8 Horror Video Games That Took Things Too Far

When it comes to horror games, more is quite often... more. It's a genre that thrives on pushing the limits of taste and bathing its audiences in blood, body horror, and sometimes a bit of boob as well (assuming the nudity then leads to murder as is shown in so many horror films).

However, as you can imagine there has to be a point, even within an industry of extreme, when enough is enough. When you simply can't show the horrible things you've planned out for fear of alienating an audience, causing controversy, or quite simply alerting those around you that you might require medical help.

And it was these attempts at showcasing graphic content that saw the ESRB being formed, as a response to violence and other non PG material in games, and horror titles still have to abide by their classifications.

Yet has this stopped horror video games from trying to go beyond? Hell no! Hence why across the years we've seen many titles court controversy that has resulted in a positive or negative spin for the game itself. These eight entries pushed all the buttons possible leading to court cases, outright bans, and of course, a ton of complaints.

It must be a dubious honor for Rockstar to hold the "most violent video game ever" tag for Manhunt 2, as not only is this a rightly deserved plaudit, but it's one that has marred the developer as a workforce that chased controversy over everything else.

Luckily, we've seen the studio tone down somewhat since these edgelord days, but for a while, the Manhunt franchise was the go-to place for gamers to explore a bit of the old uber-violence. However even returning to the more "tame" (and I use that word lightly) original title, Manhunt is still full of content that would make even the hardiest of us wince.

The concept of unwillingly starring in a snuff film is horrible to begin with, but the level of detail that went into the execution animations really pushed the blood-soaked boat out. From smashing people's faces in while they gasp for breath trapped within a plastic bag to being garrotted so hard their neck is sliced into, players could "unlock" even more brutal finishers by stalking their prey for longer.

Manhunt soon became known as a title that used "violence as gratification" and while Rockstar were keen to hold a mirror up and say "this is how society fetishizes violence in the media", the presentation here was stomach turning to say the least.