10 Terrifying Video Game Jump Scares That Scarred You For Life

1. The Not-So-Dead Victim - Condemned: Criminal Origins

Sometimes, the most effective jump-scares are those you think you can predict the timing of, only for them to catch you unawares anyway.

In Condemned, this was entirely the case. As investigator Ethan Thomas, you're uncovering the trail of one Serial Killer X, only for it to lead you to an abandoned school. Slowly, you press forward through the school, only to be told that a corpse in a locker is in need of analysis.

You fling open the locker and... nothing. You pull out your camera and... nothing. As much as it sounds predictable as I describe it, in reality you end up zooming in on the corpse and slowly watching it come into focus, and right when it's a second away from being crystal clear (when the shock 'should' come), the game jumps the gun and has this character jolt back into life and grab you by the collar.

They mumble some key phrases alluding to the plot, but chances are you weren't listening. No, your words probably better resembled a concoction of vowels and expletives with "OHDEARGODKILLITKILLITNOW" somewhere in the middle.

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What are your favourite jump-scares, regardless of historical importance? Let us know in the comments!