History NightmareFuel / PBGHardcore

** Episode 10 has the group going to a desert and running into a sandstorm, which quickly takes a turn for the worse as they're swarmed by huge, fast ants and dragonflies, with [=ProtonJon=] being reduced to 3 health. When they try it again, the same thing happens, leading to a retreat. Jon's scream of "I'M FUCKED! I'M FUCKED!" as he gets attacked can send chills down your spine. It's such a panicky shout from such a normally calm guy.

* This reaches its culmination in Episode 18, where while near the stronghold, [=PBG=] nearly falls into lava in a ravine cutting through the stronghold. [=PBG=] manages to survive due to nearby water... And is then [[YankTheDogsChain unceremoniously killed]] [[HistoryRepeats by a Creeper]], and just like Minecraft #5, Jeff is left alone in confronting the Ender Dragon after everyone else died in the same order as last time.

** Episode 2 of ''Minecraft #7'' turns into an utter, horrifying disaster. As Jeff, Ray, and Barry explore the mines underneath the party's house, Jeff accidentally unearths a massive wave of Zombies and baby Zombies that charge into the tunnel before they can plug the hole back up. In the resulting carnage, Barry gets backed into a corner and gets overrun by the horde, killing him effortlessly, while Jeff and Ray retreat to the ground floor with Jeff only barely escaping with his life. The Zombies quickly [[AllYourBaseAreBelongToUs seize the house]], and Jared is herded away from the door, cornered, and killed. While the group eventually retakes the house, it's a PyrrhicVictory, with two survivors killed off before they even had a chance to get decent equipment. Last, but by no means least, the aforementioned lack of death messages briefly leaves the survivors holding onto the desperate hope that their comrades somehow survived.
** The sudden realization from fans that ''Minecraft #7'' was effectively becoming a retread of ''Minecraft #5'' was chilling enough, and made everyone worry about Ray's fate as the season continued.
*** This reached a particularly terrifying conclusion in Episode 15 when an unexpected hole sent Ray into a fiery death. His screams just make it worse. [[HistoryRepeats And, once again, [=PBG=] and Jeff are left the last two alive]].
*** This reaches its culmination in Episode 18, where while near the stronghold, [=PBG=] nearly falls into lava in a ravine cutting through the stronghold. [=PBG=] manages to survive due to nearby water... And is then [[YankTheDogsChain unceremoniously killed by a falling creeper]], [[HistoryRepeats and in a manner similar to Minecraft #5, Jeff is left alone in confronting the Ender Dragon once again]].

* Episode 2 of ''Minecraft #7'' turns into an utter, horrifying disaster. As Jeff, Ray, and Barry explore the mines underneath the party's house, Jeff accidentally unearths a massive wave of Zombies and baby Zombies that charge into the tunnel before they can plug the hole back up. In the resulting carnage, Barry gets backed into a corner and gets overrun by the horde, killing him effortlessly, while Jeff and Ray retreat to the ground floor with Jeff only barely escaping with his life. The Zombies quickly [[AllYourBaseAreBelongToUs seize the house]], and Jared is herded away from the door, cornered, and killed. While the group eventually retakes the house, it's a PyrrhicVictory, with two survivors killed off before they even had a chance to get decent equipment. Last, but by no means least, the aforementioned lack of death messages briefly leaves the survivors holding onto the desperate hope that their comrades somehow survived.
* The sudden realization from fans that ''Minecraft #7'' was a retread of ''Minecraft #5'' was chilling enough and made everyone worry about Ray's fate as the season continued.
** This reached a particularly terrifying conclusion in Episode 15 when an unexpected hole sent Ray into a fiery death. His screams just make it worse.

** Episode 15 could be best described as FromBadToWorse: The Episode. After another wave of Pigmen, they make their way to a nearby fortress, where everything goes from the frying pan to the fire. Waves of Pigmen are bad, but getting repeatedly caged in by enough respawning Blazes to turn things into a 3D BulletHell and a small army of Wither Skeletons is ''worse''. In the end, they finally found the Netherwart they needed... but [=McJones=] and Ray are dead, and now PBG and Jeff have to fight their way out against an army and rapidly dwindling supplies.]]

