5 of the Scariest Horror Game Characters of 2016

We take a look at the most horrific creatures and beings in the horror games of 2016

Updated:

14 Jun 2017

2016 was a Great Year for Horror Game Fans

2016 saw a number of amazing games released across multiple platforms, and horror fans were treated to quite a few gems that were best played after dark. Horror is a genre built on its atmosphere, aesthetics, and, of course, the monstrous beings that try to maim, dismember, and brutalize players. So, in honor of those ghouls and killers, here are the 5 scariest horror game characters of 2016.

5) Spider Mastermind from Doom 4

A grotesque creature spawned from hellish sorcery and mad science, the Spider Mastermind served as a truly horrific and formidable opponent for Doom 4 players.

The Doom franchise is filled with a menagerie grotesque and fearsome monsters and demons, and Doom 4 didn’t disappoint in that department. The massive Spider Mastermind is well at home with other Doom bosses, providing both a cinematic fight and demonstrating how terrifying the creatures of Hell can be. Players are sure to be intimidated when it makes its appearance.

4) Scissorwalker from Nightcry

Concept art of the Scissorwalker, who haunts the halls of Nightcry’s cruise ship environment.

Nightcry is the spiritual successor of the classic horror series Clock Tower, and traps players in a cruise ship where both passengers and crew are being murdered one by one. The player soon finds themselves another potential victim, hunted by the eerie Scissorwalker. She proves to be a more than suitable successor to the mantle of the Scissor Man, and will terrify players as they try to escape her massive blades.

3) The Hag from Dead by Daylight

The Hag stalks killing grounds, deceptively emaciated and haggard. Players can hear her letting out a wet gurgle as she lays traps and hunts them down.

Dead by Daylight is a multiplayer game that pits a team of survivors against a player controlled killer that stalks them through dark and everchanging killing grounds. The Hag stands out amongst the roster of killers, each being terrifying in their own way. She is the most twisted of them physically, and is capable of killing enemy players with her misshapen claw, rather than any tool or weapon.

2) Old Erik from Through the Woods

Old Erik lurks in the darkness, alongside many other folkloric beasts and aberrations. Only by delving through that darkness and braving those horrors can you hope to find your missing son.

If you’re a parent, the idea of losing your child has probably run through your mind and filled you with an icy dread. Through the Woods is a game that follows a young woman desperately searching for her kidnapped son, stolen from her by an enigmatic being called Old Erik. The game is based around Scandinavian Folklore, and the nature of Old Erik is both unnatural and unsettling.

1) The Wife from Layers of Fear

Less a monster, and more the embodiment of the character’s failings, the wife from Layer of Fear adds a haunting sense of foreboding as the player uncovers the game’s grim backstory.

Layers of Fear is an independent psychedelic horror game that delves into the personal terrors of a tortured artist. As the game progresses the player discovers that horrific and tragic events occurred to the artist and his family, his relationship with his wife lying at the center of it all. Unlike many characters on this list, she’s no monster, but there are few things more haunting than guilt and loss.