Fewer things go better together than spooky season and Resident Evil. The classic survival horror game series has been terrifying gamers since the release of the first game in 1996. Spooky season may be over for the year, but for the 30th anniversary of the classic horror franchise, I am running back the moments that terrified me most from the classic series.
*********slight story spoilers below, read at your own risk************
The Resident Evil Moments That Left Me Scared Senseless
The Giant Spiders - Resident Evil Remake
Being 31 years of age myself, I was a bit too young for the first run of Resident Evil games. Although I have gone back and played many of the original releases later in life, the remakes of the original games are some of my earliest memories with the franchise.
I very vividly remember my first encounter with the giant spiders haunting the ceilings of the Spencer Mansion in the Resident Evil remake. The fixed camera angle looking right at the series star, Jill Valentine, while also seeing the giant spiders crawling around the mansion sent shivers up my spine and sent me running out of the room (both in game and in real life) as quickly as possible. If these giant creatures are left out of the upcoming Code Veronica remake, I won’t be too disappointed.
All the Mr. X Chases - Resident Evil 2 Remake
After playing a bit in the Raccoon City Police Department in Resident Evil 2 and the Resident Evil 2 Remake, gamers are met by the heavy footsteps of the mutant Mr. X. Mr. X stalks gamers throughout the police department, and even though you can hear the footsteps approaching from different areas in RPD, Mr. X crashing through a wall or cutting you off in a hallway will always make me jump.
There are a few points in the game where Mr. X meets you by crashing through a wall or door. It is nearly impossible to dodge his massive punch that tends to leave Claire Redfield or Leon Kennedy with a large amount of damage. The massive 8-foot-tall figure with the menacing glare and oversized dark trench coat leaves an impression on gamers and is a constant jump-scare machine.
Drain Deimos - Resident Evil 3 Remake
The Resident Evil 3 Remake left a lot on the cutting room floor when compared to the content of the original release. One thing that was left in was the spine-tingling Drain Deimos that hunt Jill Valentine as she tries to restore power to the grid in Raccoon City. These creatures have a strange spider/scorpion look to them and leave a disgusting trail of brown ooze material that reminds me of infected areas from “The Flood” in the Halo franchise.
Jill is infected by a Drain Deimos as she enters the power grid area to restore power to the subway system. In order to restore power, she has to navigate an absolute maze of brown ooze, and plenty of the creepy Drain Deimos dropping from the structure above makes gamers (me being one of them) run through this area as fast as possible before too many of the creatures can drop on me from above to cause infection and absolute terror.
D Series Arm - Resident Evil VII: Biohazard
Resident Evil VII: Biohazard returned the game to more of a survival horror formula after the previous three main entries had more of an action focus to them. The game featured brand new characters and a completely new storyline that felt like a departure from the classic Resident Evil formula.
At one point in the campaign, the main protagonist, Ethan Winters, is tasked with formulating a serum for the infection that is plaguing his wife Mia Winters and newly found contact Zoe Baker. In order to make the serum, Ethan is tasked with collecting a D -Series Arm and D - Series Head. The setting of the game is on a dilapidated farm run by the Baker family. The property is extremely decayed and covered in black mold, with very little lighting available. The game is creepy from start to end, and this mission is no different. Ethan is exploring through the old house in search of the arm, and oh boy, does he find one. The area that holds the arm is a horrible, creepy, and dark room with old and partially destroyed children’s toys splattered all around. The arm is attached to a zombie-looking creature that could jump at you at any second. The area had me tiptoeing my way through and only wanting to play during daylight.
House Beneviento - Resident Evil Village
Arguably the best-known Resident Evil campaign section in recent memory, House Beneviento in Resident Evil Village is nothing short of pure nightmare fuel.
Ethan Winters enters the home in search of a flask holding part of his daughter (only in Resident Evil could this sentence make sense). What he finds inside House Beneviento is a haunted house of evil proportions. Ethan has to work on a massive doll to find clues and tools that he will use to find Donna Beneviento and defeat her (and her doll). The entire level is creepy as the house has plenty of dolls laying around to scare gamers. The climax to this level is Ethan being chased by a giant deformed baby zombie that screams like a child. This is the only Resident Evil game that made me shut the game off and move the Xbox into a room with plenty of sunlight. I beat the level with the volume on close to zero in bright daylight.
Meeting “The Girl” - Resident Evil Requiem
Resident Evil Requiem was well received by critics and gamers alike. Gamers split time in the boots of franchise veteran Leon Kennedy and series newcomer Grace Ashcroft. While Leon has the skills and tools to survive the horror brought on in the game, Grace is young and inexperienced.
Grace gets introduced to the horrors of Resident Evil early into the game. She is kidnaped and taken to a hospital run by Victor Gideon. She escapes capture from the room she is held in, but the victory is short-lived. She is quickly met by “The Girl” a large mutated zombie like character that screams whenever light hits her. She stalks gamers through ventilation shafts. The developers went overboard with the size, sounds, and terrifying appearance of “The Girl”, and as much as I love the game, the scenes with “The Girl” leave me horrified.
What Resident Evil games/characters/moments scared you the most? Sound off in the comments below.
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