The best horror games where the main villain follows you

Key insights

  • Horror games create fear because invisible enemies constantly pursue the player and keep them on the edge of their seats.
  • Games like Slender and Clock Tower successfully create terror through the relentless pursuit of a single entity.
  • In games like Outlast and Alien: Isolation, helpless players must flee and hide from their relentless pursuers.



There are few things more unsettling in horror games than the idea of ​​being constantly watched. Feel the presence of an invisible enemy that may be lurking around every corner, just waiting for the player to let their guard down long enough to strike. No amount of well-placed jump scares can replace that feeling of fear.

Related

The 16 Hardest Horror Games of All Time, Ranked

It is paramount that a horror game is actually scary, but this level of terror is sometimes reflected in the game's difficulty.

In horror games, it's common to encounter stalker enemies that are restricted to certain levels or sections. However, some games go one step further and base the entire experience on this premise. With a particularly persistent horror that haunts the player throughout the entire playthrough, ensuring that nowhere is safe. Below are the best experiences of this kind which keep the player in a constant state of discomfort.


10 Slender: The eight pages

Night in the forest


Slender: The eight pages

Released
June 26, 2012

developer
Parsec Productions

Slender: The eight pages proves that games don't need a big budget or complex mechanics to provide scary, scary moments. The simple premise has players combing a forested area trying to collect eight pages containing hastily scribbled warnings. All while being pursued by the infamous creepypasta, the Slenderman.

Audio cues and screen distortions alert the player when the Slenderman is nearby, breaking the near-silent atmosphere. With each page collected, Slenderman becomes more prominent, increasing the tension as players get closer to completion. The only way to stop Slenderman is to stare directly at him, so encountering the horror is the only way to stop him. But if you stare for too long, players will soon face instant death.

9 PT

Playable teaser


Planned as a teaser for a future silent Hill Game that would have showcased the creative talents of Hideo Kojima and Guillermo Del Toro, PT was unfortunately canceled for business reasons and remains a sore point for fans to this day. Although it's not currently playable, it's worth a mention due to the clever execution of the horror that earned the title so much hype upon release.

It's essentially a tech demo, a fairly simple experience in which a player traverses a winding corridor, searching for clues and experiencing supernatural events that change the environment with each passage. The main antagonist is Lisa, a ghostly apparition who is mechanically tied to the player, ensuring that she is with him at all times. Lisa can appear in different places in the hallway at will during each loop.

8 Hello neighbor

Neighborhood Watch


Released
October 8, 2017

developer
Dynamic pixels

The tone changes slightly to the menacingly cheerful environment of Hello neighbor. Suspecting that the neighbor is up to no good, the player is tasked with entering the house and attempting to gain access to the basement to find out what horrors he is hiding.

The neighbor constantly patrols his house and players must be careful to avoid him. What sets Hello neighbor Aside from that, the villain learns from a player's actions. Once caught, players are thrown out of the house and forced to break in again. Only this time, the neighbor will remember the player's previous intrusion, adjust his movements to track him more efficiently, and place traps where he's likely to go.

7 Bendy and the Ink Machine

Cel Shaded Terror


Released
February 10, 2017

developer
Joey Drew Studios

Ink Bendy may not have as much of a presence as some others in this category, but he'll feel like he's everywhere at once, and his sinister grin can be found all over the environment. The creature is capable of altering the landscape by saturating it with ink as the story progresses. Something the player will get used to until they come out and attack for the first time.

As Ink floods the stages and attacks become more frequent, Ink Bendy will feel like he could show up at any moment. Later entries in the episodic horror series make him an even more ever-present threat. In Bendy: Secrets of the Machinehe will even appear and kill the player if he stays on the pause screen for too long.

6 Clock tower

For whom the bell rings


Clock tower

Released
September 14, 1995

A true pioneer of the idea of ​​being constantly chased through a video game, Clock tower is a 1995 point-and-click adventure game in which orphan Jennifer's new home quickly turns into horror as she is constantly harassed by Scissorman. With no defense against the creeper and his colossal scissors, the player must flee and hide while trying to escape the mansion.

Related

The 7 best horror games to live out your fear of the dark

These horror games ensure that players know that the darkness is not their friend.

When Jennifer encounters Scissorman, she enters a “panic” mode that drains her stamina and increases the likelihood of her stumbling in classic horror fashion, making each encounter a nerve-wracking affair. Clock tower received a remaster in 2024 with some superbly animated cutscenes to improve the experience for anyone who wants to try this game.

5 FEAR

Bullet time hell

Released
October 18, 2005

developer
Monolith Productions

FEAR is a strange combination of an action-packed FPS game and Japanese-style spiritual horror. While the game was mostly praised for its bullet-time mechanics and intelligent AI that provide a good challenge in combat, in the game the player is hunted by the vengeful spirit of a young girl, Alma.


Alma does not attack the player directly, but rather represents a physiological threat that often interrupts the hectic pace of the game and immerses the player in the horror elements. She will appear numerous times throughout the game and will be a constant presence as a menacing antagonist and threat of what may be to come.

4 Amnesia: The Bunker

Keep the beast at bay

The fourth part of the iconic series amnesia The series took a more minimalist approach than its predecessors, focusing on a smaller setting and a persistent beast, appropriately referred to as a Stalker. The beast lurks in the tunnels of a World War I bunker and is alerted to every noise the player makes. Which is often unavoidable with creaking doors and crank burners.


The well-lit corridors provide protection from the beast as long as the generator is full. Players can set their clock based on the amount of fuel remaining and must hurry to find new fuel in time, as things become much more dangerous when the lights go out. The contradiction of moving slowly to avoid detection and the time pressure of losing the light create a tense back and forth that keeps the player on a torturous emotional tightrope.

3 Outlast

Asylum inmate

Released
November 4, 2013

Players are constantly pursued through the halls of Mount Massive Asylum by many inmates, but one giant monster in particular, Chris Walker, will relentlessly pursue the player. The players are completely helpless Outlastunable to use any of the tricks from the above games to slow down their pursuer.


No lights, obstacles or weapons can protect protagonist Miles Upshur, meaning the only way to avoid Walker is to run and hide. This invulnerability ensures that he remains just as much of a threat throughout the game, making for a hectic encounter every time.

2 Alien: Isolation

Terror at Sevastopol train station

Alien: Isolation returns to the horror roots of the series, as opposed to the more action-oriented pace that has been common in the series since the hugely popular sequel Aliens. In doing so, it rediscovers the claustrophobic terror of the original film and produces the best video game adaptation the intellectual property has to offer.

The Xenomorph's actions are almost entirely unscripted, meaning the alien is completely unpredictable. There's no way to know when it's going to fall out of the vents or cut through the player from behind. Like its neighbor, the Xenomorph reacts to a player's past actions, ensuring that it can never rely on a specific hiding strategy.


1 Resident Evil 2

Mr. X

Released
January 25, 2019

resident Evil is one of the most decorated horror franchises and Capcom has carried out the stubborn enemy trick more than once. For ballast, voluntary greetings Resident Evil 3's Nemesis and Resident Evil 7: Biohazards Jack Baker, but Mr.

The huge brute perfectly embodies the characteristics of a classic slasher villain and thunders through the corridors with unstoppable momentum. Hearing his stirring footsteps getting closer and closer strikes fear into the hearts of even seasoned horror fans.

More

The 10 best horror games of 2024

The year 2024 was a great year for horror games, and these 10 titles stood out as the best experiences to be had in the genre this year.

Leave a Comment