When it comes to horror in any media, subtly is king. Sure, the jump scare and a robot bear leaping out at you might make you jump once or twice, but the truly great scares in gaming hit the player well before they even see the actual foe, usually due to some sublime sound design and hints that begin to build the tension well before and even up until that moment when the things that want you dead finally catch up with you. Slight spoilers ahead.
The Last Of Us – Clickers
Out of the variety of zombified fungal terrors that make players slowly peak around every corner in the last of us, none is quite so terrifying as the Clicker. The telltale clicks that gave them their namesake are how they see, and how the player knows to be very careful, if they see Joel, not only will they immediately jump him, easily ending the game, but they have a terrible aggro screech that makes us jump every time.
