5 times when non-horror games scared the living daylights out of us

With October arriving and Halloween just around the corner, it’s to be expected that video game websites like AUTOMATON WEST will start posting about horror video games (and we will). But what about those times when a game outside the genre manages to scare you with unintentional jump scares or a sudden switch to a creepy tone? Here are five “non-horror” video games that made us jump out of our skins. 

Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time and the teleporting sand monsters 

By Carlos “Zoto” Zotomayor 

I love horror video games now but back when I was a teenager, the scariest game I had played up to that point was Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time. After the Prince is tricked by the Vizier into releasing the Sands of Time, most of the kingdom of Azad is turned into grotesque sand monsters. They aren’t too smart or fast, but the sand monsters’ inability to die (save for using the Dagger of Time on them) and penchant for teleporting to the Prince and Farah made them formidable adversaries. It was that teleport ability that got me to scare-quit Prince of Persia. 

Prince of Persia: Sands of Time features linear corridors and large rooms. When things got more spacious, the feeling of being jumped by sand monsters only increased my dread. Sure enough, as soon as I entered the palace gardens, a group of sand monsters teleported right in front of me. The sheer surprise from the sand monsters’ appearance and the whooshing teleportation sound effects were enough for me to throw my controller into the air and scream. I popped open the PlayStation 2 and removed the disc; never to play it again until I was much older. What made this scenario more memorable was the fact that my brother and cousin were watching me play during high noon, and they have never let me live it down. 

Metal Gear Solid 5: The Phantom Pain and the Hospital Opening 

By Verity Townsend 

Whether it’s Naked Snake, Solid Snake or Big Boss, it’s always fun to step back into the shoes of the hardened mercenary for another round of inventive gameplay, quirky characters and epic cutscenes. So it was with excitement that I put Metal Gear Solid 5: The Phantom Pain into my PlayStation 3, eager to see what Kojima’s MGS swansong had in store for me. 

Making a badass character completely helpless can have a very powerful impact on the player, and Kojima knows this. Nothing could have prepared me for the hell that is the opening of MGS5.  

The game starts with Big Boss in hospital, hooked up to machines and tended upon by staff. But this safety is quickly shattered when the place comes under violent attack. Having just woken up from a coma with your legs completely numb- you must crawl feebly under beds, watch as soldiers slaughter hospital staff and then hide in the dead bodies. A truly horrific opening to the game- and one that filled me with dread (followed by more horrors of war with the Devil’s House later in the game).  

Fortunately, after that, I had plenty of fun riding through the desert listening to Thomas Dolby and other 80s hits, while Fultoning unsuspecting soldiers into the sky to join my base.

Bioshock: Infinite and the Boys of Silence 

By Carlos “Zoto” Zotomayor 

Fast forward to the PlayStation 3 era and Bioshock: Infinite, which is a game that is more vibrant and livelier than its predecessors. Towards the end of the game, Booker DeWitt and Elizabeth pass through Comstock House – Zachary Hale Comstock’s base of operations in Columbia. After passing through different tears and realities, I came across the Boys of Silence – twisted experiments that act as sentries for Comstock House. Staying too long within their lines of sight prompts the Boys of Silence to let out an ear-piercing scream, dealing minor damage and alerting enemies in the vicinity. The alerted Boy of Silence will then teleport away (I’m sensing a trend here), leaving you to deal with the rabble it just summoned. 

Considering their eerie appearance and nature, I made sure to avoid alerting all the Boys of Silence as I made my way through Comstock House. Eventually, I arrived at the Warden’s Office where I could open the security gate and reach Elizabeth, who was previously taken by Songbird.   

Unfortunately, opening the security gate causes a Boy of Silence to spawn right behind Booker, not scaring the protagonist but scaring the living daylights out of me. The scream from the Boy of Silence broke the silence that permeated the Warden’s Office, causing nearby enemies to rally and start shooting. While the aftermath of the Boy of Silence’s scream wasn’t scary, that cheap jumpscare made me commend the developers as I knew they got me good. 

Bubsy 3D and the violently colorful nightmare fuel 

By Verity Townsend 

Bubsy 3D was lent to me by a friend in primary school and has lodged itself in a recess at the back of my brain ever since. Released in 1996, it was the first attempt to put garishly orange Bobcat character Bubsy into a 3D world- and this did not turn out well. Using awkward tank controls to move around vast, violently colored levels made up of disjointed looking shapes instilled a sense of dread in me at seven years old. Maybe it was the discordant music, or the fact that everything felt rather desolate and unfinished- but even now this game is horrifying. 

Bubsy 3D has since become notorious for its reputation as one of the worst PlayStation 1 games ever made. If you play it today- it’s probably best to view it as a kind of abstract nightmare. Going back to my Crash Bandicoot save after playing this for the first time was a huge relief- and I’m sure my TV’s tubes were happier too. 

Warning: There are spoilers for Undertale in the next paragraph. 

Undertale and Flowey closing the game 

By Carlos “Zoto” Zotomayor 

The last scary moment I experienced from a non-horror game thankfully isn’t a jumpscare. Upon beating Asgore Dreemurr in Undertale, Flowey appears and steals the six human SOULs for himself. After his short monologue, the screen turns white and the game closes itself without warning.  

Since I didn’t save before the Asgore boss fight, I panicked at the thought of losing all of my progress. Opening up the game didn’t do me any favors, as it restarts with a janky, macabre version of the Undertale intro sequence. I was about ready to refund the game on Steam before the protagonist showed up on the screen and the gameplay resumed. 

There are many fourth wall breaks in Undertale, but that one brought me back to the time when video game autosaves weren’t a thing. Needless to say, I make it a habit to save my games as often as possible now. 

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Those were five of the scariest experiences we have had in non-horror games. Horror games are fun but knowing they are meant to scare you removes some of the tension when playing them. A good scare in a non-horror game, though? Those can create some lasting memories.