Games that make you jump

[Tylorious]

I was wondering if any of you have a game that can literally scare you out of your seat, this can range from a slight jum to running and turning on the light. Amnesia and Dead Space are games that obviously would make someone jump and play in fear, so let's hear some that are a little out of the ordenary.

I for one jump almost everytime I'm in a tight corridor in Wolfenstein 3d and find a zombie hitler around the corner. Very similar fears in doom and doom 2 but not nearly as bad as Wolfenstein.

Another big one is anytime I play diablo2 or d3 on hardcore.

I want to hear yours.

[Octopus Jack]

Mario? :smallwink:

On a more serious note the original Bioshock has made me jump quite a few times and in the same tone System Shock 2, they're not horror like Amnesia and its ilk but have some of the themes of the genre.

[Cristo Meyers]

My wife and I got a couple of jumps out of Cognition, which is odd since it's a point-and-click adventure game. Though those were pretty mild.

Got a single good jump out of Lone Survivor, too bad I got bored soon thereafter and quit playing it.

Anna had me on the edge of jumping for a good portion of the game, but never gave a true jump-scare.

[Tylorious]

My wife and I got a couple of jumps out of Cognition, which is odd since it's a point-and-click adventure game. Though those were pretty mild.

Got a single good jump out of Lone Survivor, too bad I got bored soon thereafter and quit playing it.

Anna had me on the edge of jumping for a good portion of the game, but never gave a true jump-scare.

I find it to be the games in which you least expect a jump-scare where you will find them. For example, older games, cheezy games, etc.

[supermonkeyjoe]

Fallout three, the metro, feral ghouls.

I saw the red blip on the radar for miles away, the ghoul came screaming out of a tunnel in front of me, I aimed the rifle at it, went into VATS and saw the beast outlined in the blackness, I selected the head, 95% chance to hit, easy, took the shot and blam, the creatures health dropped to 0 and its head blew into bloody chunks.

I dropped out of VATS automatically and was ready to move on when there was another ghoul RIGHT IN MY FACE. I lost my **** and fired wildly at it but died to the sudden unexpected onslaught. All I can thi.k was the second ghoul was right behind the original one and I didn't see it in the dark.

[CarpeGuitarrem]

Mario? :smallwink:

*slow clap*

Also, SimAnt always made me jump whenever the blasted spider stomped over and ate me. :smalleek:

[Cristo Meyers]

I find it to be the games in which you least expect a jump-scare where you will find them. For example, older games, cheezy games, etc.

The first time a giant spider attacked in Dragon Age: Origins in the Mage Origin made my wife almost jump out of the chair :smallbiggrin:

We both knew it was coming, too, didn't help. There's just something about spiders the size of your torso...

[Tylorious]

Fallout three, the metro, feral ghouls.

I saw the red blip on the radar for miles away, the ghoul came screaming out of a tunnel in front of me, I aimed the rifle at it, went into VATS and saw the beast outlined in the blackness, I selected the head, 95% chance to hit, easy, took the shot and blam, the creatures health dropped to 0 and its head blew into bloody chunks.

I dropped out of VATS automatically and was ready to move on when there was another ghoul RIGHT IN MY FACE. I lost my **** and fired wildly at it but died to the sudden unexpected onslaught. All I can thi.k was the second ghoul was right behind the original one and I didn't see it in the dark.

YES!!! This is definitely one of those moments. how about that part in half life 2 where you go to the old western style town in the dark and all you have is the gravity gun. that junk stinks!

[Corlindale]

The first time I met a Barnacle in the original Half-Life.

I had fallen into some water, well and truly lost while trying to figure out how to progress. Suddenly I feel myself sliding upwards, holding onto something rope-like. "How nice", I thought, "a way up and out of the water, thank God I found this rope... sure does sound weird, though..." Then I looked up. Then I jumped out of my chair. Then I immediately alt-F4'd out of the game on pure instinct, and had to really build up my courage to try again.


Since then I always take out barnacles from very far away whenever possible, even if it's a waste of ammunition. Hate those bastards!

