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.
02:48Vocational Block – Outlast Whistleblower Exploring a supposedly abandoned mental hospital
02:54isn't really something that any sane person would think to do, but the protagonists of
02:58both Outlast and its subsequent prequel DLC, Whistleblower, seem to think it's a good
03:03idea, and you, as a result, are going along with 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 given
04:11the 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 are 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 – The Suffering
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
06:22to be an ideal scenario to find yourself in.
06:24But for Death Row Inmate Talk, 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 Talk's victims haunting him, it's safe to say that this is an environment that is
06:46not 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, and they love nothing more than leaping on
07:07Talk so they can stab him in the eyes with their 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
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.
08:19Abandoned 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.
08:48Upon entering the disused shopping plaza, we immediately catch sight of mannequins in
08:52the distance. Creepy enough on its own, but then we see some walking around in an inaccessible
08:58area. From that point on, the gloves are off, and any mannequins that are strewn around the
09:02area are a potential enemy that's ready to pounce on you at a moment's notice.
09:06You'd think that surviving that onslaught would be the end of the nightmare, but oh boy,
09:10you'd be very wrong. We'll avoid specifics as you should absolutely experience this one
09:14for yourself first-hand, but the level's final set piece is undoubtedly one of the
09:19most terrifying and memorable horror set pieces that the medium's ever seen.
09:23Tread carefully, and be suspicious of every mannequin.
09:272. House Beneviento – Resident Evil Village
09:30You no doubt saw this one coming. Despite Resident Evil Village not being an out-and-out
09:35scarefest, House Beneviento is a clear attempt by Capcom to prove to the naysayers that not
09:40only were they capable of upping the terror in their flagship horror series, but they
09:44were able to stand toe-to-toe with any other horror game out there.
09:47Tapping into the current horror game zeitgeist and stripping away any semblance of combat,
09:52House Beneviento is a nerve-shredding excursion that starts with you taking apart a mannequin
09:58to uncover key items, and it ends with you barely escaping a giant,
10:02gelatinous, mouth-formed baby that wants nothing more than to swallow you whole.
10:06It's an expertly placed and well-constructed sequence, one that starts with the player
10:11exploring 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
10:20builds to unbearable levels, as the world around you becomes increasingly more hostile.
10:25It was a smart decision by Capcom to focus the game's marketing on both the werewolf enemies
10:29and the 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
10:49are the perfect distillation of pure, unbridled terror within the video game medium.
10:54For those unaware, the SCP Foundation makes it their mission to capture,
10:58imprison, and research numerous supernatural entities, housing them all within its bleak
11:03and oppressive facilities that are full of precarious corners, cleverly designed blind
11:07spots, and tight claustrophobic corridors, all of which are not particularly helpful if one of
11:11those beings should escape its confines. And as luck would have it, that's the exact scenario
11:16you'll find yourself in should you be brave enough to tackle the SCP games.
11:20It doesn't matter which of the monsters you're up against, because no matter the threat,
11:24the facility itself will always, always be against you with its labyrinthine design,
11:29which is made all the worse by its layout being randomly generated in each playthrough.
11:33Exploration of your surroundings will yield useful findings, such as items that will aid
11:38in survival, but your running shoes are likely going to be your sole savior in this never-ending
11:43stretch of corridors. You'll never truly be ready for the horrors of the SCP facility,
11:48and 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 justmcdonald, and make sure you stay tuned to us here for plenty more gaming goodness.