29 bloody scary things that have chased us in games

RUN AWAY! RUN AWAY!

Words: on May 18, 2011

Video games bring with them plenty of challenges. But nothing in games, nothing at all, is more harrowing than being chased.

If you're running away, it means you can't fight back. If you're running away for a long time, it means the thing you can't fight back against really wants to mess you up. Thus, chase sequences are the most stressful set-pieces in all of games, if not all of life. Developers have been using that knowledge to disempower us for years, removing everything we've learned about their game, and all the confidence that comes with it, in order to keep us on our digi-toes for extended periods of adrenaline-overdose. It's a cheap trick, but it's one that really works in terms of mixing up pacing and tone. It's also great for making a player poop him or herself, which is always good. So we've collected together and rated the 29 best bloody scary chasing things, by way of a misty-eyed tribute.

One or two of them aren't even meant to be scary, but they are. Which is itself a massive testament to the power of chasing.


1. A bloody big spider of seething eldtritch horror

Chasing the crap out of you in: Limbo (XBLA)
Chasing method of choice: Using horribly spindly leg animation to horrify you into a coma.
Scare rating:  


2. A truck

Chasing the crap out of you in: Uncharted 2 (PS3)
Chasing method of choice: Squeezing down a tight alley, threatening to squash you into dual-dimensionality. Exploding quite quickly.
Scare rating:  


3. The angry sun

Chasing the crap out of you in: Super Mario Bros. 3 (Multi)
Chasing method of choice: Swooping down out of the sky at regular intervals trying to burn your ass with its starry gases.
Scare rating:  


4. The Descendents (similarities to anything in the film The Descent entirely coincidental)

Chasing the crap out of you in: Uncharted (PS3)
Chasing method of choice: Skittering around dark tunnels in mobs and trying to eat your severed face like a taco.
Scare rating: 


5. Nemesis

Chasing the crap out of you in: Resident Evil 3: Nemesis (Multi)
Chasing method of choice: Appearing out of nowhere every so often with a guttural grumble of “Staarrrrrrrs”. Being huge and really hard, having tentacles.
Scare rating: 


6. Salazar's right-hand

Chasing the crap out of you in: Resident Evil 4 (Multi)
Chasing method of choice: Looking and acting exactly like the alien in Alien. Dropping out of the shadows with spikey tail-flicks. Taking advantage of crap elevator technology.
Scare rating: 


7. The Scissorman

Chasing the crap out of you in: Clock Tower (Multi)
Chasing method of choice: A pleasant game of hide ‘n’ seek, with the fun additional bonus of a shear-based death if you lose.
Scare rating: 


8. The Liberty City Police Department

Chasing the crap out of you in: Grand Theft Auto IV. And III. And I. (Multi)
Chasing method of choice: Cars, boats, helicopters, guns, crashing into things a lot.
Scare rating: 


9. A boulder

Chasing the crap out of you in: Crash Bandicoot (PS1)
Chasing method of choice: Rolling after you through a suspiciously narrow, fence-and-telegraph-pole-strewn jungle, having his mates turn up just as you think you’ve escaped.
Scare rating:  


10. Another boulder

Chasing the crap out of you in: Indiana Jones’ Greatest Adventures (SNES)
Chasing method of choice: Rolling down a tunnel after you with no respect for gravity or basic physics, exemplified by its ability to roll up-hill. The monster.
Scare rating: 

Related

Platforms:

Xbox 360, PS3, Wii, PC, 3DS

107 Comments
Order Comments: Newest First | Oldest First
  • dudetron3000

    dudetron3000  - 10 months, 3 weeks ago  - Report

    The Pig-Man from Manhunt 2. Not sure if someone else said it but I am.
  • Aznzangetsu

    Aznzangetsu  - 11 months, 4 weeks ago  - Report

    B-b-b-b-ut, Dead space =(
  • philip.chan

    philip.chan  - 12 months ago  - Report

    Amnesia: The Dark Descent. That's all i'm saying.
  • crimsonmoose

    crimsonmoose  - 12 months ago  - Report

    yeah, Killer Croc scared the piss ants out of me
  • ranzatsu

    ranzatsu  - 12 months ago  - Report

    Hello? The Ultimate Being from Parasite Eve? I shit my pants when the music gets faster.
  • y2sky2003

    y2sky2003  - 12 months ago  - Report

    Not a "chase" in every aspect of the word, but this article reminded me of Uninvited (NES). If you were unfortunate enough in this game to pick up the ruby from one of the bedrooms, the evil spirit possessing the house slowly began to possess you as well. The fact that it was all told through text narrative made it even scarier.
  • Shijune

    Shijune  - 12 months ago  - Report

    Come on.. Where is the giant skeleton thing from Castlevania? My heart still pounds like hell every time it appears.
  • iJizzLots

    iJizzLots  - 12 months ago  - Report

    No Hunter from Dead Space?
    I am disappoint
  • BertTheTurtle

    BertTheTurtle  - 12 months ago  - Report

    If I may: The Dark Presence in Alan Wake, especially since you couldn't always see it, and things would just start disassembling themselves around you (like the bridge that you happen to be on), the bear in Condemned 2, The Hunter in Dead Space, Pyramid Head in Silent Hill 2 (in the labyrinth and at athe end of the hospital level), and Alma in FEAR (particularly in that hallway in Wade Elementary) come to mind. I do love a good chase in these games!
  • Imthedoctor

    Imthedoctor  - 12 months ago  - Report

    haha, Bryon Wilks from Fallout 3 cracked me up xD lol
  • kachigop

    kachigop  - 12 months ago  - Report

    Killer Croc was the scariest boss in Arkham Asylum. That was freaking terrifying. The Sandman was pretty scary in that game too, but I guess he wasn't really chasing you.
    Point of this comment: Arkham Asylum was scary...
  • SDHoneymonster

    SDHoneymonster  - 12 months ago  - Report

    Whoever mentioned the Whompa from Shadows Of The Empire has just reawakened many years of repressed nightmares for me. And this is a tragically true story, but I once refused to go in the sea because of Snacker from Banjo Kazooie. The guy who brought that bastard up is just cruel...
  • SharkConnery

    SharkConnery  - 12 months ago  - Report

    Salazar's right hand oh fuck
  • Onepersonwithnoopinion

    Onepersonwithnoopinion  - 12 months ago  - Report

    Only one glaring absence in this list: The Yeti from Ski Free.
  • jetser

    jetser  - 12 months ago  - Report

    I personally don't remember any Berserkes in Gears of War 2.
    Still, good article.

    Plus: In Treasure Island, C64, after you get the treasure, a blue ghost pirate (?) chases you all the way back you came from.

    Also, Metroids in pretty much every Metroid game.
  • thesandman126

    thesandman126  - 12 months ago  - Report

    @Clovin64
    Agreed. That bastard was in the first Dead Space as well, and even scarier in my opinion. Both times though easily qualify as some of the scariest moments in my gaming history.
  • CAPST3R

    CAPST3R  - 12 months ago  - Report

    How about those adverts on this site? They seem to be chasing us, and they're fucking scary.
  • Japanaman

    Japanaman  - 12 months ago  - Report

    Uh, don't forget all of the stuff chasing Crash in his games.
  • Japanaman

    Japanaman  - 12 months ago  - Report

    I would say the scariest things are easily the T-Rex from Dino Crisis, cops in Need for Speed, the chainsaw guy from Resident Evil 4 and 5, and the top pick of all time, the gigantic chainsaw wielding boss from House of the Dead 2. Now, he was just downright scary and menacing.
  • xiangllg

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