We all love a list, so every Tuesday we’re posting one, on a variety of retro-themed topics! Feel free to share your own favourites down below — and let us know what other lists you’d like to see on future Tuesdays!
What are the best horror game enemies? There’s certainly plenty to choose from — and plenty of games to pick them from — and they’re all great for different reasons. So today we’ve picked out ten of our all-time favourites — not necessarily the scariest, or the goriest, or the most horrible-looking, just our favourites for one reason or another!
And of course, no list can be truly exhaustive — so it’s over to you to highlight what you think we might have missed down in the comments or on our social channels!
But before that… let’s get horrific!
Dogs (Resident Evil)
The dogs in Resident Evil may not be the toughest enemies in the game, nor are they particularly scary in their own right — but they are responsible for one of the most iconic, legendary jump scares in the entire horror game genre. You know the one, seen above. That alone makes them one of the best horror game enemies of all time.
Zombie dogs were such an iconic part of old-school Resident Evil that they put in an appearance in the Resident Evil movies; while the movies as a whole had something of a mixed reception, to put it politely, most people will agree that the “dog scene” in the first one is genuinely excellent. Take a look!
Pyramid Head (Silent Hill 2)
Arguably the most memorable enemy in the whole Silent Hill series as well as one of the best horror game enemies ever, Pyramid Head is a crucial part of the Silent Hill 2 experience. From the very first moment you encounter him in a somewhat compromising position with a pair of mannequins through the various chase scenes and an eventual confrontation with him, he’s a constant source of terror.
And he’s more than just a monster, too. While I’m pretty sure the Statute of Limitations was up on Silent Hill 2 long ago, there may well still be some people out there who haven’t experienced it for themselves. So I’ll refrain from providing further details on his true purpose in that game’s story — but suffice to say he’s important!
Spectre (Doom)
Doom’s famous “pinkies” (also known as Sergeants, according to the Doom Bible) can be a pain in the bum at the best of times. They’re fast, they deal heavy damage if they get up close, and they take quite a lot of damage before they fall over. (Fun fact: they’re also one of only two monsters in Doom and Doom II to make an audible “thud” when they hit the deck.)
Make ’em partially invisible and they’re even worse. Because they’re inevitably hidden in dark rooms where you really can’t see them. Doom’s definition of “partial invisibility” means “become a partially transparent, ill-defined shadowy figure”; partially invisible things can be seen relatively easily in well-lit rooms, but in the dark? Nope. All you hear is that distinctive snarl, then the flash of red as you lose a big chunk of your health. Little buggers — but few could deny they’re one of the best horror game enemies of all time.
Archvile (Doom II)
Widely regarded as the most terrifying enemy in Doom II and one of the best horror game enemies out there, the Archvile can be an absolute nightmare to deal with. Not only does it set you on fire by looking at you, it also resurrects nearby enemies. If you’re in a room with a lot of demon corpses, this can spell very bad news for an ill-prepared Doomguy.
The best way to deal with an Archvile is, of course, to shoot it until it dies, as the saying goes. But that is easier said than done depending on the circumstances in which you encounter it!
Lickers (Resident Evil 2)
Lickers are one of the scariest things in Resident Evil 2 as well as one of the best horror game enemies of all time. Not only are they introduced in a deeply unsettling way, they’re also responsible for several dog-style jumpscares over the course of the game as a whole. No wooden floorboards or glass windows — boarded up or otherwise — are safe!
Lickers were also handled really well in the more recent Resident Evil 2 remake. They’re extremely dangerous — but you can sneak past them if you make sure you’re quiet enough. It’s generally safer to just blast them with something powerful, though! Everything is less scary with a grenade launcher in your hand, after all…
Sachiko (Corpse Party)
Corpse Party for PSP is one of the most genuinely terrifying games of all time — and its main antagonist Sachiko plays a huge part in that, along with the game’s astonishingly good sound design.
Sachiko is so terrifying simply because the nature of Corpse Party’s narrative-centric gameplay means that there’s no real way to resist her directly. You can’t fight her, you certainly can’t kill her — but she sure as hell can kill you. In a variety of creative ways. All of which are excruciating to witness. Fun!
If you’ve never experienced Corpse Party for yourself, there’s a brand new version releasing for Nintendo Switch very soon. Bring headphones. And clean underwear.
Broken Neck (Project Zero/Fatal Frame)
The Project Zero series (known in the US as Fatal Frame) has some of the best horror game enemies of all time — and Broken Neck is one of the most memorable, because she’s so deeply unsettling to look at. Her twisted appearance makes it clear that she died in a very unpleasant way — and on top of all that, this makes her quite difficult to fight, too, since you ideally need to capture her face in your Camera Obscura shots.
Since she’s a ghost, she just keeps coming, too; the most you can do is temporarily get rid of her — at least until you deal with the underlying curse of the Himuro mansion, that is.
Fiend (Quake)
What is the essence of the best horror game enemies of all time? The ability to make you absolutely cack your pants at a moment’s notice. And Quake’s fiends certainly fit this bill perfectly, what with the fact they’re all mouth and claws — and capable of leaping the length of a tennis court in order to introduce these various pointy bits to your softest, fleshiest parts.
Once again, the best means of dealing with a fiend is to shoot it until it dies… but you’ll probably want to get used to circle-strafing pretty quick, like.
Metroids (Super Metroid)
Considering Super Metroid is called Super Metroid, you actually don’t see all that many Metroids over the course of it. But when you do… whoo. They’ll absolutely enter the top tier of best horror game enemies for you — particularly during one specific scene towards the end of the game that I won’t spoil.
Yes, yes, yes, I know, if the Statute of Limitations of Silent Hill 2 is up, it’s definitely up on Super Metroid, but with the recent release of Metroid Dread it’s entirely possible series newcomers will be checking it out for the first time, so I’ll refrain from spoiling the details. But man. For a game with no real dialogue in it, that’s one hell of a scene.
Barnacle (Half-Life)
One of the things that many of the best horror game enemies have in common is the ability to do something unexpectedly terrifying. And your first encounter with the ceiling-mounted Barnacles in Half-Life will doubtless result in an unexpected, very frightening death.
“Oh, look,” you’ll think. “There’s a rope hanging from the ceiling. I wonder if I can grab onto i– wait, why am I climbing automatically, why– OH GOD”
So there’s ten of the best horror game enemies of all time — but what do you think? Anything you’d add to the list? Let us know down in the comments or via the usual social channels!
