Last of Us horror hits different.
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00:00If you've ever played a horror game, you'll no doubt be familiar with that sinking feeling
00:04of dread when confronted with a shadowy new area to explore.
00:07You've no idea what lies in wait, but you simply have no choice but to push on if you
00:12want to see it through to the end.
00:13And more often than not, the survival horror genre makes thorough exploration a key component
00:19in its gameplay.
00:20So not only will you need to venture into the scary unknown, you're gonna have to
00:23search every nook and cranny to find precious resources.
00:26That, or you'll find something whose favorite food just so happens to be your face.
00:30I'm Jess from WhatCulture, and here are the 10 most terrifying horror game locations.
00:3510.
00:36The Attic – Remothered, Tormented Fathers
00:39A throwback to the likes of Clock Tower and Haunting Ground, the Remothered series has
00:43been quietly flying the flag for old-school survival horror for the past couple years.
00:48And for those that love the run-and-hide type of horror games, they're an absolute treat.
00:52After being constantly chased up and down stairs by a psychotic, moth-controlling nun
00:57and a naked old man – yes, you did hear that correctly – you're urged to go up
01:01into the mansion's attic.
01:02Which definitely sounds like a good idea.
01:05There's only one entrance, and you're going to know if you're followed.
01:09Which does go some ways to making you feel safe.
01:11Well, sadly for you, Tormented Fathers loves to pull the rug out from underneath you.
01:16And upon entering the attic, you're confronted with a small army of creepy mannequins.
01:21You've got no choice but to wade through them in search for your next key item.
01:25And the palpable tension that this relatively small area conjures up is truly frightening.
01:31All of which is perfectly punctuated by a highly telegraphed, but ultimately very well-earned
01:36jump scare that immediately throws you straight back into the white-knuckle chases the rest
01:41of the game's made up of.
01:429.
01:43Titan Elementary School – Dead Space 2
01:45There's certainly no shortage of truly terrifying areas to be found in the Dead Space series.
01:50Or at least in the first two entries.
01:52But if you had to single out the one that freaked out players the most, it'd definitely
01:57have to be Titan Elementary School.
01:59Given that these games are a constant barrage of white-knuckle enemy encounters and truly
02:03nauseating body horror, players could already feel the hairs on the back of their necks
02:08stand to attention upon coming across this seemingly wholesome-looking school.
02:12Its brightly-lit front door and child-friendly aesthetic are in stark contrast to everything
02:17else around it, making it feel that little bit more threatening.
02:20Upon stepping inside, everything seems completely innocuous.
02:24That is, until you see a lady in an adjacent room beckoning over a deformed worm-like baby
02:30that proceeds to explode, filling the entire room with viscera.
02:33Things don't get much better from here, as you're quickly besieged by plenty of
02:37the nasty little buggers, who can cause you a great deal of damage if they explode when
02:41next to you.
02:42They go down with a single shot most of the time, but keeping them at bay will keep you
02:46constantly on edge.
02:488.
02:48The Vocational Block
02:50Outlast Whistleblower
02:51Exploring a supposedly abandoned mental hospital isn't really something that any sane person
02:56would think to do, but the protagonists of both Outlast and its subsequent prequel DLC,
03:01Whistleblower, seem to think it's a good idea, and you, as a result, are going along
03:05with them for the ride.
03:06Naturally, the hospital is not abandoned, and the inmates have very much taken over,
03:11brutalizing anyone who dares enter with numerous creative and nauseating methods, which further
03:16hammers home the idea that you simply shouldn't be there.
03:18During your time with Whistleblower, you'll end up in the Vocational Block, a learning
03:23space that has lost all notion of rehabilitation, and instead is the stalking grounds for The
03:28Groom, one of the series' most deranged and downright dangerous foes, and one that
03:33has every intention of you being his new bride, in both the literal and physical sense.
03:38The Groom's lurking presence makes this area bad enough on its own, but the open-plan
03:43classroom areas and narrow windows for escape make this an especially hectic and stressful
03:48area to be pursued through, and you'll have very little time to take in your surroundings,
03:52as The Groom will be on your trail in a moment's notice.
03:547.
