10 Missions So Scary They NEVER RETURNED 

What’s really scary to me is how many games are released unfinished these days

Anyone remember the horror game, Fear? That had a lot of really unique mechanics. And you had the same sensation of always wondering when the little girl would appear, because she would seemingly appear in areas where typically you would think your safe.

The Beneviento house from RE Village needs to be on here. I literally almost pissed myself when the giant fetus monster came crawling down the hallway at you. Hiding under the bed while you hear it start crying and yelling for you is so unsettling, it hits you in your core.

Still remember my first run-in with the Volatiles of Dying Light. Just as the mini cutscene was ending, my weaker-than-required laptop had a fit and nearly froze, with the screen flashing white a couple times, and it made that horrible grinding noise you sometimes get with a bsod. Suddenly the game came back, I heard the scream from the volatile and I just ran as fast as I could. I had no idea where I was going, just sprinting in full panic, but somehow made it back to safety in the end. Probably one of the most intense experiences I had in a Horror game; Both in and out-of-game.

The Beneviento house from RE Village caught me off guard and was easily the most terrifying part in the game.

I love how these games give you guns like they’re going to protect you lol

Thank you so much for putting Uncharted SOMEWHERE in this list. I remember playing this part and it was truly horrifying. The sounds of them all over the walls, running around, their footprints everywhere. Ugh😩, such a tense moment for me.

As far as scary parts in The Evil Within games, I would honestly put Anima from Evil Within 2 above Ruvik from the first title. Entering a random house only to trigger a floating monstrosity that sings out of tune while hunting you is still one of the most uncomfortable things I've experienced in gaming... Maybe ever lol

Killer Croc is also more tense because it's built up. You see him at the start of the game where he vows to get you, and again mid game, so you know you're gonna have to face this huge monster eventyally. Then, towards the end of the game, you finally go into his lair and it's scary.

The RE7 tape puzzle was so well done, I was genuinely shocked

343 Guilty Spark from Halo got to me. Subsequent games that featured the flood sort of introduced them with a brief environment change and then you fight them but the first game decided to spend half a level creeping you out with the lack of enemies, unexplained bodies/blood/environment damage and evidence of infighting, and genuinely unsettling encounters with weakened enemies and panicky soldiers. As well as the music taking a twisted exotic turn and turning off entirely in parts.

Thief’s asylum level was scary as hell too. The reboot did that one level very well.

Recently started playing Prey, I have to say being hunted by the Nightmare is pretty damn terrifying

I had a hard time passing the alien invasion mission in "Majora's Mask" without someone else in the room with me. My hands would be clumsy, I'd miss my shots, waste a ton of arrows, and just seeing Romani traumatized the next day after failure made the pressure mount on any retries.

I just recently beat the first two metro games, honestly in the first game there was the spider level, the mutant “gorillas”. Having to always keep a light on those spiders is terrifying. I played on the hard mode and I had to pay attention to ammo and health

"They didn't really address it." Come on, Falcon. Yes they did. They clearly explain not long afterwards that opening El Dorado (which, depending on the lore can be different things: a city, statue, etc. And is in this case the golden sarcophagus) releases a curse that turns everyone who opens it into those creatures. It even happens to the main bad guy before his second in command kills him and takes over as the main antagonist for the last mission.

The bunker Uncharted mission truly made my palms sweat when I first played it when the game was barely a week into release. Back then, I was usually getting my news from Gamespot & Gametrailer’s forums, and barely anyone even knew about the game (PS3 was in a bad shape back then), let alone anything about this scary as hell level. Thank goodness it only lasted for a few tense minutes.

You forgot one of the most masterful horror levels: Thief: Deadly Shadows' "Robbing the Cradle". The build-up to the mission is superb as you learn more and more about the Shalebridge Cradle, a former orphanage (scary in itself), which was originally an insane asylum (even more disturbing) and then you find out that there was a point when it was for a brief moment both at the same time. The crazed inmates locked deeper in the Inner Cradle while the orphans were housed on the top floor of the very same building. It doesn't feature a single jump scare and it is pure unnerving stuff as you wander through the forsaken halls. And like every good horror piece, it can really be experienced only once. I'd give something to get my memory erased for that part so I could experience the mission again for the first time!

Encountering Regenerators from RE4 (especially in the remake) was terrifying and still is

Oh God, I remember how scary the nights in Dying Light are. After that volatile-zombie introduction mission, I NEVER ventured out in the night, always went to sleep to get to morning before it got too dark. Scary stuff indeed!

