19 Scariest Video Game Moments Of The Decade (So Far)

6. Never Knowing What Form Death Would Take - DayZ

The tightly scripted nature of most games nowadays means that fear is often the result of a culmination of events both big and small which when coordinated in unison produce the desired effect of scaring players witless with a well-timed jump scare or set piece. The sound of a chair tipping over as it crashes to the ground with a slam that echoes through cavernous hallways, the window that shatters at just the precise moment you walk by, the roar of a monster as it barrels down the hall at you with blistering speed - it takes a delicate level of workmanship to craft the perfect scare. By contrast, DayZ excels by embracing the unpredictability inherent to online multiplayer - you're just as likely to be gunned down by other survivors as you were ravaged by a horde of zombies. It was impossible to predict what form death would take as you stalked through the wilderness collecting supplies and doing your damndest to not get cornered. Before soon, paranoia began dictating your every action as more often than not players had their own best interests in mind, leaving you to second-guess the sincerity of every offer of companionship. Fear ruled the day. And when you toss in the fact that it was possible to die from starvation or infection before you even came into contact with the undead, the sheer oppressiveness of the open-world was an entity in itself.