![]() This is approximately the series of syllables released by my lips any time the titular Nun appeared onscreen in this Puppet Combo snack of a game: a hard J sound that may have been the start of the word “Jesus”, followed by a sort of breathy fluttering of F and V sounds. For several strange years during my adolescence, the archaic, borderline Shakespearean curse “What the devil?” was very much part of my vocabulary, and very much came out of my mouth during this jump scare. Such as when Batman, under the influence of fear gas, slowly unzips three body bags in a morgue in the Arkham basement, only to get jump-scared on the last one by the king of scares himself, Scarecrow, who grabs you and injects you with his nasty used-needle glove. True story: despite growing up in a decidedly not-Christian household, cursing was very much off-limits, even during moments of intense fright. #29: Scarecrow in the Body Bag: Batman: Arkham Asylum You can be damn sure I bought The Evil Within on release for jump scares like these, and I’d do it again. The success of an original IP $60 horror game hinged on one crazy leggy chick exploding from the ground in a mist of blood. …is what I might’ve said upon seeing the bloody hairy spider girl screech and explode from the floor for the first time, if this wasn’t possibly the most publicized moment of The Evil Within’s entire announcement and launch campaign. #30: First Encounter with Bloody Hairy Spider Girl: The Evil Within I guess it was… nesting in the cupboard? And chose this moment to realize cupboards are no place for a wild animal? Guys, this is what you came up with? You spent millions on Hayden Panettiere (valid) but you couldn’t find a single brain cell to come up with a more plausible jump scare? No. In one of the opening sections of the game, you’re searching a dark house when your current character Chris, cosplaying as Mark from RENT, kneels down to open a cupboard, and… a wolverine jumps out at the camera. No was the sound this jump scare made come out of my mouth. #31: Wolverine in the Cupboard: Until Dawn ![]() Today I’ll be ranking the best jump scares I remember from video games, based on the uncontrollable sounds my mouth made the moment they registered with my brain. That is to say, video games and jump scares go together like Teslas and heinous acts of Looney Tunes carnage. Then, there’s video games, which have it so easy you can basically make the scariest experience someone will ever play by leaving your dog alone with your computer for the weekend and spilling treats across the keyboard with the Unity Asset Store open. Even movies, which maintain a very profitable relationship with the horror genre, need at minimum excellent use of sound and at least a spark of ingenuity to make you jump. Good horror TV shows are few and far between. ![]() Books have to spend whole pages and chapters of text building dread for even the slightest payoff. ![]() In most storytelling mediums, fear is considered to be one of the trickiest emotions to instill in an audience. ![]()
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