The Ishimura level from Dead Space 2 was one of my favorite levels from a horror game in a while. The unease of being stuck in the tight corridors of the ship again really stood out compared to the more open areas of the Sprawl. Now I gotta go back and play Dead Space 2 again. Thanks Gameranx. 😅😅

I will forever hate the Berserker in Gears of War. The concept itself of being trapped in dark hallways with a huge blind monster that you have to taunt with the Lancer chainsaw so that it helps you escape is genius. The tension in that level is unforgettable.

Glad to see the Tomb Raider reboot included. That whole sequence really shocked me for a game that for the most part isn't horror orientated, especially coming quite early on in the story. Another i'd include is the boss fight with the dog thing in Hellblade. The whole set up of the game is intentionally unnerving but as someone who is petrified of dogs, i just can't bring myself to take on that bit.

The thing that really adds to the scary nature of Air Drop I think are the constant footsteps and sounds that Volatiles make that you can hear at all times while running. I felt like if I even took a second to look back it'd be right behind me. It was especially brutal with a set of audiophile grade headphones💀

It was very disappointing that Dying Light 2 abolished the scary, extremely dangerous, dark nights. It’s like the developers forgot what made the first game amazing. It wasn’t just the parkour, it was that it was genuinely scary.

That stage from Mario 64 with the eel. No one was ready for that. Can’t think of another jump scare being in another Mario game like that.

Not many people gonna remember this one but the level where you have to swim in the giant tank with the lab experiment from Tomb Raider Angel of Darkness, it was defiantly the most memorable part of that game

Resident Evil 7 in VR was seriously the scariest game I've played. (No, I won't play Alien Isolation VR 😂)

I feel like i'm one of the few that actually enjoyed Doom 3. It had at times a pretty intense atmosphere

Revisiting the Ishimura in DS2 really was so good! I was totally on edge just waiting and waiting. I never let my guard down but when that first necromorph appeared it was such a release. Honestly the moments of quiet before were brutal for me lol

Lab X18 from Stalker Shadow Of Chernobyl deserves a spot on this list. The player visits a bunch of labs in the Stalker seriea but no area had that creepy feel to it. From the sound design to the weird phenomena and enemies that you encounter for the first time, everything creates this feeling of dread and isolation. Stalker is a masterpiece when it comes to atmosphere but that level still sticks out to me. I was too scared to play trough it in one go at 12 years old.

I remember way back in the day, I bought Dino Crisis for the PS1, and about crapped my pants during the scene where the T-Rex's head goes through the giant window! Of course then you get treated to a mini boss fight. That still holds up as one of my biggest jumpscares!

I have an honorable mention for the Far Cry 4 mission Don't Look Down. In a game that is all about guns and explosions, you suddenly lose everything, even your trusty knife. And there is this one enemy who is trying to hunt you down. It's not a true horror scene, but it's the only time you're absolutely defenseless.

I was born in 1990, but Doom was still darn scary throughout at the time. If it weren't for my two older older brothers, I'd never have even touched it on my own, and as is I only ever played a couple of the early levels.

9:56 that dude went FLYING LMAO 😂😂😂 Made me cough from laughing XD

In regards to Banjo-Kazooie, Clanker's Cavern has only one moment I would classify as horror: the jiggy piece in the tunnel that results in drowning if you don't know how to swim well. A better choice would be Rusty Bucket Bay. You have the shark continually chasing you, enemies hiding as props, and the oil-slick water drains your oxygen any time you're in water.

Lucas's area in Resi 7 is one of my favorite parts of the game and one of the most stressful for me. I really hope that similar ideas get incorporated into future horror games. I loved Village, but Bioharzard is much scarier, aside from the House Beniviento section.

Anyone that ever played Dying Light 1 We all remember That Moment ♡ everyone has more or less the same response, it is FUN to see others go thru it and it is THE perfect way to let players know "you are now the hunted" Fantastic game, fantastic mission, criminally underrated, story not long enough but absolutely a gem of a game, no question

"Dragon Age: Origins" fits this list, with Hespith and the introduction of the Brood Mothers and how they're created. Even though "Dragon Age: Origins" DLC "Awakening" explored a Brood Mother nest and the main villain (or co-main villain) was a Brood Mother, they did not portray the horrific element that it did when you made it through the Deep Roads and listened to Hespith's poem repeated as you made it into the Brood Mother chamber. It still stands out as one of the most disturbing scenes in video games for me, and even when they tried to make a horror scene in later games, it was nothing like that scene. I love how you can barely hear it when she first says it, and she keeps repeating it, as you enter, until it's all you can really focus on, before you see what is waiting inside the room, knowing what it used to be, and what she went through to become what she is. "First day, they come and catch everyone..."

Amazing List and I have played them ALL! Keep up the great job!

