15 'Horror' Video Games That Totally Failed To Scare Anyone

3. Night Trap

Despite all the controversy when the game came out, Night Trap isn€™t a particularly scary game. It€™s cheesy and melodramatic, certainly; the FMV cutscenes are hilarious, the plot (which revolves around you protecting a group of young ladies from actual ninjas) is bonkers, and the gameplay is simple and uncomplicated, essentially revolving around pressing buttons at appropriate times to activate certain booby-traps. With that said, the game was cited back in the 1990s in a series of congressional hearings concerning violence in video games. Along with Mortal Kombat, Lethal Enforces and Doom, Night Trap was actually one the principle reasons for the instigation of the ESRB ratings system, a system which is still in use today. Not bad for a game that would struggle to earn anything above an E rating today.
Contributor
Contributor

Formerly an assistant editor, Richard's interests include detective fiction and Japanese horror movies.