** Episode 20 has PBG [[DroppedABridgeOnHim gets a bridge dropped on him, becoming the victim of a OneHitKill courtesy of a Creeper with zero warning. PBG was at full health and was nearly at the maximum armour limit in the game, and he got unceremoniously killed by a common enemy just for being in the wrong place in the wrong time. Unlike most deaths in Hardcore, there was no big leadup, no heroic last stand, no avoidable fatal mistake--just someone getting cut down at a time where everyone thought they were safe. His and Jeff's screams really sell the fear.

* In ''[=MineZ=] #1'', the atmosphere in Episode 13 when disease-ridden PBG and [=McJones=] try to meet up and get out of the cave of Sirius without taking any damage whatsoever. The creepy music didn't help.

* In ''[=MineZ=] #1'', the atmosphere in Episode 13 when [[spoiler:disease-ridden PBG and [=McJones=] try to meet up and get out of the cave of Sirius without taking any damage whatsoever]]. The creepy music didn't help.

** The second trip to the Ocean Monument in the same season. [[spoiler: While they do succeed in defeating the Elder Guardians and have enough potions, the intense battles with the regular guardians is enough to bring several near-misses to the group. The fact that they got lost during it and had to backtrack to find their way made things more tense.]] All the while, [[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaOcarinaOfTime Ocarina of Time's]] [[ThatOneLevel Water Temple music]] is played in the background.
** It's telling that the ''entire group'' flashes red permanently (the indicator for immediate danger) as soon as they even '''approach''' the Ocean Monument, something that no other location throughout the entire series, not even the [[ThatOneLevel Nether]] or [[TheVeryDefinitelyFinalDungeon End]], has had the privileges of. And when they arrive, it's an [[BigLabyrinthineBuilding extremely confusing maze of a temple]] that they are forced to travel through at a snail's pace, all while running down the clock on their water-breathing potions, and their reactions fully invoke NothingIsScarier in their extreme caution and paranoia.
* ''Minecraft #5'' has a moment in Episode 7 where [[spoiler:Barry is poisoned and trapped by cobwebs as he's surrounded by spiders. He manages to destroy the spider spawner but dies immediately afterward, unable to free himself]].
** At the very end of Episode 9, [[spoiler:[=ProJared=] gets attacked by a spider, knocked into lava, and dies screaming]]. It comes out of ''nowhere''.
** In Episode 13, [[spoiler:Ray accidentally mines a lava vein, causing immediate panic and the death of Dean. There was nothing he could do as the lava spurted in from the worst possible angle, pinning him in a corner and quickly catching up to him while keeping his teammates far enough away that they couldn't help him. Ray and Jeff can only WATCH as their friend's fate is sealed in the blink of an eye.]]
** Right off the heels of Episode 13, the end of Episode 14 has [[spoiler: PBG, Ray, Spacehamster, and [=McJones=] trapped in a small bunker, swarmed by seemingly endless hordes of zombie pigmen, with no way out. The preview for the next episode doesn't help.]]
*** At one point, [[spoiler:they open a one-block hole so that they're not completely blind to the location of the horde. Almost immediately, a [[MiniMook Baby Pigman]], the only creature in the horde capable of squeezing through, charges right in, resulting in the four-man team desperately trying to bat down the PintSizedPowerhouse in the cramped bunker without hitting ''each other''. PBG only survives by the skin of his teeth.]]
** Episode 15 could be best described as FromBadToWorse: The Episode. [[spoiler: After another wave of Pigmen, they make their way to a nearby fortress, where everything goes from the frying pan to the fire. Waves of Pigmen are bad, but getting repeatedly caged in by enough respawning Blazes to turn things into a 3D BulletHell and a small army of Wither Skeletons is WORSE.]]
*** In the end, [[spoiler: they finally found the Netherwart they needed... but [=McJones=] and Ray are dead, and now PBG and Jeff have to [[OhCrap fight their way back OUT]], just the two of them against an army and rapidly dwindling supplies.]]
** Episode 19 ends with Jeff being knocked back near a Creeper, which starts to explode, ending on a cliffhanger.
** Episode 20 has one hell of a ShockingSwerve as [[spoiler: PBG [[DroppedAbridgeOnHim gets a bridge dropped on him,]] becoming the victim of a OneHitKill courtesy of a Creeper with zero warning. PBG was at full health and was nearly at the maximum armour limit in the game, and he got unceremoniously killed by a common enemy just for being in the wrong place in the wrong time. Unlike most deaths in Hardcore, there was no big leadup, no heroic last stand, no avoidable fatal mistake--just someone getting cut down at a time where everyone thought they were safe.]]
* ''Terraria #3'''s teaser at the end of Episode 5 has [[spoiler:Team New Kids (and [=McJones=]) all yelling and clearly in danger, while footage of spider dens with static and white noise fading in and out. They never actually do enter the spider den, and the biggest danger in the episode is slush.]]
** Episode 8 has [=McJones=]' team finding the aforementioned den of spiders sealed in a cave... which [=McJones=] begins digging to scout the area, stopping just short of destroying the walls. Worse, the spiders kill an NPC named Rox, freaking out both teams for a bit.
*** Probably the most shocking and nerve-wracking part of all this is [=McJones=]' [[OutOfCharacterMoment sudden reckless and heedless attitude about the whole ordeal.]] He becomes so incensed with finding treasure and equipment that he keeps on mining, at the expense of Dean and Lucahjin, who are panicking and ''pleading'' for [=McJones=] to retreat with them before he gets killed. And yes, those spiders are ''definitely'' [[DemonicSpiders demonic]] [[LightningBruiser ones]] that would have likely murdered everyone in a few good hits, especially with what little defense he had at the time. It didn't help that he accidentally mined out a cave of water and nearly drowned everyone in his party.

