped me from playing as a child.

Even now, their uncanny "wooden face" design and "slow zombie / creeping death" aesthetic and freezing mechanic channels all of my phobias.

[BIL]

Oh also, another tactical horror favourite -



Ecco (MD) sharks, particularly their creepy-ass ancestors dunkleosteuses (pictured). I love/hate the way their idling motion, "proximity alert" AI and darting attacks interact with the game's naturally floaty handling. I hate scuttly things that chase, particularly in the midst of a chest-crushing underwater nightmare. If they're in open water I exterminate them mercilessly. Unfortunately dunkies prefers dank muddy caverns where they can get the drop on you, often from behind scenery. Brr!

The giant arctic spider crabs are pretty unnerving too, but at least stay put until you alert them.

[dan76]

Regenerators and Iron Maidens in RE4. The sound they make, the music, their slow walk forward then sudden leap. Basically they're really good zombies, but the way you have to kill them is great to.

[BrianC]

Evil Otto was my first run in with - "Oh shit" in a game. It was the Hall Monsters in Venture though, complete with swarming bees sound effects, that scared me as a kid.

That reminds me of Skel Monsta/Baron von Blubba, a similar time out enemy, who made me fear taking too long to kill enemies in Bubble Bobble.

[Sumez]

Ecco in general scared the crap out of me, due to the whole idea of the open ocean. Likewise this thing:



I wasn't even that young when the game came out. It's just actually being deep underwater in a completely open ended area was very rare in a video game at the time (hence Ecco creepyness), and doing it in full 3D was mind blowing to me, despite the area actually being a lot smaller than than it initially appeared to me. That one stage in Tomb Raider 2 had a similar effect to me. I believe it had moray eels, too - god dammit.

[BIL]

Oh shit, that reminds me of descending the giant eel pit in Majora's Mask. The sheer freight train bulk (and noise) of the things, combined with the 360' enclosure, the instant KO, and most of all the foggy underwater environment made getting to the bottom surprisingly unnerving. Of course once you get your bearings you can take 'em out pretty handily, with their limited range of motion. Terribly intimidating at first though.

[drauch]

^Yeah, that thing sucks. Basically underwater turds. Not that you have to deal with him much if you're smart, but Half-Life's ichthyosaur with it's loud WROARARRR as it speeds at you always gets me wet.

And dunno how many fans there are here, but Myth: The Fallen Lords/Myth II: Soulblighter's Fetch is an enemy that always gets me sweating. They slowly meander back and forth and are easy to deal with, but when you've got other stuff on your mind and lose track of one it's not hard for them to sneak around and wipe out a good chunk of your team with their devilish lightning.

[KAI]

Every single underwater monster, i've been scarred of them since

[Squire Grooktook]

The Brainsuckers in Bloodborne are nerve wracking to approach with their massive sweeping grab range and the horrific (and permanent!) result of the attack landing. Used to great effect when the game delves into survival horror in Upper Cathedral Ward.

[WelshMegalodon]

Man, does this thread make me wish The Ocean Hunter had gotten a home release.

[Durandal]

I never finished Banjo & Kazooie as a kid because of Clanker.

[Obscura]

Thirding the Crimsonheads.

Also, Jailers in Dark Souls 3, Slime Blobs in Unreal (the way they move... ugh!!!), Haunts in Thief: The Dark Project, Worms in System Shock 2, and Weavers in Prey.

[Squire Grooktook]

Oh yeah, System Shock 2. I actually find the self destructing robots to be one of the most anxiety inducing enemies.

[Xyga]

These SH1 motherfuckers. Not the most dangerous but quiet, smooth, and fast. If you don't spot them in time they can really startle you.
Their weird humming 'voice' also.

[Mischief Maker]

Aliens vs Predator 1 for PC facehuggers.

Doesn't matter that you're as fast and tough as the Doom Marine, these skuttling little crawlies will instakill you and their level placement is semi-random. Lighting one on fire is such a shuddering sigh relief.

Man I wish Aliens vs Predator 1 had set the standard for survival horror games instead of Alone in the Dark.

[BIL]

These SH1 motherfuckers. Not the most dangerous but quiet, smooth, and fast. If you don't spot them in time they can really startle you.
Their weird humming 'voice' also.

Aww yee, Rompers! Fuckers can really chase Harry around the block. I have a semi-serious theory that they're the evolution of the first half's Groaners, ie LITERAL DOGMEN

My favourite outdoor area of SH1 is the optional resort district, where a pack of things are prowling about under the streetlights as you criss-cross through. I was replaying in the unlockable shouldercam mode and stopped to watch one eerily crawling down the adjacent sidewalk, only to hear a "RRUFF" somewhere nearby. Blasted the fiend, then turned around just in time to see his now-alerted buddy tackle Harry and take a bite not out of crime, but his motherfucking face.