I remember this one mission from Vampire the Masquerade Bloodlines, where you have to visit some abandoned hotel, and it's haunted by poltergeist. While the scary or gory stuff aren't out of place in this game because it's horror-action rpg game, this mission is unique in a sense that there's no actual enemy, there's huge build up and at the very end you have to cleanse the poltergeist, however the atmosphere is perfect as you will find notes, diaries and newspaper clips telling of gruesome ax murder, while occasionally seeing apparition of murdered wife running and screaming through hallways. It was very strong homage to Shining, Poltergeist and Amityville horror.

There are many missions in RE7 that are freaking scary. Lucas’ SAW house, the Marguerite boss battle, must I go one 😁

I grew up living on a lake and when I played Banjo Kazooie and got to Clanker's Cavern I became paranoid that a metal shark would get me while I swam. So to avoid this, I would pull my feet up as high as I could and still be able to tread water. I still sometimes catch myself doing it when I swim in lakes, even as an adult. lol

I think some of the Thief series missions are pretty noteworthy. Shalebridge Cradle, Pagan areas, your first encounter with the undeath

I remember in Alien Isolation, after seeing the Xenomorph the first time there was a section where I had to use a tram. I went in there and activated the ride, but I heard it lurking around and charging at me. This was the moment I freaked out, paused the game and turned off my console lol.

What about the hotel sequence in “the last of us?” Like, just as you turn the lights on and have to quickly run into the stairwell before the bloater and clickers get you. That part always scares the crap out of me, especially when playing on grounded.

The reveal of those creatures in Uncharted genuinely shocked me. I had the feeling of being watched and thought I saw something at one point when you're heading to the temple, but thought it was just paranoia

Developers of horror games need to continue to make this kind of horror. Fans need them.

As a horror, I would say the early Wolfenstein where you were a lone soldier behind the enemy line attacking the Enemy stronghold and throughout the mission you see the soldier panicking and you have no clue whats going on and as night starts so does the demon start rising up, was never able to finish that game.

With survivor horror going more mainstream again, I hope Bethesda makes a spin-off of Doom in a survivor horror setting with scary demons and devilish and cult aspect, maybe blend it a bit more with reality at first and go crazy with demon worlds later.

Hear me out! The game is old but in Call of Cthulhu: Dark Corners of the Earth, the mission where you sleep in the nasty hotel and the citizens wake you up to hunt you down... This game genuinely terrified me years back.

Dying Light 2 is a very faint shadow of the first game in so many ways, the horror aspect is just one aspect of it. But that Air Drop mission still gets my heart pounding to this day, and I’ve played it a dozen times or more.

I love tomb raider 2013, and rise of the tomb raider

When I tell you I was not ready for that bunker level in the first Uncharted, please believe me. I went in there like it was just an abandoned bunker. Oh boy was I wrong.

I’d like to pitch an honorable mention. The spider tunnels in Mortal Kombat X in the area where you unlock collectibles. Spiders literally jump scare you as you’re just walking around, and as someone with arachnophobia, I had to turn off sound and look away to move through it.

I know it wasn't a horror game but, one game that really horrified me was in Vampire the Masquerade Bloodlines. The big ol' haunted house gave me chills like I had never experienced in my entire life. Still remember how I tried to tough out the feeling of being scared.

F.E.A.R.: Discovering you're Alma's kid. What a mind bender.

Another great one is Castle Town in Ocarina of Time after you become adult Link. Those zombie humper things always freaked me out when I was a kid.

Thanks for reminding us about Clanker... Those memories are ones I didn't wanna remember

I would really love to have a sequel or even a remake to Condemned. Was so unique and fun.

When I started this video, the first thing that came to mind was the bunker in Uncharted and sure enough it was on the list 😂

I still remember the mission in alien isolation where you had to go in the hive… I never finished the game

The tension at the Ishimura level made me feel so uncomfy that I literally cried. I stood up from my computer, went into the corner and cried for like 1 minute straight, then returned to my computer. I loved this game so much - I wanna play it again for the first time.

That air drop mission in Dying Light was exactly the point where I fell in love with that game. I haven't even played DL2 yet and I'm not sure that I will. Probably just play through Dying light again instead.

the librarian in metro 2033 scared the shit out of me

Honorable mention for me was Doom 3 Delta Lab. That mission felt as if the game knew it was time to ramp up the creepy ambience and jumpscares

The thing about Tombraider 2013 was that, if you were someone who had been playing Tombraider since the 90s, this hard turn into a nearly survival horror genre was so unexpected that it was literally jarring. I know people don't like it much, and I didn't at the time either. However, playing it again in 2023, I've really began to appreciate the way the gameplay evolves as you go. At the start it has a similar feel to Evil Within's opening level. By the end it's basically full on action adventure like old school tombraider.

6:57 Lara was really hardcore in this game. Really brutal and ruthless how she killed the enemies. And this scene where she comes up from a literal blood bath was very iconic for that reason.

