Developers love tothrow in a little Easter eggor an optional quest into their games as a little inside joke or a way to lessen the general intensity of the plot. TheNo Country for Old Menrendition inGTA 5or the newspaper Easter Egg inUncharted 3, hinting at the fungus infection inThe Last of Us, are some of the most iconic ‘hidden content’ in gaming history. However, unlike some super popular and big titles in the industry, horror games are a bit more secretive with the secrets they hide in their playthrough.
Horror games are already unsettling and mysterious as is; they keep players on edge constantly with the increasingly disturbing life-and-death situations they put their characters in. Ultimately, players do not get the time or, frankly, the energy to go around looking for hidden plotlines and secrets that do not entirely contribute to the game’s progression, considering how they’re already too busy running for their lives. However, some of these secrets are simply too good to miss.
No one can deny the impactOutlasthad on the horror game scene when it was first released. It still stands as one of the scariest and themost unhinged horror games ever made, leaving fans with an inexplicable feeling of dread followed by the need to keep going. The game, in essence, was so unsettling, that players barely had time to notice the many secrets that were hidden throughout.
One such secret happens in the basement of Mount Massive Asylum during the sixth chapter of the game. When Miles enters the basement for an objective, he comes across a variant (the aggressive mob in the game) facing the wall. If Miles approaches said variant instead of going his way, the variant ends up instantly killing him. The ominous wall-facing and the aggression from the variant are similar to the ending of the cult classic found-footage movieThe Blair Witch Project.
While not a widely recognized name in the gaming industry in general,Cry of Fear isa well-known title within the horror game community. It’sa first-person survivalhorror game that depends on some pretty predictable tactics to create that familiar feeling of doom most horror games give. Being chased by a monstrous-looking man with a knife, fearing for one’s life at every dark corner of the game, or running away from the mad doctor —Cry of Feareffectively uses all these strategies to craft a very unbearable environment.
However, one secret that elevatesCry of Fearfrom a typical horror game to an almost realistic experience is a chilling 911 call. The main character, Simon Henriksson, has a mobile phone as part of his equipment. Naturally, the first thing players might think to do when they equip the phone is to call 911, all things considered. However, if they do, they won’t receive any help from law enforcement. Instead, they’ll hear dreadful noises — a mixture of screaming, laughing, and something utterly terrifying — on the other end of the line.
For all the horror game aficionados, theSilent Hillfranchise is not a new name. The entire anthology has received critical acclaim and has a major standing in not only the horror game community but the entire gaming industry.Silent Hillis known for its absolutely wicked storylines,completely wild psychological elements, and a dash of sentimentality. It’s also known for the ridiculous amount of Easter Eggs and hidden content it hides in its games, very cleverly.
The third installment of the series,Silent Hill 3, with Heather Mason as the main character, has a particular interaction with a large mirror in the game, which is easily one of the most skin-crawling moments in not only the game but the entire franchise. Heather enters a room with a large mirror and is mysteriously locked inside. The room and mirror start to distort disturbingly, and eventually, there’s a subtle shift in the entire aura of the scene when the mirror stops, well, mirroring Heather. It may not sound that horrifying in-text, butSilent Hillplayers know how creepy that entire sequence is.
Of allSilent Hillgames, the second installment stands out as particularly creepy and is widely regarded as one of the best horror games ever made. It also contains a plethora of secrets and hidden content, arguably surpassing the usual amount found in most games — it has a lot of them! However, one of the most iconic secrets in a horror game could arguably be the unlockable ‘dog ending’ inSilent Hill 2.
For a game with such a somber ambiance and an almost distressing progression,a ‘meme’ ending wouldbe the last thing one would expect. However,Silent Hill 2features a secret unlockable ending involving a certain, very adorable, Shiba Inu. This ending is only accessible after unlocking the other three endings and requires the player to find the ‘dog key’ near Rosewater Park. Once obtained, they can proceed to the third floor of the Lakeview Hotel to unlock a secret door. Behind the door, they discover a Shiba Inu in front of a large, mysterious machine, revealed to be the mastermind behind the game’s events. It’s as hilarious as it is absurd.
Dead Spaceis another very famoushorror franchise that’s known for blending sci-fi, exploration, and psychological elements in its games in addition to the typical horror theme. The first installment in the series, of the same name, features one of the best plot twists in gaming history. The interesting part is that despite it being a major turn in the storyline, the entire twist is subtly spoiled throughout the game.
The game has 13 chapters that players have to clear as Isaac Clarke, the protagonist. The first letters of all 13 of these chapters spell ‘Nicole is Dead,’ insinuating that the main character’s love interest, who has been aiding him throughout the game, is merely a hallucination. True to this foreshadowing, the ending reveals that the ‘Nicole’ Isaac has been hearing and interacting with exists only in his mind, and the real Nicole was never alive.
