10 Scariest Water Levels In Video Games

3. Jolly Roger Bay - Super Mario 64

super mario 64
Nintendo

This one’s for your childhood, as Super Mario 64’s underwater beastie Unagi absolutely terrified kids who came across it. Particularly those who weren’t used to being jump-scared in 3D.

Approach what appears to be a 2D face in a wall and boom you’ve got a toothy eel coming right at your little plumber pal. Would this scare the crap out of you now?

Well, probably not. But in the context of the time and the age most people encountered it, this was not what you would have been expecting to encounter in a kid’s game. On top of that, the only way to get in his hidey hole is to lure him out and potentially get chomped on. Any contact with the eel and Mario jumps back, reeling.

Seeing Mario’s gurgling as he suffocates and drowns while grabbing at his face, then watching his corpse begin to drift to the surface is also completely traumatizing.

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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.