8 Scariest Video Game Moments That Made You Turn The Console Off
We didn't have a fear of ladders before Alma.
The horror genre has it all - suspense, an immersive atmosphere, misdirection, stressfully finite resources, eerie calmness suddenly penetrated by a shrieking jump-scare - all culminating in the same strangely satisfying feeling of triumph.
For the same reason that video game enthusiasts torture themselves for hours playing difficult games, in pursuit that sweet payoff that comes from triumphing over a difficult obstacle, so to do we play horror games. Although the 'difficulty' here is managing to get through the game without dissolving into a crying mess.
Across the past decade, there have been countless moments in great horror games that have stood out as qualifying for the scariest of all time. Perhaps they made you jump out of your skin, dropping your controller in the process, or you just couldn't handle the extremely high tension - whatever the reason, every single one will stick in your mind for years afterwards, haunting your memories of that first time you didn't know what was coming.
These are the games that followed you home afterwards, and stood over your bed, watching you sleep.
8. Detention - Hold Your Breath
The opening couple of levels in the Taiwanese indie Detention are just about as atmospheric and horrifying as side scrolling horror can get.
After losing our first playable character and finding him hanging upside down, players take control of Rey, a lonely and terrified schoolgirl who wakes up inside a school full of monsters.
The deeper you explore the cursed nightmare building, the worse the monsters get. The initial few creatures are easily distracted with food, but it’s when you first meet the lantern-wielding Lingered spectre that you will clutch your controller tight with fear.
Why? Because you're transported into Rey’s body yourself, and share in every terrified heartbeat.
Lantern Spectres are very tall, thin ghosts that suddenly appear, accompanied by a fearful gasp from Rey. You’ll have to hold your breath and stand extremely still until they have passed you.
In a game where holding your breath saves you from the terrors stalking the school, it’s easy to become so immersed that you’ll soon feel your own lungs bursting from exhaustion.