For me it was merely the walk through the Lost Woods to get to the master sword in breath of the Wild. First playing it, I hated the music and the echo-like laughter of the koroks whenever the mist caught you, followed by Link's I suppose spooked gasp. It always set me on edge despite little to nothing happening. It also happened again with a korok trial where there was actually enemies but the first inital test of trying to get to the Great Deku Tree freaked me out a lot

That entire tonal shift in the first uncharted had me shitting my pants. There was nothing like it before everything turned on you. And then things got very very creepy.

Spot on about Dead Space 2. The scariest part was that for so long nothing happened, and I just wanted it to end so badly. I was so relieved when an enemy finally showed up

One level I found scary back then was in "Thief-Deadly Shadows" (AKA Thief 3) the mission where you went through an old asylum or something.

Evil within 2 is better than Evil within.... said absolutely nobody with the tiniest amount of brains?! What the hell

Hey ganeranx am The Game Genie and I hav been following u guys for about 4 years now

That part in the first uncharted was always my favorite part as a kid. Makes sense that as an adult survival horror and even modern horror games is one of my favorite genres

I was almost positive that Shalebridge Cradle from Thief Deadly Shadows was going to make it. That lvl used to give me and my entire friend circle nightmares. For years... Damn good list though. Happy about the Uncharted mention.

In Time Splitters 2 Siberia, the zombies were actually creepy as hell, especially if you play on higher difficulties (map is much bigger). When TS3 came out the zombies were.. a lot easier to fight lets say

Honourable mention: Minding your own business quest in Hogwarts Legacy it comes so unexpectedly and it's a pretty scary quest compared to the others

Ok THANK YOU for including #5, my gosh seeing Clanker for the first time was absolutely terrifying as an 8-10 yr old. I do remember having actual nightmares.

nothing is creepier than doing the tower of mice mission in Witcher 3 at night (in game) and at late nights in real life. something about that mission really gets to you, especially when you land on the island and the moonlight perfectly illuminates the drowners walking around and then you enter the show and its straight up haunted.

Dying Light was probably the first game I got really scared in Didn't help that I panicked and couldn't find a safehouse so I ended up running way more than I needed to

Mannnnnnn always puts a smile on my face when I see y’all post a video!

That image of half Lara's head emerging from the blood pool was my desktop and PSN profile wallpaper for a good while.

Also, Temple of shadows Ocarina of time to me is one of the tops

Can’t way I found that Tomb Raider section scary, surprised to see it on here Same for the bunker section in Uncharted.

The first time I played Uncharted scared the hell out of me lol

Great list I played all these levels except 2 and 4 and I agree these levels all had my heart racing 😂

the bunker from uncharted really stands out from the rest of all the other areas and vibes from anything in the series. I remember getting super scared playing through that, looked like I was threw into another Ravenholm.

What really sucks about the Croc sequence is not being able to reflexively use the batarang. If you've been through it enough times, you can spot the cues, but first time around, I walked around with it at high ready 😬

Want to talk about the "343 guilty spark" level in Halo ce? That level at the time was totally unexpected and damn scary.... A few levels before you fought the covenants in great battles with epic music in the background, now instead you are immersed in the darkness of the swamp, the covenant are scared of something you can't see....in the fog the motion detector signals disappearing enemies, on and off.... As you descend the facility you encounter mangled bodies and a crazed marine, the build up to the revelation of the floods is still phenomenal today. This level is so memorable because it bring with it a radical change of tone, a super creepy yet masterfully crafted level.

3:01 this very scene in Dead Space 2 is unexpected but expected in the same way because you're walking in peace and you expected to see something necro from far away but it was so unexpected that it will came below you, and then the jumpscare starts. The one with the necro babies too.

Gears of war 2 had some scary moments they never did again. The mission where the hailstorm hits while you're in that facility and the part where you're walking across the planks with the glowing mouth creatures below

Damn dis video bring back some bad memories

One of the moments that came to mind, that I'm sure everyone that played it had was the piano room in Super Mario 64. I know it isn't really a level but a moment in time where alot of people had some ptsd from pianos in games for a while

I still remember the first time my father and I played the catacombs mission in Return to Castle Wolfenstein. The atmosphere was perfect but scary, even my father got scared. Very few have managed to cause such a disturbing effect on me.

Thank you SO MUCH for taking the time to drag Dying Light 2. 😆 It deserved every word.

The devs get scared making their own content 😂

Remember getting The Evil Within on release with the PS4, played about an hour. The anxiety and stress, too much. Turned it off, never played again.

jeez that gameplay at the end of number 9 is the longest a gameranx video has gone with NO commentary

Running from Laura after she screams from that pile of blood in the first evil within is by far the most I've felt my soul pucker up