03:55The Rat King's Lair – The Last of Us Part II
03:58Often when The Last of Us is put under the critical eye, the praise is always lavished
04:02on its writing, character development, and well-constructed gameplay, all of which are
04:07completely valid things to praise, but the game's horror elements aren't usually
04:11given the same amount of adoration.
04:13This is particularly surprising when you consider that both games in the series feature several
04:17scary moments and set pieces that really crank up the intensity.
04:21Case in point, The Lair of the Rat King in The Last of Us Part II.
04:25The level starts off like any other Last of Us mission, with players sneaking into an
04:29incredibly dark area full of the infected in the hopes of retrieving some much-needed
04:34medical supplies.
04:34Upon finding what you were looking for, the Rat King makes itself known, cornering you
04:39with an ambulance.
04:40After kicking out the door, a multi-stage battle with the deformed monstrosity begins,
04:45which sees you having to run through plenty of narrow corridors, avoid obstacles, and
04:50mash the buttons on your controller into mush to get through some rather hairy quick-time
04:54events.
04:54It may not be particularly long, but it's undoubtedly the series' finest horror moment.
05:006.
05:00Spencer Mansion – Resident Evil Remake
05:03Whilst the original game Spencer Mansion was the thoroughly creepy collection of corridors
05:07and carnage, the GameCube remake's revamped version is a literal smorgasbord of unending
05:13horrors and genuine fright that can still get the best of players on repeat playthroughs.
05:19Essentially taking the bones of the original game's mansion and grafting on a few unholy
05:23appendages, this new iteration has plenty of new rooms, areas, and nasty surprises that
05:29will not only put new players through the ringer, but also throw nasty curveballs at
05:33returning fans.
05:34If the moody gothic atmosphere and nonsensical design weren't enough to keep you on your
05:38toes, the plethora of zombies, mutants, and other such nasties that roam its halls will
05:43be enough to make you fudge your undies.
05:45The added inclusion of crimson heads only serves to make the locale even more dangerous,
05:50as the roads most traveled can still harbor unforeseen dangers and surprise attacks.
05:55And whilst navigating the luscious mansion is a tension-filled rollercoaster, there are
05:59a few other horror game locations that are as fun and rewarding to unravel.
06:03Finding new shortcuts and workarounds for previously inaccessible areas is every bit
06:08as satisfying as it is life-saving.
06:105.
06:11Abbott State Penitentiary
06:14Prisons aren't exactly the most welcoming environments at the best of times, so having
06:18to make your way through one that's been overrun with demonic entities was never going to be
06:22an ideal scenario to find yourself in.
06:24But for Death Row inmate Torque, that's the very situation he's in.
06:28Not only is Abbott State Penitentiary a drab, dreary, and overly depressing place generally,
06:33but once all hell breaks loose, it becomes a whole lot more oppressive and hostile.
06:37With numerous bloodthirsty enemies ready to burst from the cells, as well as the ghosts
06:42of Torque's victims haunting him, it's safe to say that this is an environment that
06:46is not conducive to anyone's rehabilitation.
06:49Each wing of the prison is also home to its own unique creatures, all of whom are based
06:54upon the various methods of execution that Death Row inmates are subjected to.
06:58Perhaps the most disturbing of all is the Mainliners, creatures whose spines and eye
07:02holes are adorned with lethal injections.
07:05And they love nothing more than leaping on Torque so they can stab him in the eyes with
07:09their sharp facial appendages.
07:10Probably best to stay on the right side of the law.
07:134.
07:13The Town Itself – Silent Hill Series
07:16No matter if you're playing the groundbreaking first run of Silent Hill games or the less
07:20refined later entries, the one constant amongst all of the horrifying weirdness is that you're
07:25gonna have to trek through the foggy streets of this once serene vacation town.
07:29And every single time without fail, it'll have you on the edge of your seat.
07:33Originally brought about by technical limitations, the overbearing fog that obscures the city's
07:38streets ended up being a defining asset of the game's overall design, and helped to
07:42amplify the already palpable sense of dread that the game was conveying.
07:46The actual streets themselves may be rather large and barren, but the implication of what
07:51may be hiding in the fog, coupled with unnerving soundscapes that hint at unseen dangers, makes
07:56any excursion between major areas an unbearably tense experience.
