Amnesia: A Machine for PigsBioShock InfiniteDark Souls 2Dark Souls 2: Scholar of the First SinGone Home
Old-Fashioned Jump Scares - Outlast
Outlast is the stuff that nightmares are made of. From the first time I played it in a pitch black, claustrophobic closet at PAX East 2013 to when I reviewed it a few months ago, the game did an impeccable job of throwing me in the depths of a complete hell. The single moment that continues to stick out to me comes in the opening moments, shortly after your plucky journalist has gained access to Mount Massive Asylum. Like any good horror setting, the lights in many of the rooms were out, so I had to use the night-vision setting on my camcorder in order to make any sense of the darkness. Through the green and black blur, I slowly opened a door, only to find myself staring directly at a body swaying from a noose. The sound cue at that moment caused me the jump, and immediately sprint to the other side of a room. As soon as I thought I’d made it to safety, another body reached out to me, and an impaled man rattled off a death knell that forced me to take a moment and collect myself somewhere far away from my PC. - Marty SlivaLost Souls of Dead Children - Year Walk
Year Walk's unsettling atmosphere is at its most haunting when you're seeking out the lost souls of dead children. The scene is set up in a fashion that should be hilarious -- it's a task assigned, wordlessly, by a horse wearing a suit in a frozen lake -- but is utterly frightening. Clues about the babies' whereabouts invariably involve blood. They shiver violently as you deliver them to the haunting Brook Horse, who casually whisks them away into nothing, leaving you with nothing more than guilt, dread, and a key to the next tense event. - Mitch DyerThe Boys of Silence - Bioshock Infinite
My scariest moment of 2013 is from BioShock Infinite. The whole portion of Comstock House with the Boys of Silence and Elizabeth screaming and being tortured left me feeling sad and creeped out. It was when I unknowingly turned a corner and a Boy of Silence popped out in my face that actually scared the crap out of me. I specifically stay away from most scary games because I get so freaked out, and this moment really made me jump. - Leah JacksonThe biggest “jump” I got was from Bioshock: Infinite. The Boys of Silence are easily the creepiest enemies in the entire game, and when one spawned RIGHT behind me in Comstock House, I was so startled I couldn’t even scream; I just had Booker run out of the room as fast as he could! - Meghan Sullivan