Left 4 Dead's seven scariest moments

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Why Valve's zombie holocaust is the most terrifying game you'll ever play

Who's at the window?

As we peered through the dirty pane into the gloom, a figure waddled suddenly into view, almost out of nowhere. It was a Boomer, fat and pustule-covered, its bloated face staring straight back at us. For a second, we justlooked at one another,creating an almost unbelievable cinematic moment. Until we madly spuffed an entire rifle clip through the window in desperate fear, that is.

"Don't look at her!"

The Witch is one of Left 4 Dead's most unique elements. All scary games have hideous creatures, but how many of them can boast a lightning fast, murderous horror that you absolutely must not look at. The Witch is a masterstroke of Valve's - the dev staff on hand eagerly warned us not to disturb her, and certainly not to point our flashlights at her, which only heightened the chilling sense of uneasy anticipation. Especially when you can hear her scream, but you can't tell which way not to look.

When you finally do see her (don'tlookdon'tlookdon'tlook) she's all you could have feared - thin, deathly, wailing to herself in disturbing tones. Immediately you have two fears - one, of disturbing the game's most powerful monster; and two, of not seeing the next horde of zombies because you're trying not to look in that direction. It's harrowing stuff.

Ben_Richardson

Ben Richardson is a former Staff Writer for Official PlayStation 2 magazine and a former Content Editor of GamesRadar+. In the years since Ben left GR, he has worked as a columnist, communications officer, charity coach, and podcast host – but we still look back to his news stories from time to time, they are a window into a different era of video games.