Scariest locations in RPGs

[Wolf Kanno]

Similar to my FF thread, what are some of the scariest and most unnerving locations in other RPGs?

[WarZidane]

In general it's pretty hard to think of any RPGs that were scary or unnerving because that's just not what they're going for most of the time, even the usual haunted house/ship/whatever tends to be really tame in RPGs.

That said, The Secret World had a lot of it (makes sense, it's all about horror, lovecraftian stuff and other creepy things).
One place in TSW that stands out in particular is the Amity House facility, a lab where they test/experiment on kids for supernatural powers and things went wrong (of course).

[Vyk]

Watched my girlfriend play through the original Shadow Hearts a couple years ago. And even though it was tame by todays standards, and didn't unnerve me as an adult, I can see a younger me at least relishing in the atmosphere of some of the more Silent Hill'esque areas of that game. I didn't see the FF version of this thread, or I would say Xenogears, so I'm going to go to that thread and say Xenogears, since it's a Square product

[Lord Golbez]

Like....almost all of Vagrant Story. Also, SMT games besides Persona generally have a persistent atmosphere of dread. I tend to agree with the notion that RPGs are rarely truly scary though. I certainly couldn't think of actually scary things in FF. I was just naming "spooky" themed stuff. Like the ghost ship in Wild Arms or the haunted mansion in BoF3 or Neclord's Castle in Suikoden.

[Rez09]

[Vermachtnis]

Can I just say the entire third act of Bloodborne?

[Wolf Kanno]

Yharnam, like all of it. It would be easier to list the locations that aren't creepy and even those locations tend to be ones filled with creatures that will fill you with dread for going in there.

Probably the most consistent locations are anything that is associated with the Choir, the "science" division of the Healing Church and the macabre experiments they performed on the populace. The physical place is easily one of the eeriest places as you'll run into these Fetus Worm creatures that can barely hurt you only to walk through the front door and watch as a few werewolves come crashing down on the chandelier and plunge the room in near complete darkness. Fighting more than three of these creatures is usually a challenge unless you lure them into a tight corridor, so fighting five of them in an open space with little visibility is pretty scary. Once you finish with that ordeal, you go upstairs to find out the place is crawling with brainsuckers, humans with tapeworm heads that do a trout ton of damage and will drain your insight, think Mindflayers. After that is one of the goofier bosses in the game unless you know the trick to get into the basement and you meet Ebretius, the most Lovecraftian Great One in all of Bloodborne and one of the hardest bosses in the main game.

The second time you ever come here is in the DLC Nightmare Realm, where you get to see it in the past and the experiments that went on there. To say it's an unnerving place is an understatement.

Drip Drop, Slip SlopOne of the few friendly NPC quests in this place...

To be fair the whole Hunter's Nightmare Realm is pure nightmare fuel. The first area is covered is filled with rivers of blood, the second is the experiment ward and the last area is the fishing village.

tumblr_or1j60WJA71vfbaoso1_500.gif

[Vyk]

Ah, Bloodborne. I love its atmosphere as much as I love its gameplay

[Galuf]

Im a bit dumb, what is supposed to be seen here?

[Rez09]

That's the last overworld arena in Dragon Quest 2 and has a silly high encounter rate with enemies that can shred your party; it's basically a gamble if you can finish the game or not every time you get there.

[Wolf Kanno]

Yeah, it has a common enemy that likes to spam Sacrifice, which is a TPK even at max levels and they are notorious for being fast and usually getting a preemptive attack on you. It says something that the only non-king save point is in this area. Also, the bosses in the final dungeon will re-spawn if you leave the castle to save before taking on the final boss, so you have to do the whole area in one go more or less. To say nothing of the awful dungeon that leads you into this area... DQII's final area has the same notoriety as FFIII's last dungeon gauntlet.

[The Captain]

I definitely would rank the von Everec estate in the Witcher 3 DLC up there, especially when you encounter the first boss in the Marriage Quest. Very Pan's Labyrinth to be sure. Pretty much that entire quest and the one that follows it when you confront Master Mirror, just very good music, pacing, and atmosphere.

Take care all.