History NightmareFuel / VideoGames

* ''NightmareFuel/MetroLastLight''

* ''NightmareFuel/MonsterLegends''

* ''NightmareFuel/NeedyStreamerOverload''

* ''NightmareFuel/NiNoKuniIIRevenantKingdom''
* ''NightmareFuel/{{Nightcry}}''

* ''NightmareFuel/OdinSphere''
* ''NightmareFuel/{{Oddworld}}''

* ''NightmareFuel/TheOrder1886''

* ''NightmareFuel/ProjectWingman''

* ''{{NightmareFuel/Starsector}}''

* ''NightmareFuel/TheMessenger2018''

* ''[[InteractiveFiction Afflicted]]''. You're a health inspector checking out a seedy bar in a horrible neighborhood. Just the health violations you find are seriously [[{{Squick}} squicky]], but then you start finding body parts. Worst of all is where you find the second hand.

* The Lovecraftian InteractiveFiction ''Videogame/{{Anchorhead}}'' starts out with a yuppie and her new husband moving to a beautiful rambling mansion in a sleepy New England town. The first day of the story plays like a simple mystery story, only mildly creepy, about the origins of the house. Things go downhill, especially after you reach the basement.

* What is likely the Main/UrExample of this trope in video games can be found in the 1979 arcade game ''Cane''[[note]]Italian for "dog"[[/note]]. It was developed by Model Racing, an obscure Italian arcade game company, and never received an official release. The gameplay could best be described as a mixture of ''VideoGame/DuckHunt'' and the hunting minigames in later versions of ''VideoGame/OregonTrail''. However, if you shoot the hunting dog, [[JumpScare a terrifying full-screen black-and-white drawing of a dog appears, and an ear-grating snarl is played]]. Can be seen [[https://youtu.be/VTmOG3HpR8E?t=230 here]] (turn your volume down).

* The N64 port of ''[[VideoGame/CaliforniaSpeed California Speed]]'' is just your run-of-the-mill racing game... except for an easter egg located on the Mojave Desert track. To the right of the road, partially hidden by an oil drill, is a white billboard with the message:

* ''[[http://gamemakergames.com/?a=view&id=2335 Cooking Breakfast 2]]'', a GameMaker "game", which claims to be an "all time family classic" which is supposed to let players "learn in seven steps to create your very own breakfast". The true nature of the "game" is [[ScreamerPrank something a bit different]]; to quote two reviewers, "Once you start the game this freaky-looking spinning evil face appears in front of a annoying black-white flashing background," "making a sound that sounds like a chalkboard being scrapped by a grinder". And it has no exit feature; you have to turn it off via the task manager. If we are to believe the reviews, [[BrownNote some people got seizures from this.]] It is suspected that this game is actually the author's revenge against people who gave his previous games bad reviews. There is also a [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oufquVHOLWc video]] of it on Website/YouTube.

** More subtly disturbing is the quality of the voice acting for the Lasrian troopers. If they see the Glaive coming towards them, their final words will be a desperate, pitiful scream along the lines of 'Someone help me!' Again, the SpiritualSuccessor Warframe makes them less scary and more comical due to the [[{{Narm}} Narmy]] ConLang they used.

* In ''Videogame/{{Delve}}'', when something tells you not to drink something, you should listen. NightmareFace abound.

* ''Kamikuishiki-mura Monogatari'' is an incredibly disturbing video game created by the Japanese ApocalypseCult Aum Shinrikyo and developed by an unknown studio known as "Aum Soft"[[note]]According to an update on the story of the game, the actual developer of the game was [=HappySoft=]. Yes, ''[[VideoGame/HongKong97 that]]'' [[VideoGame/HongKong97 HappySoft]].[[/note]]. For some background behind the cult itself, it was founded in 1984 by Shoko Asahara and would eventually be responsible for the deadly [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tokyo_subway_sarin_attack Tokyo subway sarin attack]] in 1995. While knowing the story behind the cult is scary enough, the game itself is arguably even more unsettling. First off, let's start off with the fact that there's ''almost nothing'' known about the game itself. From what has been deduced, however, Kamikuishiki-mura Monogatari plays out as a resource management simulator, with the goal of the game being the deployment of the chemical agent to targeted trains. Many of the graphics contain rather creepy cartoon renderings of Shoko Asahara himself, while also having real world images and even videos - including what some people believe to have been ''pictures of some of the cult's victims''. Other pleasant tidbits include Asahara sitting in a bathtub, with the water being collected into the jars; while out of context it may seem rather tame, the truth is that, in real life, the man ''sold his blood and bath water'' for his followers to drink. The game also has MultipleEndings - in [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-YDMepD9VIo the good ending]], the pictures of Aum Shinrikyo's victims are shown, followed by anime footage of the cult themselves ''congratulating the player''. In the [[https://youtu.be/nJO0LvepSWQ?t=1279 bad ending]], all of humanity is destroyed in a nuclear explosion as either zombies or mud monsters take over Earth. [[https://medium.com/attract-mode/a-game-based-upon-a-real-life-act-of-domestic-terrorism-possibly-produced-by-the-cult-responsible-26a3c5d0f3b3 More about the game can be read about here]], but viewers discretion is advised...

