This is based on opinion. Please don't list it on a work's trope example list.
Arguably the bleakest installment in the franchise, prolonged exposure to this game is bound to taint your very soul.
- The Deadly Alliance in general. Shang Tsung is especially creepy, having a particularly sinister appearance with his demonically glowing green eyes. The screams echoing throughout his soul chamber horrifically captures the eternal agony he puts his victims through. Quan Chi's no less scary, the child murdering demon being the one clever enough to begin his scheme with the aforementioned Evil Sorcerer and pretty much succeeding in the end with their diabolical plans.
- The Krypt, full stop. Not only do you hear very creepy Background Music the whole time, you will also sometimes hear the screams of agony from random voices, soft whispering, animalistic growling, mysterious footsteps, rats, and strange crinkling noises. Just listen
for yourself, if you dare. - Drahmin, who appears to be a muscular corpse with flies buzzing around him, is quite disconcerting.
- Li Mei's ending, where her soul and that of her village feeds Onaga's Undead Army, is horrifying. Especially since it turned out to be canon.
- Moloch's howl upon starting a round can be quite haunting, which is not at all helped by the fact that he is the tallest character in the series.
- After you finish the final fights with the titular Deadly Alliance, you get to see a lovely view of Quan Chi and Shang Tsung's rotting corpses, along with the relatively unnerving music playing in the background. The Soulnado behind them arguably makes it worse. Conversely if you beat Arcade with an evil-aligned character, you instead get a menacing shot of an alive Quan Chi and Shang Tsung about to assault an Earthrealm city with their newly revived undefeatable Dragon King army with the same music playing.
- "Liu Kang is dead". For years, this guy was the hero of the Mortal Kombat universe and the seemingly invincible champion of Earth. His death in this game showed just how dangerous the newly formed Deadly Alliance truly are.