** Episode 10 has the group going to a desert and running into a sandstorm, which quickly takes a turn for the worse as they're swarmed by huge, fast ants and dragonflies, with [=ProtonJon=] being reduced to 3 health. When they try it again, the same thing happens, leading to a retreat.
*** Jon's scream of "I'M FUCKED! I'M FUCKED!" as he gets attacked can send chills down your spine. It's such a panicky shout, even more so than [[spoiler:his actual death yells of "Oh shit!" and "Oh crap!" from the second season and this season an episode later respectively]], from such a normally calm guy.
*** The sandstorm gets infinitely scarier when you realize that this is possibly the worst situation that Luke, PBG, and Jeff could be in. They're in the middle of a sandstorm above an antlion den of all things. And Luke almost went down into the antlion den.
** In Episodes 21 and 22, metallic clanging noises and rising spike graphics were edited in whenever [[spoiler:someone came close to dying to a spike trap in the dungeon [[FailedASpotCheck without realizing it.]]]] Happens quite a few times, which can really [[ParanoiaFuel put viewers on edge]] [[spoiler:and indisputably so, because Dean ends up dying this way in the latter episode.]] [=McJones=] gets down to [[spoiler:12]] health!
** In Episode 23, [[spoiler:Luke]] almost dies via drowning in a small pit of water, making the screen turn wavy and blue until Lucahjin is able to save him by pointing out his low health bar. Especially for people with aquaphobia, which Lucahjin has.
** [[spoiler:The season's finale acts as one. Following the boss battle, the three remaining heroes warp home and cheerfully celebrate their victory- or at least, they do until static cuts into the screen and time reverses to right before they warped home. It then shows the three of them warping into an attacking horde of hard mode goblins, and one by one the victorious heroes are killed off, with [=McJones=] narrowly managing to make it to the snow before being killed in the cold by the goblins.]]