* ''Paranoia/Psychosis'' for the Platform/TurboGrafx16 is quite possibly one of the most scariest and disturbing games ever created for the system. The plot of the game is that your mind is in danger of being taken over by a mysterious yet threatening demon named Ugar and that you had used your own imagination to conjure up a standard shooting ship in order to [[BattleInTheCenterOfTheMind battle against Ugar and his minions from within the subconsciousness of your own mind]]. The game contains many surreal and disturbing images of both stages and enemies, complete with ''very creepy'' music and ''[[FromBadToWorse even creepier boss music]]'' that'll truly leave you very shaken and disturbed in due time, not to mention stage transitions that seems to be a direct ShoutOut to ''Film/{{Poltergeist|1982}}''. If you think that's bad enough, whenever you defeat a boss at the end of the first four stages right before the fifth and final one, you're [[JumpScare suddenly greeted]] by a scary imp-like creature (heavily implied to be Ugar) and that he either uses his right index finger (''Psychosis'' American version) for a BringIt taunt (pretty much wanting you to come after him while having no clue or idea on what other nightmarish threats await you down the road) or using his right middle finger (''Paranoia'' Japanese version) to shockingly [[FlippingTheBird flip you off]] while also saying [[PrecisionFStrike Fuck You!]] in all of its 16-bit digitized audio glory, which can truly startle and terrify some players who weren't expecting for something like this to happen so suddenly. It's quite safe to say that ''Paranoia/Psychosis'' is truly not meant for the faint of heart, so check it out if you dare.

** When Mario loses a life, a [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7i5srYYVg7c high-pitched PSG rendition]] of Boss Battle 1 from VideoGame/ChronoTrigger plays, but if he falls into a pit, he ''screams at the top of his lungs'', with the voice clip sounding nothing like him.

* ''WesternAnimation/TeenTitansGo Tower Lockdown'', a SerialNumbersFiledOff version of ''Psychout'', has Silkie appear in one of the levels. He looks like a combination of his more realistic [[WesternAnimation/TeenTitans original series]] version and cartoonish new version, and if Robin touches him, he'll eat him alive.
* ''Videogame/ThrillKill'' [[http://thrillkill.fdmk.net/ is a finished yet]] not officially released Platform/PlayStation fighter, given it had enough [[CombatSadomasochist sadomasochistic]] and [[{{Gorn}} violent content]] for the ESRB to issue an Adults Only rating, and for Electronic Arts to cancel the release. The playable characters are {{Serial Killer}}s with BodyHorror-heavy designs and screwed up to the point of disturbing backstories (a redneck cannibal, a dwarf with stilts surgically fused to his legs, a DeadlyDoctor with a bear trap for teeth), who in Hell are sent into a tournament where they straight up murder each other - EA even justified the cancellation with "When you look at ''Franchise/MortalKombat'', you look at a fighting game. As opposed to a sadistic killing game. ''Thrill Kill'' is a killing game." And that eerie ambience that place during fights is just plain creepy, with audible moaning and whispers being heard throughout.

