10 Video Game Body Horror Fates Worse Than Death

A terrible fate befalls those who die whilst connected to STEM, a system that allows for minds to be connected and explored.

Those to die whilst connected to the machine, or otherwise become overpowered by it, have their consciousness remain inside. The consciousness is not whole and alive however, Ruvik, STEM’s creator, describes it as clay that is shapeable to his desires, a violent husk of its former self.

It’s not just that being stuck controlled by Ruvik forever sucks, but that they have to look so horrific all the while. The Haunted resemble the classic zombie interpretation we see across a lot of media. Their pale, corpse-like bodies are gravely injured and rotting, with pieces of glass, metal and barbed wire lodged in their skin.

Certain DLC features another variant of The Haunted. In some ways they’re more intact than their main-game counterparts, but they have the addition of glowing boils and pustules covering their corpses. Whilst the colours of the sores function like warning-lights for the player, they definitely aren’t as helpful for the deceased, serving only to make them even more disgusting than before.