Bosses are the biggest and baddest enemies that video games will throw at players. They often come at the end of a significant chapter or portion of the game and are much more difficult to defeat than a typical enemy. Bosses are usually intimidating, but some can be downright scary.
Bosses in games with fantasy or supernatural elements often take on monstrous forms. While these would be frightening to encounter in real life, it takes a special kind of boss to scare players and make them forget they are seated safely in their homes. These truly frightening boss monsters are likely to stick with players long after they've finished the game.
10 The Last Of Us Part II's Rat King Is Gross & Terrifying
The Last of Us games don't feature too many boss fights, so players weren't expecting something like the Rat King on their first playthrough. This massive boss is made up of many different people who were afflicted by the game's Cordyceps infection, who all fused together.
The Rat King isn't just scary because of its horrifying appearance, but also from a gameplay standpoint. It is one of the tougher enemies in The Last Of Us: Part II, and players will likely be afraid for their lives throughout the entire fight.
9 Mr. X Is Resident Evil 2's Creepy Stalker
What makes Mr. X from Resident Evil 2 so scary is that he is introduced long before players can actually defeat him. Instead, he will relentlessly pursue players through the game, not slowing down for any damage done to him.
Mr. X makes Resident Evil 2 much scarier than it would normally be because he is a persistent threat. Players know that if they take too long during any one part of the game, they will inevitably be found and killed. There's no worse sight than turning around to find Mr. X at the end of the hall behind you.
8 Dead Hand Is One Of The Legend Of Zelda: Ocarina Of Time's Scariest Mysteries
The Bottom of the Well in The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time is already one of the creepiest dungeons in the game. Things only get worse when players enter a room to find a ring of pale disembodied arms growing out of the ground.
When players approach one of the unnaturally long arms, it will grab them and hold them tight as the fleshy mass known as Dead Hand springs from the ground. There is no explanation of where Dead Hand came from, and its existence has haunted The Legend of Zelda fans for years.
7 Creature Laura From The Evil Within Consistently Scares Players
Many of the horrific creatures in The Evil Within games are twisted versions of real-life people. The creature version of the character Laura is designed to reflect the horrible burns she sustained as a young woman. The flesh on her twisted body is horrifically burned with the type of detail that forces players to imagine the pain she must have gone through.
Apart from Laura's design and the traumatic event behind it, the creature version of Laura is also responsible for some of the game's scariest encounters. She will surprise players by jumping out at them and, in many instances, is impervious to any damage. This will leave players scrambling to figure out a way to escape before she tears them apart with her giant claws.
6 Marguerite Baker From Resident Evil 7 Is Pure Body Horror
Of all the horrific members of Resident Evil 7's Baker family, Marguerite goes through the most terrifying transformation. When players first encounter her, she has the same pallid skin and unnerving white eyes as the rest of her family. However, as the game progresses, she only gets more disturbing.
Marguerite's area of the Baker house is infested with swarms of large bugs. When players finally face off against her during a boss battle, they will be horrified to learn that the bugs have been coming from her. Like bloat flies, the bugs have burrowed into her decaying flesh, using Marguerite's body as a nest, and will burst from her abdomen throughout the fight to attack Ethan. It is an image that players will not soon forget.
5 Bloodborne's Brain Of Mensis Embodies The Fear Of The Unknown
When entering the Nightmare of Mensis in Bloodborne, players will be traveling down a path toward a distant tower. Out of nowhere, an eerie orange glow will start emanating from the tower, and the player will suffer immense amounts of frenzy damage.
This unknown threat is one of Bloodborne's scariest, as players have no idea what's going on. On top of that, the fear of dying and losing progress in a Souls game is always much worse than in a normal game. The Brain of Mensis makes for one terrifying entity. Like all unknowns, the Brain is actually a lot less frightening once players figure out what it is, and killing it isn't too difficult.
4 Pyramid Head Soaks Up Bullets In Silent Hill 2
Pyramid Head is Silent Hill's most iconic monster. He has appeared in multiple Silent Hill games, both movie adaptations, and even spun off into other games like Dead by Daylight. Though his unique design is definitely part of the appeal, players' terrifying first fight against him in Silent Hill 2 helped build up his intimidation factor.
Players are forced to fight Pyramid Head in a tiny room, trapped inside by a locked door and a flooded stairwell. They enter the room to see Pyramid Head killing someone before he starts lumbering toward the player with his massive knife. What makes the fight even scarier is just how little attacks seem to phase the boss. The fight gives players the terrifying sense that they will inevitably be caught, and any effort to stop Pyramid Head is useless.
3 Resident Evil 4 Puts Players In A Cage With U-3
U-3 from Resident Evil 4 is a horrifying enough boss in its own right. In its first stage, it looks like the scientist from The Human Centipede tried to make a centaur, and it only gets more horrifying once a massive earwig-like bug erupts from its back. What's even worse is the setting players are forced to fight this boss.
Leon Kennedy first squares off against U-3 in a maze of cages that dangles above an abyss. To escape the monster, Leon will have to navigate the maze, all while cages drop on short timers, and U-3 tries to tear him apart. It's an incredibly stressful boss fight made that much scarier by the visual horror of the creature being fought.
2 The Xenomorph Continues To Scare In Alien: Isolation
With how much exposure audiences have had to Alien's Xenomorph over the years, it's surprising that the monster can still be scary at all. In the original movie, much of the monster is kept in shadow, and seeing it in its entirety in later films takes away from the fear factor. Despite this, Alien: Isolation managed to make the Xenomorph scary again.
Alien: Isolation puts the player in the role of an unarmed crew member aboard a spaceship that a Xenomorph has infiltrated. Because players have no way of combating the Xenomorph, they are forced to hide or else be killed. The alien is much scarier when it might jump out of an air vent and grab the helpless player in first person than it is with the separation of a movie.
1 Lisa From P.T. Is The Stuff Of Nightmares
P.T. or Playable Teaser was an interactive trailer for the tragically canceled Silent Hills. The game had players journeying through a short gameplay loop, trying to find clues of what was going on while terrifying supernatural occurrences went on around them. Though not a boss in the strictest sense, Lisa is the main antagonist of P.T., and she is definitely scary.
Lisa's presence is first hinted at through the sound of footsteps following the player or shadows off reflective surfaces. When Lisa does appear, it is in the form of an unnaturally pale woman wearing a horribly stained nightgown, and she is also usually convulsing faster than seems possible. Her appearance is very unnerving, especially in VR, and when she catches players, they are in for quite the jump scare.