10 Scariest Water Levels In Video Games

8. Water Dam - Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (1989)

teenage mutant ninja turtles
Konami

If you only know one thing about Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles for NES it’s probably that the game is hard. Another entry on this list that is definitely not a horror game, but the Water Dam level will have you feeling like it is.

There’s a good chance I’m unlocking a stress memory here so bear with me through this one. The Water Dam level is absolutely notorious for being unbelievably difficult, made all the worse by a flashing time limit indication ticking down, your steadily depleting health, and a tonne of hazards. Not to mention a soundtrack that is easily going to boost your heart rate a few dozen beats a minute.

There’s nothing going bump in the night in this level but the trauma it caused thousands of kids in the 90s absolutely earns it a place on our list.

It takes a special type of game to exhibit this much mental torture via pixels but Konami weren’t messing around. So much so that one player wrote of the level, “I hope whoever designed this level is in hell.” There was absolutely no shame in passing the controller to your older sibling for this one.

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Contributor

Jess has been a journalist and content creator in the games industry for over 15 years and has been WhatCulture's resident Australian import and sorry cop since 2020, upping the quotient of swearing and apologising in WhatCulture Gaming's annual blooper videos considerably. She previously worked at GameSpot for 10 years, most notably hosting GameSpot News in addition to E3 live shows, and PAX panels. She regularly livestreams a variety of games on her 'jessmcdonell' YouTube and Twitch channels and hosts the 'Do It On The Day' podcast. She has won awards for her news and feature work in gaming as well as an accolade for her comedic writing (likely an admin error). She can be found on X at @jessmcdonell and Instagram at @jessicamcdonell sharing her current videogame fixations, industry insights, and videos of her cat, Karma.