* ''VideoGame/TopBanana'' for the Platform/{{Amiga}} by the music group [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hex_(VJ_group) Hex]] is a very weird and creepy video game with horrible graphics (which looks like the game was being corrupted) and utterly bizarre premise that border on both [[SensoryAbuse sensory abuse]] and [[MindScrew mind screw]]. Right off the bat, we've got an unsettling intro featuring a terrible techno song (courtesy of Hex's Global Chaos mixtape back in the 90s) with bizarre flashing and inverted visuals. In the game proper there's the dissonant and scrambled ambient "music", the massively unfitting sound effects, the [[CreepyDoll creepy doll-ish player character]] (from the intro and title screen it was meant to be a cute chibi), the garbled and messy environments, the enemies with graphics of wildly different origins, the spooky message at the end of levels (e.g. "BEWARE BEHAVE"), and the frightening inversion/slowdown mechanic in later levels...all topped off with that [[AWinnerIsYou "ending"]] consisting of a strange clown picture made of beads on [[NothingIsScarier completely silent screen]]. Not to mention that [[HellIsThatNoise creepy and loud laugh]] at the last second of that ending, which effectively serves as a [[JumpScare jumpscare]]...brr...

** The [[Website/{{YouTube}} Youtuber]], Zeusdaz reviewed it, [[https://youtu.be/gzj_clmB9Xs and even he could see just how unhinged the game truly is]].
* [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ykQVHYw9Gts The game over sequences from]] the first ''{{WesternAnimation/Totally Spies}}'' game for the Platform/GameBoyAdvance. The visuals are humorous enough, but the music that accompanies them is a [[LastNoteNightmare completely]] [[SoundtrackDissonance different story.]]

*** Siegfried was already highly competent in both the first and third games. In this one, his competence is downright ''chilling''. The first factor into this is how much stronger he is, to the point where he absolutely [[CurbStompBattle wipes the floor with you]] in battle. Right after the aforementioned curb stomping, he revives Mother, increasing the liklihood of Rudy's predicted betrayal. And the context for watching the opening cutscene again? Siegfried's doing as he had Rudy cornered in the Memory Maze. It's a good thing he betrayed Mother, shielded Rudy from her attacks and underwent a [[HeroicSacrifice Heroic Sacrifice]] or the game's ending would have been a lot grimmer.

* VideoGame/MonsterBasement, a flash game series, has a bit of this, for examples, [[http://armorgames.com/play/192/monster-basement play it right here!]]

* Some people find the Videogame/{{Submachine}} series disturbing because of the emptiness of the places you explore and the eerie soundtrack, and/or for the sense of being watched and not knowing who to trust. You find evidence that other people have been there before you, including notes left for you, but so far you only really have two-way communication with Murtaugh, and not very often at all... and he is ''far'' from trustworthy. Also, while many of the locations look like they've been abandoned for a very long time, some places look as though people ''were'' there recently and had to leave in a hurry -- and every now and then you'll go someplace you've been before that has apparently been visited in your absence by someone or something who likes to break things.

* ''VideoGame/NineteenSixteenDerUnbekannteKrieg'' by Kriegsgraben and Stormvogel is a first-person survival horror game about a soldier who is trying to escape from the trenches which are crawling with beings that vaguely resemble white-eyed [[RaptorAttack Raptors]]. The worst part? You don't have any weapons to fight them off! The only thing you can do is throw some severed limbs at them to slow them down.
* ''Exhibition of Sorrows'' is not one for anyone with a fear of clowns. Sure, the titular exhibition has some cheerful and harmless clown that you must ''horribly mutilate or even outright kill'' to escape from the {{Monster Clown}} haunting you, and the insanely creepy Jack-in-the-Box that turns out to be a creepy smiling head on a mass of black tentacles. The game even has a warning at the beginning about how disturbing it is.

** The Platform/PlayStation2's infamous [[https://youtu.be/1uHLQHjtPLE?t=10 "red screen of death"]] which would often show up whenever it was unable to read a disc (due to a disc in poor condition; worn-out drives; an unknown format; or an [[UsefulNotes/RegionCoding incorrect region]], such as putting an NTSC disc into a PAL console and vice-versa). Especially the background noise the console plays while in that screen. Fortunately, if you're lucky enough for getting used to it, there's a good chance that this turning into [[NightmareRetardant Nightmare Retardant]] instead.

* ''NightmareFuel/TraumaCenter''

* ''NightmareFuel/{{SIREN}}''

* ''NightmareFuel/MyHouse''

* ''NightmareFuel/MrTomatos''

* ''NightmareFuel/Barbie1991''

** ''NightmareFuel/AliceMadnessReturns''

** ''NightmareFuel/XComChimeraSquad''

*** NightmareFuel/TheLegendOfZeldaTearsOfTheKingdom

* ''VideoGame/AssaultShell'' already has multiple {{Bittersweet Ending}}s where the protagonist is killed after stopping Amber Black ''and'' the EvilAllAlong JOKER organization, but the Type Sigma ending in Void Arrange is an outright DownerEnding. The pilot defeats the TrueFinalBoss and comes back to base...and finds that there are now ''millions'' of Psycho Frames present...and the last ingredient to create this army of {{Super Soldier}}s is [[YourSoulIsMine the pilot's soul]]. With Suzy's silhouette backed by an ominous solid red background and her [[GlowingEyesOfDoom eyes glowing red]] as she forcibly kisses the helpless protagonist as part of the soul-steal, the pilot realizes with the last of their consciousness that the entire world is doomed.

