Hi everyone! It might early for some Halloween-style horror, but that doesn’t mean that we can’t enjoy something scary from time to time. Although out the history of games, there’s always been at least one level that’s scared the socks off of us. A level that, whether because of it’s dark atmosphere or vivid imagery, stays with us for all of our gaming lives. So, for your pleasure, here are what I consider to be top 5 scariest video game levels of all time.
5) Third Level - Unreal (“***”)
Compared to today, the first scare you come across in Unreal is a bit weak, but at the same time is still memorable. After leaving a crashed prison ship, you arrive on a planet that at first seems peaceful, yet for some reason there isn’t a sign of life, except for the natural wildlife. When you go through what looks like a few mining structures, you realize that the power isn’t working. Walking around for a bit, you come across the switch that will turn the power on...at the end of a lit hallway...around a corner. I think you all know where this is going.
You reach the switch & turn on the power, and at first things seem okay. Then, the lights turn off, one by one. The hallway is now pitch black, and the only light around is the soft glow of your laser pistol. Then.....metal bars slam through the hallway, cutting off your escape! As if that wasn’t enough, a bloodthirsty Skarrg (One of the main enemies in Unreal) bursts out from the wall, and tries to kill you! Despite having a weak weapon, you eventually kill the Skarrg, the metal bars move out of the way, and the hallway lights come back on.
Back in the mid-to-late 90s, this was one of the scariest things on the planet. Unfortunately, the dated graphics haven’t aged well, thus cheapening the moment. Still, it’s a pretty frightening experience, and it manages to give me chills to this day.
4) Crypt - Return To Castle Wolfenstein (“***”)
What I liked about this level is the buildup to it. When you start the game, you’re trapped in a castle controlled by the Nazis. You escape, you shoot, no big deal. Then you come across a snowy village, and you go through a similar situation: escaping, and shooting. About halfway through the village, you come across an allied agent, who informs you that the Nazis have made it to a local digsite, and that strange things were going on. You kill a few more Nazis, then you arrive at a graveyard. Things still seem relatively normal, until you blow off the seal of a mausoleum, and descend into the depths below.
Right away, you can tell that nobody should be in this place. The crypt feels too ancient, and perhaps too alien, for modern minds to understand. It also appears that the Nazi soliders are having a hard time in the crypt, as the bodies of the ancient Germanic people bursting from their graves, and ripping the soldiers apart, limb from limb. Not only are there zombie-like creatures devouring Nazi flesh, but equally ancient Germanic warriors also assail you, wearing rusted chainmail, and swinging equally rusted swords & axes. Even if nobody was in the crypt, you can just feel this dark aura over the whole place, and a coldness just seems to drape over you like a heavy blanket.
Compared to Unreal, the graphics in this game have fared far better, and thus have managed to preserve the horror & suspense better. Killing Nazis is always fun, but when you’re killing them in a dank, frightening crypt, it ramps up the terror ten-fold.
3) Die Rise - Call of Duty: Black Ops 2 (“***”) (Sorry bout the commentary on this one)
Originally I had the Nuketown Zombies at this spot, mainly because it’s a damn creepy level. What ultimately caused me to change the choice for the number 3 spot is mainly because the theme of the level (A post-nuclear wasteland, filled to the brim with the hordes of the dead), is relatively popular in gaming. With Die Rise, you have a relatively unique level & theme.
Taking place in post-apocalyptic Shanghai, Die Rise has you fighting the zombie horde amid a group of three ruined skyscrapers, one of which has toppled over to create an upside down environment. There’s a feeling of a worker’s utopia within these buildings, as imagery of Chinese Communism can be seen on the walls at times, along with aspects of commercialism & capitalism within the starting area. Did I mention that there’s a meteor shower happening all around you as you’re killing things!?
All of these elements come together to create a level that’s not only scary, but also raises the tension quite a bit. Much of the fighting is done in various hallways & workspaces of the skyscrapers, not to mention an upside-down Buddhist temple. These tight spaces (For the most part, there’s tight spaces) force you to be a little paranoid, as you look around frantically for the next sign of the zombie horde.
2) Orphanage - Painkiller: Battle Out of Hell (“***”)
Holy shit this level is friggen creepy! If you recall my Painkiller review (Click “***” to read), I said the game takes place in Purgatory, and the levels within were fantastical takes on various points in time, and the Orphanage is no exception. When you spawn at the beginning, you’re surrounded by a fog-covered swamp, with hordes of dead trees strewn all over the place. The orphanage itself is situated on top of a hill, but it looks more like a old, and rather large Victorian house rather than a place that takes care of kids.
When you step inside, right off the bat you know something is wrong. The entry hall is dark like midnight, with the only light source coming from the player. As you step up the stairs, a child’s ball bounces down, and some of the creepiest music kicks in. You take a turn to the right, and you come across demonically possessed girls, who promptly burst into flames and try to smother you. After promptly putting them to sleep, you continue to journey through the decrepit locale. You walk through a library, a play room, a class room, and a jail/torture chamber (What the hell is a jail/torture chamber doing in a orphanage!?), killing the possessed kids in the process. In addition to the girls, there’s possessed boys armed with knives, and’ll turn into headless beasts with claws if they take enough damage. There’s also puppets that’ll poke you with their sharpened noses (Makes sense?), children in body bags that will explode if you’re too close, a butcher-like demon that swings around an axe, and to conclude this assortment of horror, a ghostly nun that throws fire balls. During the portions with the butcher, you’re chased through a bloody kitchen, a set of dank stairs, and finally the orphanage’s basement, where you finally kill him. To really creep you out (And perhaps to weird you out as well), your battle with the ghost nun takes place in a small crypt, with a single sarcophagus right in the middle.
If you have the courage, try to play the level. I can only say that if you don’t survive, you’ll never trust kids again!
1) Hell - Doom 3 (“***”)
I can say, without a shadow of a doubt, that the depiction of Hell in Doom 3 is one of the scariest levels I've ever played through. Even today, I still look over my shoulder once in a while when I’m playing that level, making sure that nothing’s behind me. When the original Doom depicted Hell, no PC gamer at the time saw anything like it. It was dark, creepy, and had plenty of atmosphere. Nowadays, it doesn’t hold a candle compared to this newer depiction, and feels more nostalgic than horrifying.
For starters, you still have some of the elements from the original hell (Blood splatters, mutilated bodies, etc), but the at the time revolutionary graphics somehow turned these horror staples into Lovecraft-style mind warpers. This also applies to the environment, as you’re constantly traveling through open space (Complete with a black-red sky, dotted with stars, and filled with occassional lightning & thunder), and underground caves dotted with lava pools, steam vents, and remnants of the scientists that traveled to Hell before you did.
The creatures also add to the horror & suspense. There’s imps that meld into the stone, floating heads that try to bite you, massive Hell Knights that’ll either rip you apart, or throw orbs of green energy that’ll incinerate you, and a assortment of other beasts. Although you do have armor & weapons available, there isn’t enough that it’ll make you feel superhuman. Even the standard health packs are somewhat hard to find, and thus it forces you to be more careful than normal. To really ramp up the horror, the voice of a demonized Dr. Betruger chimes in from time to time, taunting the player into giving up, and being overrun by the denizens of Hell.
All of these elements combine into a whole that truly terrifies you, and stays in your mind for a long time.
See you all next week, when we’ll all perform Ozzmosis. Until then, stay Otaku!
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