08:00Should you have the guts to go exploring, however, you'll find a bounty of health
08:04and ammo pickups that'll be beneficial in the long run, as well as several smaller
08:08set pieces and details that help add further weight and context to each game's narrative.
08:13It's a classic locale for all the right reasons, and one we hope to revisit again sometime soon.
08:193. Abandoned Shopping Mall – Condemned Criminal Origins
08:23Dolls and mannequins may seem like shorthand for lazy scares these days, but when implemented
08:28correctly, they can produce some of the most terrifying set pieces the medium has ever seen.
08:32Case in point, Condemned Criminal Origins' infamous abandoned shopping mall.
08:37Of all the decaying urban environments you'll have to explore during your time playing as
08:41SCU investigator Ethan Thomas, the shopping mall is definitely the one that'll linger in
08:46your nightmares for the longest time. Upon entering the disused shopping plaza,
08:50we immediately catch sight of mannequins in the distance. Creepy enough on its own,
08:54but then we see some walking around in an inaccessible area. From that point on,
08:59the gloves are off, and any mannequins that are strewn around the area are a potential enemy
09:04that's ready to pounce on you at a moment's notice. You'd think that surviving that onslaught
09:08would be the end of the nightmare, but oh boy, you'd be very wrong. We'll avoid specifics,
09:13as you should absolutely experience this one for yourself first-hand, but the level's final
09:17set piece is undoubtedly one of the most terrifying and memorable horror set pieces
09:22that the medium's ever seen. Tread carefully and be suspicious of every mannequin.
09:272. Haus Beneviento – Resident Evil Village
09:30You no doubt saw this one coming. Despite Resident Evil Village not being an out-and-out
09:35scarefest, Haus Beneviento is a clear attempt by Capcom to prove to the naysayers that not only
09:40were they capable of upping the terror in their flagship horror series, but they were able to
09:44stand toe-to-toe with any other horror game out there. Tapping into the current horror game zeitgeist
09:49and stripping away any semblance of combat, Haus Beneviento is a nerve-shredding excursion
09:54that starts with you taking apart a mannequin – lots of mannequins – to uncover key items,
09:59and it ends with you barely escaping a giant, gelatinous, malformed baby that wants nothing
10:05more than to swallow you whole. It's an expertly placed and well-constructed sequence, one that
10:10starts with the player exploring an eerily quiet house which gives way to a dollmaker's workshop,
10:15and that's soon plunged into darkness. From there, the intensity and sense of paranoia builds to
10:20unbearable levels, as the world around you becomes increasingly more hostile. It was a
10:25smart decision by Capcom to focus the game's marketing on both the werewolf enemies and
10:30the woefully underutilized Lady Dimitrescu, because this particularly harrowing surprise
10:34is one of the reasons that players will never forget their first time playing Village.
10:381. SCP Foundation Secure Facilities – SCP Containment Breach
10:44Born from the darkest recesses of the internet, the infamous SCP Foundation's facilities are the
10:50perfect distillation of pure, unbridled terror within the video game medium. For those unaware,
10:55the SCP Foundation makes it their mission to capture, imprison, and research numerous
11:00supernatural entities, housing them all within its bleak and oppressive facilities that are
11:04full of precarious corners, cleverly designed blind spots, and tight, claustrophobic corridors,
11:09all of which are not particularly helpful if one of those beings should escape its confines.
11:13And, as luck would have it, that's the exact scenario you'll find yourself in
11:17should you be brave enough to tackle the SCP games. It doesn't matter which of the monsters
11:22you're up against, because no matter the threat, the facility itself will always,
11:26always be against you, with its labyrinthine design, which is made all the worse by its layout
11:31being randomly generated in each playthrough. Exploration of your surroundings will yield
11:35useful findings, such as items that will aid in survival, but your running shoes are likely
11:40going to be your sole savior in this never-ending stretch of corridors. You'll never truly be ready
11:45for the horrors of the SCP facility, and that's why it's so damn terrifying.
11:50That's the end of our list, but let me know down in the comments
11:52section what your pick is for the most terrifying horror game location.
11:56As always, I've been Jess from WhatCulture, thank you so much for hanging out with me.
12:00If you like, you can come say hello to me on my Twitter account, where I'm
12:03at JessMcDonald, but make sure you stay tuned to us here for plenty more gaming goodness. Thanks!