The Scariest Eldritch Horror Movies in Video Games

At the risk of starting this list like an English essay, it is important to establish a definition of Eldritch. Merriam-Webster defines eldritch as “strange or unnatural, especially in a way that causes fear.” Eldritch is particularly associated with strange fiction, including the works of the Cthulhu Mythos, and video games are chock-full of strange and unnatural enemies.

Uncanny abominations are inherently difficult to detect. They exist at the edges of reality and destroy definitions of nature and reality. Here are some of the scariest Eldritch horror and Lovecraftian monsters in video games.

7

God of Silent Hill

“Pray for the Day of Miraculous Descent”

The God of silent Hill The series is intentionally created and creates time so that the suffering doesn't last forever. God then dies, but on her deathbed she tells her followers that she will return. The Order interprets this as rebirth and it becomes their mission to bring about the rebirth of their god. They seek a human vessel, a human womb, to give birth to God and bring about an eternal paradise.

She is an extremely powerful deity who manifests herself in many ways throughout the series, not all of which are inherently malevolent. Sometimes she is a vile incubus, other times she seems more ambiguous, even caring. Definitions about them seem to be highly subjective, just like Silent Hill in general. What's truly frightening about God are the terrible things the Order does in their name.

6

Cthylla from the Sinking City

“May the sea bless you”

The titular “Sinking City” is the flooded town of Oakmont, which is besieged by all sorts of Eldritch horrors. The city is home to monsters known as Wylde Beasts, zealous cultists, mysterious disappearances and supernaturally induced madness. The protagonist, Charles Reed, is drawn to Oakmont by visions and begins to investigate the connections between these strange events.

It turns out that Charles is destined to sacrifice himself to a cosmic creature straight from the pages of the Cthulhu Mythos: Cthylla, the daughter and mother of Cthulhu. Cthylla and the King in Yellow are part of a complex ecology of ancient beings beyond human understanding. By sacrificing himself, Charles Reed can choose to end or continue an apocalyptic cycle of birth, death, and suffering.

5

The hiss of control

“You are a worm through time”

The hissing, like many of the paranormal phenomena in controlis very difficult to explain. But to put it incredibly simply, it is a resonance that behaves a bit like a virus. It spreads through the chants and incantations of those essentially enslaved to it. Tuning into its counter-resonance, known as Polaris, can help people resist the hiss.

Fans of developer Remedy won't miss the similarities between The Hiss and The Dark Presence in Alan Wake. This makes it very clear that The Hiss is not a unique phenomenon in the Remedy Extended Universe and that there may be countless mind-altering entities out there that are difficult to understand, let alone contain.

4

The Old Ones from Bloodborne

“When the great ones descend, a womb will be blessed with a child.”

Behind the dirty, blood-soaked facade of Yharnam as the player initially encounters it Bloodborne is a world full of cosmic horrors and ancient gods. This is the realm of the great ones who tower over the world of Bloodborne, invisible to those who have no idea until Rome is defeated.

Unlike the monstrous, beast-shaped bosses in the earlier game, the “big ones” often make no anatomical sense at all. They descend and impregnate women in the hopes of creating a new Great One. The Great One, known as Moon Presence, is the true final boss of Bloodborne and is unlocked by consuming three “thirds of umbilical cords” in a single playthrough.

3

The creature from Dead By Daylight

“You'll never wake up again”

Despite its anachronistic nature Dead by daylightThere is an overarching narrative. There is also a sinister creature known as “The Entity” that is pulling the strings. It is a being with “pure consciousness” that consumes suffering and negative emotions. The court grounds that the player traverses are an ingenious means of feeding the entity.

The entity does not seem to understand the cultural context of the worlds from which it draws subjects. This results in a strange mix of established horror properties and unique characters colliding in an area that is essentially a hunting ground. The participants are resurrected and their memories are erased so they can suffer again and provide further sustenance to the entity.

2

The form of Still Wakes The Deep

You know the drill

Still awakens the depths takes place on an isolated oil rig off the coast of Scotland. This is the perfect setting for an encounter with an Eldritch monster. The mold is a parasitic growth that has invaded the rig and is now wreaking havoc on the crew. It is very difficult to determine its shape, but it appears as a fleshy, tentacle-like, root-like mass.

The shape appears to have a profound impact on the physical and psychological state of the rig's crew. It assimilates and absorbs some of its victims. Others mutate in different ways, becoming insane and murderous and attacking their crewmates as soon as they see them.

1

Eveline from Resident Evil 7

“I want you to be my mom”

Eveline may look like a precocious 10-year-old girl, but she is functionally a shape-shifting fungal bioweapon. This obviously sounds terribly dehumanizing, and her backstory is absolutely tragic, being the result of scientific experimentation. She still perceives things like a young girl, which means her isolation and exploitation has terrible consequences. Her desperation for family and belonging is at the root of the terror in the Baker home.

Eveline is part of a cycle of trauma and violence that dates back to the death of Mother Miranda's daughter in a small village many decades ago. The fact that she's scared and emotionally vulnerable doesn't stop her from being one of the world's most terrifying antagonists resident Evil Franchise.