** Episode 6 of ''[=MineZ=] #2'' has Jeff, Jared, and [=McJones=] exploring the Anvalia Upper Housing area, where they climb up the area, and go so high that a careless drop would most likely kill anyone. For people with acrophobia, this part is pretty unnerving, with holes that drop you downwards ''everywhere.'' Then there's [[spoiler:Jared]]'s bloodcurdling scream as he [[spoiler:drops down a hole]] right at the end of the episode.
** The dark forest PBG's group traverses through isn't much better, being extremely claustrophobic and dark to the point that they can barely see anything. In the next episode the other team goes there and finds it just as bad.
*** That very same episode opens with PBG and company announcing that, while their recording software was off, an unidentified player ([[AmbiguouslyHuman they think]]) had appeared in the distance, rushed at them (apparently with 'clear hostile intent'), and spontaneously vanished moments before reaching the group. The fact that it's dark and pouring rain at the time, and eerie music plays over PBG telling the story, does not help the creep factor.
*** Add on top of the fact that there was an editing error [[InterfaceScrew showing the incorrect faces while in the perspective of group II, and it makes the entire ordeal just that much more unsettling, since there is something wrong]].
** The season finale of ''[=MineZ=] #2'' [[spoiler:shows just how fast everything can fall apart in Hardcore. The surviving five party members get wiped out less than five minutes after reaching the Floating Isles-- Barry falls to his death by accidentally clipping a wall as he sprinted for his first jump, PBG dies at the same time by getting pushed into the chasm by a Zombie after making his jumps successfully, Jeff and Ian get mauled to death when Pigman Zombies start spawning on top of them, which explode into a small army of standard- and mini-Zombies and easily overwhelm the party, and Jared ultimately falls to his death when he's forced to take a running leap to safety and falls just short. It's worth noting that the episode currently holds the record for the highest number of deaths in a single episode '''in the entire history of Hardcore''' at 5, and it all happened in the time it takes to make a cup of tea.]]
*** The figurative cherry on top of this is [[spoiler:the bloodcurdling screams that occur during PBG's, Barry's, and Jared's deaths. They are disturbingly realistic, which makes hearing them an absolute nightmare. Worse is that the deaths are not instant. The aforementioned three have the last couple of seconds to absorb the fact that they missed the jump and are plummeting into certain death.]]
* [[spoiler:Jared]] is unexpectedly abducted [[spoiler:by Todd]] in the first episode of Minecraft Hardcore #6, completely baffling and scaring everyone else.
* Imagine, if you will, climbing down a staircase, only to find that instead of the next step, there's only thin air. [[spoiler:Then imagine that you have just enough time to realize that you're falling, but not enough time to understand why, before you die painfully. That's essentially how [=McJones=] dies in the second episode of ''Minecraft #6'', being tricked by an (accidental) optical illusion into thinking that a small ledge has solid ground beneath it, falling several feet into lava, and burning to death.]]
* Over the course of the first several episodes, Dodger has a few close calls. Or more accurately, Dodger simply does not replenish her health. Whenever the POV camera shows that she is living with 4-6 hearts, watching her perspective can be torturous, especially in the couple of situations where she finds herself in danger and nearly dying from it.
* In Episode 13 of ''[=Minecraft #6=]'', the gang starts to go to the Nether to get Wither skulls. PBG decides to go into the portal first before everyone else. Okay, so they'll just go in no problem, just like almost every other Nether encounter, right? Well, sort of. Until PBG's server disconnects, and boots him out of the game. When he connects back into the game, he spawns far away from the portal and [[PartyScattering everyone else]]. It doesn't help that where the gang actually comes out of the portal has ''absolutely no ground below other than a sea of lava.'' They immediately work to fix this, but neglect the back end.
** Not knowing about the unblocked portal and lava sea is what [[spoiler:kills Dodger]], who runs through the portal and to the unblocked back side and falls.
** [[spoiler:PBG gets knocked off the portal by a Pigman, and his scream as he burns alive is chilling.]]
* In Episode 14 of ''[=Minecraft #6=]'', when [[spoiler:PBG angers the Pigmen]], everybody starts running for the Nether Portal... except for [[spoiler:Jeff]], who was cut off from the group because of the mob of enemies. He ends up barricading himself in a small hole for safety, and finds a baby Zombie Pigman hiding in there when he returns from scouting out the situation at the Portal. [[spoiler:Fortunately, it isn't hostile, and Jeff manages to escape the Nether in one piece.]]
* Episode 22 of ''Starbound'' [[spoiler:drives home just how unforgiving Hardcore can be, as PBG dies by no fault of his own, falling to his death purely as the result of a glitch caused by lag. The reminder that the games '''themselves''' can screw the players over with no warning, and that there's very little, if anything, they can do about it if something happens is a heavy dose of ParanoiaFuel.]]

* Episode 2 of ''[=MineCraft #7=]'' [[spoiler:turns into an utter, horrifying disaster. As Jeff, Ray, and Barry explore the mines underneath the party's house, Jeff accidentally unearths a massive wave of Zombies and baby Zombies that charge into the tunnel before they can plug the hole back up. In the resulting carnage, Barry gets backed into a corner and gets overrun by the horde, killing him effortlessly, while Jeff and Ray retreat to the ground floor with Jeff only barely escaping with his life. The Zombies quickly [[AllYourBaseAreBelongToUs seize the house]], and despite the best efforts of the rest of the party, are repelled by the sheer size of the Zombie horde, during which Jared is herded away from the door, cornered, and killed. While they eventually retake the house, it's a PyrrhicVictory, with two survivors killed off before they even had a chance to get decent equipment. Last, but by no means least, the aforementioned lack of death messages leaves the survivors holding onto the desperate hope that their comrades somehow survived.]]