[blueblade]

Vampire the masquerade - bloodlines. The old hotel/mansion. You will be afraid..

[Whoracle]

Thief 3 - The Orphanage </thread>

Honorary mention to a few more levels in Thief 1 and 2. Also, as previously mentioned, V:tM-B - Hotel/Mansion and System Shock 2.

[Wookieetank]

Silent Hill 1, 2 and 3. Haven't played any of the others at this point.

[Tylorious]

Silent Hill 1, 2 and 3. Haven't played any of the others at this point.

I completely count these as some of the scariest games I have ever played. I was only able to beat the one with the lake and the fog. I can't play any of the others for more than 5 minutes.

[Manga Shoggoth]

Two that I can recall:

One of the creatures in Hexen gave me a very nasty turn the first time I saw it. I can't remember what was so upsetting about it now, but it left me uneasy for quite a while.

Then there was my first Controller in STALKER - Shadow over Chernobyl. Not the sort of thing you want to meet in a dim underground passage...

(Strange really, as they are one of the easiest of the creatures to take out...)

[Tylorious]

Two that I can recall:

One of the creatures in Hexen gave me a very nasty turn the first time I saw it. I can't remember what was so upsetting about it now, but it left me uneasy for quite a while.

Then there was my first Controller in STALKER - Shadow over Chernobyl. Not the sort of thing you want to meet in a dim underground passage...

(Strange really, as they are one of the easiest of the creatures to take out...)

I'm really diggin' these answers. In Hexen, I would venture to say it is the green serpent guys with the horns. As for in STALKER, I never got too far in that game but I could see how it could be scary.

[Cristo Meyers]

Then there was my first Controller in STALKER - Shadow over Chernobyl. Not the sort of thing you want to meet in a dim underground passage...

(Strange really, as they are one of the easiest of the creatures to take out...)

Only if you knew the trick. If you didn't: Heaven help you since that thing will tear you a new one.

I'd forgotten about that Controller, it's probably the scariest part of the game. I ran like a frightened rabbit the first time it happened, and I knew the trick to killing it!

[Traab]

Those damn dogs in the old medal of honor games. You can HEAR them barking. You know they are after you, you have drawn a bead on the door and you wait. And you wait. And you wait. Then you figure maybe they will pop up a little later when BAM! They lunge right at you! Somehow the guy with an smg is getting torn apart by freaking german shepards.

[Hiro Protagonest]

Only if you knew the trick. If you didn't: Heaven help you since that thing will tear you a new one.

I'd forgotten about that Controller, it's probably the scariest part of the game. I ran like a frightened rabbit the first time it happened, and I knew the trick to killing it!

Those dwarf guys from Call of Pripyat were scarier.

[GoblinArchmage]

The bathtub part in Eternal Darkness made me scream, and I panicked when I thought that I accidentally deleted my saved game.

[Leecros]

They lunge right at you! Somehow the guy with an smg is getting torn apart by freaking german shepards.
Well, i'd imagine it'd be pretty hard to aim a gun with a couple of dogs nomming on your arms.


As for games that have made me jump. Obviously there's Amnesia, but there's also the games that the company made previously, Penumbra Overture and Penumbra Black Plague that has a couple of jumpy moments in them.

Dead Space, i never found to be scary. The scares were too easily predictable for me. F.E.A.R. has a similar issue, but they do have their moments(even the definitely not-horror F.3.A.R.) Personally, i always thought the two non-canon expansions to the first F.E.A.R. were better than any of the later material.

There's also always SCP Containment Breach. It's definitely scared the pants off of me more than once and it has the added bonus of being free. So if it's not really the kind of horror you're looking for, you'd have not lost anything.

Outlast was supposed to be another good one, but i've never actually played it.

[KillianHawkeye]

Resident Evil 2


I have two of these. First one is the damn licker in the interrogation room. It's a smallish room, and it's deadly silent. There's one of those one-way mirror/windows on the wall between the door and whatever was worth looking at in the room. First time you go in there? Nothing happens. Go back a little later? BAM! Licker jumps through the mirror and it's right in your face!