[[NightmareFuel/LiveActionFilms Movies]] aren't the only thing scaring the daylights out of people in media. The pits of [[VideoGameGenres gaming]] are stock full of things [[NightmareFuel that will traumatize gamers for years]].

** One of the most notorious examples is when the Platform/PlayStation 1 models (including the slim ones) would let out a terrifying DeathCryEcho [[https://youtu.be/v09ZCiZCcUA?t=11 on their boot screen]] if it failed to boot properly (usually, this is caused by a corrupted BIOS) - this sound can only be described as an [[HellIsThatNoise outright blood-curdling screech]] followed by creepy sounding chimes (actually a really glitched version of the regular boot sound, but still, it sounds ''terrifying''). [[FromBadToWorse Even worse is]] when you realize [[KilledOffForReal what that sound means...]]it was given the FanNickname of "Personified Fear" for ''very'' good reason.

** One of the most notorious examples is when the Platform/PlayStation 1 models (including the slim ones) would let out a terrifying DeathCryEcho [[https://youtu.be/v09ZCiZCcUA?t=11 on their boot screen]] if it failed to boot properly (usually, this is caused by a corrupted BIOS) - this sound can only be described as an [[HellIsThatNoise outright blood-curdling screech]] followed by creepy sounding chimes (actually a really glitched version of the regular boot sound, but still, it sounds ''terrifying''). [[FromBadToWorse Even worse is]] when you realize [[KilledOffForReal what that sound means...]] It was given the FanNickname of "Personified Fear" for ''very'' good reason.

** One of the most notorious examples is when the Platform/PlayStation 1 models (including the slim ones) would let out a terrifying DeathCryEcho [[https://youtu.be/v09ZCiZCcUA?t=11 on their boot screen]] if it failed to boot properly (usually, this is caused by a corrupted BIOS) - this sound can only be described as an [[HellIsThatNoise outright blood-curdling screech]] followed by creepy sounding chimes (actually a really glitched version of the regular boot sound, but still, it sounds ''terrifying''). [[FromBadToWorse Even worse is]] when you realize [[KilledOffForReal what that sound means...]]

* From [[VideoGame/Ozzie Ozzie's World]], the sequence describing what it's like to be a tree, while not meant to be scary, manages to be this. The narrator gleefully goes into detail as a kid transforms into a tree with his toes becoming roots and his arms becoming branches. With all of this, the kid is left at the mercy of animals, unable to speak or move, and it ends with him [[And I Must Scream remaining a tree and at the mercy of a lightning storm.]]

* ''NightmareFuel/Starsector''

** The Platform/PlayStation2's infamous [[https://youtu.be/1uHLQHjtPLE?t=10 "red screen of death"]] which would often show up whenever it was unable to read a disc (due to a disc in poor condition; worn-out drives; an unknown format; or an [[UsefulNotes/RegionCoding incorrect region]], such as putting an NTSC disc into a PAL console and vice-versa). Especially the background noise the console plays while in that screen. Thankfully, if you're lucky enough for getting used to it, there's a good chance that this turning into [[NightmareRetardant Nightmare Retardant]] instead.

* [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jf6klGlJtIQ The loud screech]] let out by the Platform/{{Wii}} when the system froze up, triggered by the console turning off every driver but the video driver after a freeze. Definitely the last thing you want to hear during a ''VideoGame/SuperSmashBrosBrawl'' fight. And when you realize that the sound is ''[[FromBadToWorse far louder in person]]'', it's very unsettling.

** If a Wii or [=GameCube=] encountered a severe error and didn't crash with the sound, it would often instead suddenly trigger an equally terrifying error message, typically on a black screen, asking you to remove the disc of the game you were just playing (Wii only), turn the console off, and to read the console's instruction manual. Ironically, if this error popped up on the Wii, like with the sound crash, the only way to turn it off would be to either hold down the power button for a few seconds or by unplugging the system.