The fight or flight response is one of the most basic human instincts, but videogames tend to focus on the former when it comes to crafting interactive challenges. The horror genre is one of the only exceptions, with many scary games allowing players to simulate how they might react when faced with insurmountable terror.
From Pac-Man to Resident Evil, the thrill of being chased through a virtual world can make for some great game design, and the videogame industry has plenty of enemies to choose from. That’s why we’ve come up with this list celebrating six of the scariest videogame stalkers, as these adrenaline-filled experiences are only as good as their relentless antagonists.
While this list is based on personal opinion, we’ll be following a couple of rules. Entries are limited to one character per franchise, and we’ll be choosing enemies according to their scare factor, regardless of the overall quality of the game that they appear in.
As usual, don’t forget to comment below with your own favorites if you think we missed an important one.
Now, onto the list!
6. Dr. Trager – “Outlast” (2015)
Red Barrels’ Outlast has no shortage of enemies that pursue players around the Mount Massive Asylum grounds, but I’d argue that Dr. Richard Trager takes the cake as the most memorable of these terrifying lunatics. While he was once part of the Asylum staff, forced commitment has left him a psychotic shell of his former self, with the Walrider incident becoming an opportunity for the doctor to experiment on his fellow inmates.
While the disfigured doctor is intimidating enough as he threatens players with an oversized pair of surgical scissors (an obvious homage to Clock Tower’s Scissorman), it’s Trager’s eerily casual demeanor that makes him horrifying. He’s also responsible for brutally chopping off a couple of the main character’s fingers, making this one appointment that players won’t soon forget.
5. Sledgehammer – “Clock Tower 3” (2003)
Featuring time travel, possessed serial killers and Sailor-Moon-style magical girl transformations, I’ll be the first to admit that Clock Tower 3 is a batshit crazy game. However, it’s precisely this manic creativity that made me fall in love with this survival horror classic and its menagerie of crazed stalkers.
While the game features several memorable pursuers, the first one stands out to me as the most intimidating. Known as Sledgehammer, this English brute introduces himself by smashing a poor little girl’s head in, immediately establishing the game’s penchant for horrific violence. Clock Tower 3 may have its highs and lows, but I’ll never forget the first time I hid under a bed and prayed that Sledgehammer would walk on by as he creepily muttered “Alyssa…”
4. Walter Sullivan – “Silent Hill 4: The Room” (2004)
From Pyramid Head to Valtiel, The Silent Hill games boast a plethora of monstrous stalkers, but I’d argue that the scariest of the bunch happens to be a plain old human being. Walter Sullivan may not initially look like much, but the entirety of Silent Hill 4 is built around exploring this serial killer’s damaged psyche through his version of the Otherworld.
In fact, one might consider Walter the real main character of The Room instead of the player-controlled Henry, as most of the game involves uncovering the murderer’s horrific backstory and dealing with his literal inner demons. It’s this psychological depth that earns him a place on this list as a terrifying stalker.
3. The Dahaka – “Prince of Persia: Warrior Within” (2004)
This 2004 sequel to The Sands of Time may not be a horror game, but you’ll be hard-pressed to find someone who played this underrated classic and wasn’t completely horrified by the time-warping Dahaka. A relentless guardian of time, this horned monster is one of the game’s highlights as he repeatedly chases players throughout the Island of Time, with an instrumental rendition of Godsmack’s I Stand Alone serving as his theme music.
As if that wasn’t creepy enough, the Dahaka also speaks in what initially sounds like a demonic language, though using the game’s time-shifting abilities reveals that the creature is actually threatening players in reverse. Now that’s spooky.
2. Slenderman – “Slender: The Eight Pages” (2012)
Slenderman began life as a viral meme, so it stands to reason that he would also become popular as a videogame character. While the faceless creature appeared in several creepypastas and ARGs before making the leap to videogames, it was 2012’s The Eight Pages that skyrocketed Victor Surge’s creation to worldwide notoriety with its simple hide and seek mechanics and spooky VHS aesthetics.
While Slenderman’s design is simple enough, it’s the game’s clever AI that earns his spot on this list, with The Eight Pages programming its antagonist to become increasingly more aggressive the closer you get to gathering all of the pages. This rising tension is what made the game such a hit back in the day while also making it worth revisiting 10 years down the line.
1. Nemesis – “Resident Evil 3: Nemesis” (1999)
You simply can’t discuss videogame stalkers without bringing up Nemesis, so it should come as no surprise that he’s number one on this list. Genetically engineered to be the ultimate killing machine, the antagonist of Resident Evil 3 has become a survival horror icon as he prowls Raccoon City in search of members of STARS.
Not only does this relentless pursuer benefit from a badass design, but he’s also mechanically significant, with his unpredictable nature keeping players on their toes throughout the entire game. If there’s one character on this list that’s likely to show up again in your gaming-related nightmares, I’d wager that it’s Nemesis.
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