10 Most Stressful Video Game Levels
9. Dead Space 2 - Eye Surgery
The sequel to one of the most atmospheric and gripping horror games in recent memory, Dead Space 2 opens with a heart-pounding sequence in which the player must helplessly flee from a swarm of vicious Necromorphs hot on their tail. And that isn’t even close to this game’s most stressful sequence.
Much later in the game, the world’s unluckiest engineer Isaac Clarke finds themselves needing to acquire important data on the horrors he’s been facing throughout his ordeal. Unfortunately for him – and players – the only way this data can be received is by injecting it directly into his brain through his eye using a contraption designed for eye surgery.
What follows is a harrowing sequence in which players must guide a needle into the centre of the protagonist’s eye, and it's as deeply unpleasant as it sounds.
The concept of sticking a large needle into the gooey centre of an eyeball is stomach-churning enough, but Dead Space 2 manages to intensify the stress of the situation more by panning the camera closer as the needle lowers and the accompanying soundtrack quickens, quickening our own heartbeats along with it.
A steady hand is required, otherwise Isaac meets a grizzly, face-mashing end.