[Zen]

The "Scary Monster" and supernatural stuff, does not phase me. The brain centres concerned, having being cauterised by heavy exposure to cinema and literary horror, from a very young age

Its the immediate danger stuff that gets me; the "Beheaded Kamikazes" in Serious Sam
aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA Fuck that shit

The only thing that is pretty much out of the question, is Jump Scares. Gives me way too high an adrenaline rush; "Outlast" - silently sneak through this room of corpses - FUCK OFF!

[Stevens]

The Brainsuckers in Bloodborne are nerve wracking to approach with their massive sweeping grab range and the horrific (and permanent!) result of the attack landing. Used to great effect when the game delves into survival horror in Upper Cathedral Ward.

You sir make me want to play Bloodborne.

[JBC]

Oddly enough the enemies that scare me the most out of the entirety of the Dark Souls series, including Demon's & Bloodborne, are the Vile Maggots that erupt from the backs of the Egg Carriers. Egg Carriers are these sad men who have devoted themselves to worshipping Spider Bitch I think, & have allowed themselves to be infected by parasites that grow in eggs on their backs. They lay pathetically on the ground moaning until you kill them, at which point their backs burst with these pincered white grubs that will swarm you. If you're killed by them enough you'll find your character infected just the same, except the parasite is growing out of your head. They aren't an active threat because all you have to do is not kill the mostly passive Egg Carriers, but they just really bother me. They look like Gina Davis's Brundle-Baby from The Fly, but with red pincers. They're the worst thing ever.

[Necronopticous]

[TransatlanticFoe]

Honestly the dogs in classic Resi games scare me more than Crimson Heads. You know when a Crimson Head is about to happen and can guard against them most of the time... but when you enter an area and can just hear a pat-pat-pat sound but can't see where the dog is. Nope.

Another classic Doom one, the Cacodemon. Not because they're particularly hard or anything and indeed most of the time they're out in the open and easy to deal with. No, it's because every so often one will start out above you, let out a hiss then drop down behind you. Change of undies every single time.

[Ruldra]

I got the platinum trophy in Demon's Souls without ever fighting Armor Spider in melee. I wouldn't dare come close to it, I'd just shoot it to death with arrows/spells. Same thing with Leechmonger.

Already mentioned but the facehuggers in Aliens vs Predator. Oh God how I hated those things.

Also mentioned but Iron Maidens in RE4 scared me enough that I completely missed the infrared scope and made my life much harder.

[gameoverDude]

Its the immediate danger stuff that gets me; the "Beheaded Kamikazes" in Serious Sam
aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA Fuck that shit

Yes, seriously. OMG these guys can wreck you quickly. Tommy gun is the best weapon for them- you can shoot a single bullet once to stop them, back off a bit, then shoot again for the kill. Shotgun can do it but you better not miss.

Marsh hoppers also if they're in a big enough number. Two or three aren't a big threat, but that marsh hopper boss room is a real mofo. When mass quantities of the little bastards come pouring in from all sides, you've really got some trouble.

I noticed a reference in Nier: Automata. When I heard a suicide bomber robot going AAAAAAAAAA as it rushed me down, I laughed. Either Yoko Taro or someone on his team has to be a fan of SS.

[Blinge]

Aw guize some great responses to the thread, thanks!

ReDead genuinely stopped me from playing as a child.

Haha, from what I hear you're not the only one.

The Brainsuckers in Bloodborne are nerve wracking to approach with their massive sweeping grab range and the horrific (and permanent!) result of the attack landing.

hey bbz spit or swallow?? ;]

Also, Jailers in Dark Souls 3, Haunts in Thief: The Dark Project

Yeah Jailers are exactly what I was talking about! Horror inspired design and gameplay dread. There's something so unfair about them jailers, I'm still not quite sure what causes the HP reduction from them.

Haunts.. Man It's been a while, do they keep getting back up? I couldn't ever handle respawning enemies as a kid, It'd scare me off the game completely, not being able to make an area safe. In fact as a nipper I never trusted the ReDeads to stay re-dead even though they do.

I got the platinum trophy in Demon's Souls without ever fighting Armor Spider in melee. I wouldn't dare come close to it, I'd just shoot it to death with arrows/spells. Same thing with Leechmonger.

GET BACK IN THERE NOW MAGGOT.

Stevens! get on Bloodborne and report to the FromSoft thread!

Another classic Doom one, the Cacodemon. Not because they're particularly hard or anything and indeed most of the time they're out in the open and easy to deal with. No, it's because every so often one will start out above you, let out a hiss then drop down behind you. Change of undies every single time.

Nah man..

Spoiler

I guess the water monster in Amnesia is pretty cool. That ended many people's games.

[gct]

Ever since my childhood, I've been freaked out by Pac-Man ghosts and those running dudes in Lode Runner. They chase you, they're out to kill you, and you can't really stop them. You can try to kill them, but they come back! I hate things like that, because they are the stuff of nightmares of a futile attempt to escape death.

Mario 64 eel

And all kinds of large sea monsters. I think it's because I can't really swim in real life, so if I'm in the water with some thing with big teeth that is more mobile than I am, again that's nightmare stuff... Somehow I did manage to get all the stars in Mario 64 back in the day though. Definitely more scary in 3D when I can't see behind myself..