Luckily I was holding my shotgun at the time. :smallamused:


Second one is zombies during the door transition. Resident Evil games are well known for their dramatic door transitions which doubled as loading sequences. A black screen with an animation of the door slowly opening, then you're in the next area. It's a thing which is utterly safe and mundane, which after a while you don't even pay attention to. Except ONE TIME when the door starts opening, and suddenly there is panic music and zombies coming out! Now you got zombies right in front of you that you totally weren't expecting!

[brutii]

The platformer Eversion made me jump at one point. I will say that at some points in the same, when you go to jump over a pit, something pops up to meet you. The first time I encountered that was not psychologically scary, but was the most effective jumpscare I've ever been subjected to.

[Tylorious]

I just thought of another game that fits this list for me. The beheaded kamikazee guys in Serious Sam. They don't make you jump unless you turn around and they are right there, but they do instill fear in the player by yelling constantly....CONSTANTLY. If you hear one and you don't know where he is coming from, you WILL jump out of your seat.

[DigoDragon]

Headcrabs from Half-life 1. Specifically during moments I'm crawling through vents, fail to hear their chirping sound, and then turn the corner. Arg.



I completely count these as some of the scariest games I have ever played.

A past roommate of mine loved that series. He'd play it late night in the dark and I'm sitting with him watching the game, taking note for him. Yeah, good scares.

[Wookieetank]

I completely count these as some of the scariest games I have ever played. I was only able to beat the one with the lake and the fog. I can't play any of the others for more than 5 minutes.



A past roommate of mine loved that series. He'd play it late night in the dark and I'm sitting with him watching the game, taking note for him. Yeah, good scares.
I've beaten 1 and 2 (2 has the lake, all of them have the fog... :smalltongue:) and gotten most of the way through 3 (just got distracted by other games at this point). 1 is decidedly the creepiest/scariest game for me with Amnesia and/or Penumbra very close seconds. If I can make it through the school in 1 sitting its an impressive feat, and I've gotten myself stuck at the moth boss on my second playthrough (haven't worked up the nerve to attempt it again). :smalleek:

[Tylorious]

I've beaten 1 and 2 (2 has the lake, all of them have the fog... :smalltongue:) and gotten most of the way through 3 (just got distracted by other games at this point). 1 is decidedly the creepiest/scariest game for me with Amnesia and/or Penumbra very close seconds. If I can make it through the school in 1 sitting its an impressive feat, and I've gotten myself stuck at the moth boss on my second playthrough (haven't worked up the nerve to attempt it again). :smalleek:

Was it just me not knowing how to play all that well, or did it take between 10 and 15 minutes to cross the lake?

[Wookieetank]

Was it just me not knowing how to play all that well, or did it take between 10 and 15 minutes to cross the lake?

Sounds about right, but since I was on a spree of actually being able to play for almost 3 hours straight in one sitting I don't remember noticing too much. I found the lake crossing terrifying myself, particularly after the sewer gators of 1. Was just waiting for something to jump out of the water and attack me in the row boat. :smalleek:

[Tylorious]

Sounds about right, but since I was on a spree of actually being able to play for almost 3 hours straight in one sitting I don't remember noticing too much. I found the lake crossing terrifying myself, particularly after the sewer gators of 1. Was just waiting for something to jump out of the water and attack me in the row boat. :smalleek:

I know it, the gators are the reason i couldn't finish 1. I actually finished 2, but that's because I had people in the room with me to keep the tension light.

[Avilan the Grey]

Doom 3 was this, the first levels the first time I played it. After that the annoying enemy spawning in cleared areas, the incredibly plastic graphics and other things got in the way. Plus headache from the damned flashlight.

[Tylorious]

Doom 3 was this, the first levels the first time I played it. After that the annoying enemy spawning in cleared areas, the incredibly plastic graphics and other things got in the way. Plus headache from the damned flashlight.

I feel ya on the first 2 or 3 levels, but once you realize that ducking is the key to ultimate victory, everything is a cakewalk and you can't wait until an imp spawns so you can merk it by duck-dodge-shotgun-chesthole-creating it.

