The 10 Scariest Video Game Monsters Ever, Ranked

Video game antagonists have moved far beyond a few simple pixels representing a bad guy on screen. Throughout the last few decades, some inventive minds have conjured up a plethora of horrors, and deposited them into video games for players to face. The results have been nothing short of terrifying.

Some of the best monsters in video games are the ones that elicit a feeling of real panic and unease. It might just be a game, but that’s of little comfort to players who are prone to diving underneath the covers during a scary horror movie. Interacting with such creatures is an entirely different thing.

10 Granfaloon (Castlevania: Symphony Of The Night)

To many Castlevania fans, the very mention of Granfaloon is enough to elicit feelings of terror. Though not the most difficult enemy in the Castlevania series, Granfaloon is probably one of, if not the most, disturbing. It is fought within the bowels of the inverted castle, which is where much of the real action takes place.

In contrast to many other boss fights in SOTN, Granfaloon is creepy beyond description. This parasitic creature surrounds itself with thousands of dead corpses that it uses as a shell in order to protect itself from damage. As the player hacks away at Granfaloon’s body, these corpses hit the ground, screaming the entire time. It’s definitely quite an unsettling fight.

9 The Dragon God (Demon’s Souls)

There are many powerful enemies in Demon’s Souls, but few are as frightening as the Dragon God. It’s a massive, hulking monster that dwarfs the player in size, and is capable of inflicting massive amounts of damage. Players need to utilize environmental cover to break its line of sight, lest they be turned into red paste.

Worse, his fire and melee attacks cannot be dodged or blocked, and they can kill in a single hit if players are unprepared. The grueling nature of the fight, combined with his physical appearance makes for one terrifying foe.

8 The Matriarch (The Evil Within 2)

The Evil Within shares a lot of similarities with Silent Hill, particularly the manifestation of monsters from the human psyche, and the Matriarch from the second game is one such example. She’s the malevolent personification of Myra Hanson’s obsession with keeping her daughter safe, at all costs.

It’s the final boss of the game, and one of the most terrifying foes in video games. The Matriarch is a massive, deformed and hideous creature covered in boils who uses a series of melee attacks to kill the player. It’s a monstrous fight against an equally monstrous foe.

7 Nemesis (Resident Evil 3)

While there are many powerful and terrifying monsters in Resident Evil, few can conjure up as much terror as Nemesis. This walking bioweapon was commissioned by the Umbrella corporation to deal with threats to its corporate interests, large and small.

Umbrella releases it in the third Resident Evil game to wipe out the S.T.A.R.S. members operating within Raccoon City. It attacks the player without warning, when least expected, and it’s impossible to kill with conventional weaponry. The constant state of fear is what made Resident Evil 3 so memorable, all thanks to Nemesis.

6 Deathclaws (Fallout)

Fallout is ominous and scary enough on its own, without the presence of Deathclaws. These creatures look like something straight out of the pits of hell, but they’re actually genetically engineered killing machines that run amok throughout the wasteland.

Following the nuclear holocaust, Deathclaws became a top predator on the food chain with no threats, outside of humans. They are immensely strong, with slashing claws, hulking bodies and razor sharp teeth, making them hard to kill without the aid of Power Armor and a heavy weapon.

5 The Human Reaper (Mass Effect 2)

Mass Effect 2 sidelined a bit of the sci-fi in favor of a horror theme when it introduced the Collectors, a race enslaved to the dreaded Reapers who were kidnapping humans from various colonies around the galaxy. The purpose becomes clear in the final act when the dreaded Human Reaper attacks Shepard and the team.

Physically, this is one of the scariest monsters in all of video games. It’s completely malevolent, aggressive and terrifying to behold, both in size and appearance. Unfortunately, the battle itself isn’t particularly difficult, which ended up robbing this monster much of its intended menace.

4 Frostbite Spiders (Skyrim)

Skyrim is considered one of Bethesda’s best games, and a lot of it has to do with immersion, particularly when it comes to monsters. Arachnophobes broke into cold sweats the first time they happened upon a frostbite spider in the depths of Skyrim‘s dungeons, and for good reason. They’re some of the most nightmarish and unsettling monsters in any video game, and Bethesda did little to tone down their menace.

Frostbite spiders are intimidating not just because of their size, but their ferocity. Their large fangs are lethal up close, and they’ll also spit poison at the player to debilitate them. Most frostbite spiders aren’t much of a threat, but they do come in much larger variants that are sure to induce a panic.

3 The Wendigo (Until Dawn)

The Wendigos of Until Dawn are the stuff of nightmares, and are some of the scariest creatures in video games, by far. They are characterized by their horrific appearance and piercing shrieks, not to mention their relentless pursuit of prey. They cannot be reasoned with, and act on pure, evil instinct.

Wendigos are said to be created when humans are possessed by an evil spirit and turned into flesh-eating monsters. Whatever the method, they show no hesitation when it comes to attacking and murdering those who happen to stumble into its field of vision.

2 Lisa (P.T. Demo)

The demo for the cancelled Silent Hills game featured one of the most unnerving and terrifying monsters of any video game – Lisa. She’s the malevolent ghost of a woman murdered by her husband while still pregnant, who then goes on to haunt the halls of a foreboding house.

The clever use of jump scares, mixed with Lisa’s horrifying visage and wickedness is impossible to forget. She can possess the player at will, adding further terror to the experience. The P.T. demo was so terrifying that it ended up influencing a bunch of other horror games.

1 The Xenomorph (Alien Isolation)

No other video game monster is more terrifying than the xenomorph that stocks Sevastopol Station in Alien Isolation. This movie monster successfully made the jump to video games, allowing Alien Isolation to act as a direct sequel to the first Alien film. The xenomorph of this game is unstoppable, and players must rely on stealth to stay alive.

Alien Isolation refuses to give the player a moment of respite. At any given time, players can hear the xenomorph stalking hallways, or crawling through the air ducts above their heads. When confronted, players can hide in lockers and underneath tables, but there’s never any guarantee of safety. Only a few weapons manage to scare the xenomorph off, and that’s a temporary solution at best. It’s the ultimate embodiment of the claustrophobic and primal terror of the first Alien movie.

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