10 Terrifying Video Game Enemies That Gave You Nightmares

Everyone loves a good horror story, even those who deny it profusely will have still enjoyed that wonderful adrenaline rush from watching a genuinely scary film or reading a particularly terrifying book. There's something undeniably addictive about having the wits scared out of you that can have you hooked for life in the quest for bigger and bigger scares. The hardest part to swallow about horror, though, is the effect it has on you afterwards. How many times have you watched a film and then been fairly unwilling to walk through your house with the lights off? Or what about the amount of times you've lain awake in bed because you've heard a sound and that can only mean the monster you've just been watching is clearly coming for you in your sleep. Horror games have largely been hit and miss over the years, often relying on jump scares, forced perspective and the old quiet-quiet-LOUD NOISE tactic to shock players, rather than outright scare them. Most of the time scary games lose their edge due to design concepts; having an overpowered character negates any fear that the game can build up and the current trend for generous checkpointing and scripted events means that once that fourth wall is broken and you're back at a loading screen any semblance of fear is gone, especially if you have to replay sections many times in order to advance. But occasionally, a game just nails fear and holds it over you for the whole time you play. More often than not it's a combination of great design, a foreboding atmosphere and an enemy who just so happens to make you feel as fragile as a Ming vase. Prepare to hold onto your lunch and brace yourself for flashbacks as we've compiled 10 of the most threatening, powerful and downright terrifying enemies ever to be coded. Be afraid, be very afraid.