[Pronounceable]

Hopscotch. No other game has ever made me jump >_> Mainly because I don't play those but still.

[Wookieetank]

Hopscotch. No other game has ever made me jump >_> Mainly because I don't play those but still.

Volleyball, Basketball, Tennis, etc.

Infamous 1 & 2, the Lego games, Sly Cooper, Super Meat Boy, I Want to Be the Guy, any platformer ever, etc, etc :smalltongue:

Edited for spelling.

@ V You never jump for the high balls? :smallconfused:

[Hiro Protagonest]

Volleyball, Basketball, Tenis, etc.

Infamous 1 & 2, the Lego games, Sly Cooter, Super Meat Boy, I Want to Be the Guy, any platformer ever, etc, etc :smalltongue:

It's Cooper! And tennis.

And since when does tennis make you jump? You might dive for a ball, but it's hardly required.

[CarpeGuitarrem]

You have to keep jumping up and down during tennis to keep your toes fresh. :smallbiggrin:

[supermonkeyjoe]

The first time I met a Barnacle in the original Half-Life.

I had fallen into some water, well and truly lost while trying to figure out how to progress. Suddenly I feel myself sliding upwards, holding onto something rope-like. "How nice", I thought, "a way up and out of the water, thank God I found this rope... sure does sound weird, though..." Then I looked up. Then I jumped out of my chair. Then I immediately alt-F4'd out of the game on pure instinct, and had to really build up my courage to try again.


Since then I always take out barnacles from very far away whenever possible, even if it's a waste of ammunition. Hate those bastards!

Haha yes, I think I know exactly the place you did that, I jumped onto the 'Rope' and climbed up, realised I couldn't stop climbing and looked up at just the right time for the whole damn screen to be filled with nightmare barnacle maw. So glad half life 2 shows you what they are before you blunder into one.

[Krazzman]

Doom 3 and Quake 4.

Doom 3 was because I hate to be left the choice between have a weapon or a lightsource... I think I never even got to the "big-dog-rhino-thing" before putting it aside.

Quake 4 I just had to turn off sometimes because of constantly alien noises and then alien ambushes. Got to the part where you have to deactivate some lasers and ****. Never touched it again after trying out a no-cd patch that did not work.

Resident Evil 2 the crows and the doorzombies. Playing it the first time, having near to no ammunition or better said having NO ammunition and then facing the wrath of the door zombies... I even was afraid when not playing but then I was around 12 or so...

[Wookieetank]

System Shock 2, psychic monkeys. 'Nuff said. :smalleek:

[TechnoWarforged]

Wii Fit and Wii Fit Plus I guess... :smallsigh:

[sadeyes1111]

Alan wake had one cutscene that made me jump

[Partof1]

+1 for Fallout 3.

The very first time I played it, or any other sort of Bethesda RPG, I was pretty timid.

Had just gotten out of the Vault. Crappy armor, crappy weapons, barely knew the controls. A couple of mole rats attacked me, and I beat them just fine. Then, when I went over to loot them, and as I was walking away, I bumped the thumbstick, which was the carry button.

I wish I could have seen my face when an undead mole rat jumped up at me and started swinging around my poor flailing character.

[MLai]

First time I found out what a Chryssalid can do in the original X-com UFO Defense. The first time I heard that absurdly loud screech while my soldier rounded a corner and got ambushed out of nowhere, I jumped. This is a TBS game that's not supposed to happen!

And then the soldier just disappeared and the screen went black with fog-of-war, there was none of the usual interception-firefight or human death animation. So I was like "Wait WTF happened WTF was that? Where's my guy?!"

Ofc after a while, the rest of my squad found out exactly what happened to that guy...

The first time a giant spider attacked in Dragon Age: Origins in the Mage Origin made my wife almost jump out of the chair. There's just something about spiders the size of your torso...
Ugh, I hated those blasted things even after they're dead. It's the only time I ever played a game where there were giant spiders so... realistic. I felt a mix of morbid revulsion/curiosity zooming in and examining the dead polygons after the battle, just like I would IRL.