You know what's scary? Getting chased in video games. That can take a game from spooky to terrifying, or from innocuous to also terrifying.
Of these four video game baddies what can chase you, who is the worst to be chased by?
Contestant Number 1: Mr. X (Resident Evil 2 Remake)
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"Man, fuck the police." -Mr. X, probably
Mr. X is the big bruiser who originally debuted in Resident Evil 2 about a thousand years ago. He recently re-appeared about a half-thousand hours ago in the remake of Resident Evil 2. Depending on whether you're doing an initial run or a second run, and whether you play Claire or Leon, he'll be an either short-lived or nearly constant presence in your trip through the Raccoon City Police Department and beyond.
Mr. X is on this list because of his incarnation in the remake, where he will prowl the police station, searching for the heroes so he can beat them to death. Trying to fight him is pointless; unlike the original version of the character, putting him down does not grant you any ammunition, and he takes a few bullets to stagger. 10 seconds after that he'll be back on his feet, and he'll be more aggressive if he ever gets into melee range with you.
The thing that makes Mr. X really scary is a combination of the sound design around him and how he functions in the design of the game. Since he's so big and wears heavy boots, you can hear him from multiple rooms away, or even on different floors. His presence is a constant source of stress until you reach a point in your playthrough where he leaves, one way or another. The thing is that if he does spot you, he's not that dangerous on his own, but he will force you to make mistakes to get away from him. He serves as a threat multiplier for anything else you're in range of, and if you get too caught up in other problems then he might get his hands on you, and if you can't get away he will literally pop your head like a grape. If you're in a room with a Licker and Mr. X opens the door, you are going to be having an unhappy evening.
Contestant Number 2: Nemesis (Resident Evil 3: Nemesis)
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"Stars!" -Nemesis, canonically
Nemesis is kind of the OG iteration of the archetype that the latter-day version of Mr. X would build on. Mr. X in OG RE2 would feel sort of like he's chasing you—Nemesis has the audacity to actually chase you. In 1999! What a jerk!
Nemesis is basically Mr. X taken to greater extremes. He has a rocket launcher, he's hugely ugly, he actually vocalizes, and there's no path through the game where he won't dog your ass to the end of the Earth and back. He's so baked into the iconography of the Resident Evil series that he's the reflexive pick for number 1 monster, for a lot of fans.
He's pretty spooky.
Contestant Number 3: SA-X (Metroid Fusion)
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"I love your outfit." SA-X, basically
The SA-X is what happens when your protagonist has the mechanism by which she moves through the setting—her armor, her weapons, her very body—taken from her. It is Samus: perfect anonymity, almost limitless firepower, seemingly invincible, able to reshape the environment around her by virtue of the destruction she can wreak. And unlike Samus, there is no hint of humanity.
The SA-X mostly appears in very specific, scripted sequences before you gather up enough power to actually throw down with it and attempt to reclaim your arsenal. It serves as the endpoint of your progression, the place where you can take your power back for yourself. You know you will claw your way toward it; you know that, eventually, you will have to kill it. There will come a time when it is not beyond you.
But you can never be sure of when that moment will come. And before then, you have but one recourse: run.
Contestant Number 4: The Ghost Lady (Evil Within 2)
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"*horrible wailing*" -The Ghost Lady, when she sees you
"*panicked screaming*" -me, confronted with The Ghost Lady
Getting chased in video games is scary. Of all these, who would you least want to be chased by?
Of these four video game baddies what can chase you, who is the worst to be chased by?
Contestant Number 1: Mr. X (Resident Evil 2 Remake)
"Man, fuck the police." -Mr. X, probably
Mr. X is the big bruiser who originally debuted in Resident Evil 2 about a thousand years ago. He recently re-appeared about a half-thousand hours ago in the remake of Resident Evil 2. Depending on whether you're doing an initial run or a second run, and whether you play Claire or Leon, he'll be an either short-lived or nearly constant presence in your trip through the Raccoon City Police Department and beyond.
Mr. X is on this list because of his incarnation in the remake, where he will prowl the police station, searching for the heroes so he can beat them to death. Trying to fight him is pointless; unlike the original version of the character, putting him down does not grant you any ammunition, and he takes a few bullets to stagger. 10 seconds after that he'll be back on his feet, and he'll be more aggressive if he ever gets into melee range with you.
The thing that makes Mr. X really scary is a combination of the sound design around him and how he functions in the design of the game. Since he's so big and wears heavy boots, you can hear him from multiple rooms away, or even on different floors. His presence is a constant source of stress until you reach a point in your playthrough where he leaves, one way or another. The thing is that if he does spot you, he's not that dangerous on his own, but he will force you to make mistakes to get away from him. He serves as a threat multiplier for anything else you're in range of, and if you get too caught up in other problems then he might get his hands on you, and if you can't get away he will literally pop your head like a grape. If you're in a room with a Licker and Mr. X opens the door, you are going to be having an unhappy evening.
Contestant Number 2: Nemesis (Resident Evil 3: Nemesis)
"Stars!" -Nemesis, canonically
Nemesis is kind of the OG iteration of the archetype that the latter-day version of Mr. X would build on. Mr. X in OG RE2 would feel sort of like he's chasing you—Nemesis has the audacity to actually chase you. In 1999! What a jerk!
Nemesis is basically Mr. X taken to greater extremes. He has a rocket launcher, he's hugely ugly, he actually vocalizes, and there's no path through the game where he won't dog your ass to the end of the Earth and back. He's so baked into the iconography of the Resident Evil series that he's the reflexive pick for number 1 monster, for a lot of fans.
He's pretty spooky.
Contestant Number 3: SA-X (Metroid Fusion)
"I love your outfit." SA-X, basically
The SA-X is what happens when your protagonist has the mechanism by which she moves through the setting—her armor, her weapons, her very body—taken from her. It is Samus: perfect anonymity, almost limitless firepower, seemingly invincible, able to reshape the environment around her by virtue of the destruction she can wreak. And unlike Samus, there is no hint of humanity.
The SA-X mostly appears in very specific, scripted sequences before you gather up enough power to actually throw down with it and attempt to reclaim your arsenal. It serves as the endpoint of your progression, the place where you can take your power back for yourself. You know you will claw your way toward it; you know that, eventually, you will have to kill it. There will come a time when it is not beyond you.
But you can never be sure of when that moment will come. And before then, you have but one recourse: run.
Contestant Number 4: The Ghost Lady (Evil Within 2)
"*horrible wailing*" -The Ghost Lady, when she sees you
"*panicked screaming*" -me, confronted with The Ghost Lady
Getting chased in video games is scary. Of all these, who would you least want to be chased by?
