There are plenty of horrifying abominations in video games, ranging from Sinistar in the 1983 arcade cabinet of the same name to Resident Evil's Nemesis. But there is one monster that most gamers never really talk about: man.
Anyone who has looked at the world around them can tell you that there is nothing scarier than, well, us. And while there have been many scary humans in other mediums, such as Hannibal Lecter or Annie Wilkes, none of them can compare to the terrifying people we see and even control in the realm of video games. So, here are ten of the most chilling people that video gamedom has to offer.
10 Trevor — Grand Theft Auto 5
Each protagonist in Grand Theft Auto 5 represents something: Franklin is the rookie criminal, Michael is the veteran, and Trevor is the average GTA player. And in a world filled with cannibals and people who turn others into dog food, Trevor is somehow the scariest of them all.
While every other character in the GTA universe is driven by greed or power, it seems that Trevor has no driving force. The man is pure chaos, doing whatever he wants when he wants. Anytime you switch to him, he could be asleep, in the middle of a mass shooting, or chasing after someone apologizing for exposing himself in public. All of these are played for laughs, and it works. And it's that likability that really makes Trevor so scary.
9 Porky Minch — Earthbound
Earthbound is an RPG that is weird, hilarious, and sometimes pretty creepy. In a world filled with gross-looking slime monsters, mushroom hallucinations, and the embodiment of evil itself, Porky is still the scariest thing there.
Porky, also known as Pokey, starts off as a young brat who won't help you in combat. As the game progresses you see him become a high priest in a cult, then a consultant to a mayor, then eventually the right-hand man to Giygas, the game's main villain. You learn that Porky's been putting people in tanks to brainwash them into loving him. The final boss battle is against Giygas and Porky in the most terrifying spider mech in video games. Although he seems harmless at first, Porky's arrogance and cowardice lead him to the monstrous form you see at the end.
8 Dr. J. S. Steinman — BioShock
The BioShock series is filled with terrifying monsters and people, like the Big Daddies and the Little Sisters. But no one was nearly as scary as the first boss of the first game, Dr. J. S. Steinman. A deranged plastic surgeon with an obsession for perfection. Referring to himself as "The Picasso of Surgery," Dr. Steinman will operate on his victims until they're dead.
What makes Dr. Steinman so scary isn't the man himself, it's that on your way to him you get to see his work first hand. Mutilated corpses and paintings of his victims are seen throughout his offices. He talks about the "moral obligation of beauty" on several TV monitors. And when you finally confront him, various patients are seen essentially crucified on operating tables. If the battle against him was more difficult, he'd be further up this list.
7 Vaas Montenegro — Far Cry 3
"Do you know the definition of insanity?" This single quote from the first trailer for Far Cry 3 grabbed the attention of everyone. This wasn't because of the profoundity of the statement, but the man delivering them: Vaas Montenegro. In a single monologue, Vaas proved to be both charismatic and utterly terrifying, to the point that he is still considered one of the greatest video game villains of all time.
Born in 1984, Vaas would soon become obsessed and infatuated with his sister — to the point of murdering anyone who was affectionate with her. He becomes a leader of The Pirates on the Rook Islands and works for Hoyt Volker, doing his murderous dirty work. Some of Vaas' worst acts can be seen in a promo mini-series for the game, where he tortures and kills actor Christopher Mintz-Plasse. Vaas Montenegro is a truly terrifying human being, but you just won't be able to look away.
6
Voldo — Soulcalibur
A lot of the characters are on this list because of their actions and background, but only one character is here purely on his design. Voldo from the Soulcalibur series may just be the scariest looking fighting game character of all time. The man is completely hairless, and often covered in leather straps and spikes. His eyes and mouth are always covered, but he's still able to constantly hiss throughout a fight.
In battle, Voldo wields two strange hand blades, while practicing a contorionist-based fighting style. Seriously, his movements seem unnatural, moving more like he's made of water than flesh and bones. His only goal in life is simple: protect his dead master's treasure horde — and if someone happens to steal something, he will hunt them down until he kills them. Just leave this man in his pit and move on.
5 Needles Kane — Twisted Metal
For many Gen Xers and Millenials, clowns are really scary and one of the major contributors to that is Needles Kane. This character, also known as Sweet Tooth, has been terrorizing the Twisted Metal competitition with his ice cream truck since its inception back in 1995. While there have been many different interpretations of this iconic character, the best is from Twsited Metal: Black.
Here, Sweet Tooth is a serial killer who only gets joy from killing. However, a curse was put on him that his head would constantly be on fire, representing the flames of hell. Those flames, that overweight body, and that gigantic grin — all make Needles Kane both immediately recognizable and immediately terrifying.
4 Frank Manera — Outlast: Whistleblower
You know what's always scary? Cannibals. If you want to make any character creepier, just make them eat some human flesh. It worked for Hannibal Lecter, and it definitely works for Frank Manera from Outlast: Whistleblower. The only difference is that cannibalism is all that drives Frank Manera. And the scenarios with him are mind-blowing.
When Frank was committed to the Mount Massive Asylum, he refused to eat and lost a ton of weight. This was because he knew he desired human flesh. After he was freed, he began roaming the halls, killing people with a circular saw and eating them. Your first encounter with him involves him blowing someone else's head up in a microwave, sticking you in a crematorium, and him constantly calling you "meat." What makes all of this worse is that you never see Frank Manera die. That means he could still be out there, somewhere...
3 Monika — Doki Doki Literature Club
Doki Doki Literature Club is a dating sim where you join a literature club, and fall in love with one of the four girls. Or, so you think. DDLC is actually a psychological horror game, and this is all because of one person: Monika.
Monika is the president of the literature club and one of the four girls you can romance, but the main difference between her and the others is that she knows she's in a game. This knowledge allows her to bend the game's reality to her will, and influence the player's decisions by either eliminating the other girls or even moving the player's cursor where she wants it to go. Monika is easily the most unassuming character on this list, but that's part of the reason she's also one of the scariest.
2 The Baker Family — Resident Evil 7
The Resident Evil series is known for its iconic and terrifying characters including Albert Wesker, Nemesis, and, of course, Lady Dimitrescu. But even amongst these monsters, no one is as scary as The Baker Family in Resident Evil 7.
The Baker Family is made up of many people, but the real terrifying ones are Jack, Marguerite, and Lucas Baker. All three are infected with mold by a girl named Eveline, and soon mind controlled by her — although Lucas eventually breaks that control. All three of them are turned into cannibalistic killers, who have murdered hundreds of people over three years. Each one is terrifying in their own unique way, and make Ethan Winters' stay at their home one of the scariest video games of all time.
1 Piggsy — Manhunt
Rockstar Games' Manhunt is one of the most controversial games of all time. It follows the story of James Earl Cash, as he is forced to "perform" in snuff films by murdering dozens of people in increasingly brutal ways. While there are many truly despicable human beings, the scariest is easily Piggsy.
An obese man in a loincloth, he wears a skinned pig's head over his own and wields a chainsaw. He can only speak in broken English and pig grunts, and hunts down Cash using his sense of smell. Piggsy is also, you guessed it, a cannibal. But there are signs that Piggsy wasn't always this way. He was brought on the same way Cash was, being forced to participate in these disgusting films, before eventually being driven mad by The Director.
Piggsy isn't just scary because of his grotesque form and animalistic behavior. He's scary because he's what you could be if you fail. And that's why Piggsy is the scariest human in video games.