Top 10 Scariest Video Game Bosses of the Century (So Far)

#10: The Thing From the Stars

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“Darkest Dungeon” (2016) In this incredibly tough RPG, perma-death from a variety of sources can tear your party members apart. Its second DLC pack, “The Color of Madness,” takes inspiration from H.P. Lovecraft to give you one freakishly designed encounter. The Thing From the Stars is an eldritch beast that resembles a horrific fusion of horse and human, with bone and crystal sticking out at odd angles. Not only does it look scary, but it’s an absolute nightmare to fight, too. Its attacks can inflict massive amounts of stress on your party, as well as give them diseases. It even grows stronger as you fight it, gaining resistance to certain attacks while its own increase in power. Good luck, explorers.

#9: The Crones

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The Scariest Video Game of All Time

“The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt” (2015) Though their tapestry would have you believe this trio of witches are beautiful, in reality they’re anything but. There are plenty of frightening creatures throughout “The Witcher,” yet the Crones never fail to unsettle. Each one has their own unique, disgusting features. Brewess’ discolored skin and misshapen limbs make her appear monstrous, Whispess carries a sack of body parts around, and Weavess has a serious bug infestation issue. After being kidnapped by them, Ciri gets to fight the sisters in a big, disturbing pool of blood. They each have their own attacks and taunt you throughout the fight, making vanquishing them all the sweeter. Unfortunately, of the possible 36 endings, only the one where Ciri dies leads to you killing the final sister.

“Call of Duty: WWII” (2017) You might not expect a historical war series like “Call of Duty” to have scary bosses, but let’s not forget about the Zombies mode. Towards the end of ‘The Final Reich’ map in “WWII,” players are confronted by the Panzermörder, whose appearance immediately brings to mind the stomach-churning practical effects of David Cronenberg. The burly monstrosity is made of machine parts and an untold number of corpses. In fact, its Demogorgon-like mouth is made up entirely of torsos. Its immense size and terrifying design alone is enough to intimidate even the most confident of players. However, as Panzermörder literally translates to ‘armor killer,’ it has the power to back it up.

“Outlast (2013) While “Outlast” confronts you with multiple twisted patients of Mount Massive Asylum, none of them measure up to this freak in the DLC. Eddie Gluskin may not appear that frightening, other than the blood smears on his face, but it’s his very core as a human that sends shivers up our spines. Before being admitted, the Groom was a serial killer that mutilated women. As a patient, he’s taken to forcing men into the role of his bride, with all the disturbing anatomical implications that come with it. Next up in this sickening cycle of forced marriage is you, a prospect that can make any player run the other way. In fact, that’s basically all you can do until you gain the upper hand.

“Silent Hill 2” (2001) This baddie was so popular in his “Silent Hill 2” debut, it made him the most recognizable foe in the series. As we navigated the town, this behemoth of a man would seemingly never be far from our trail. His stature, gigantic blade, and the metal box that gives him his name all make for a striking design. Of course, every monster in the franchise should be avoided. But Pyramid Head’s relentless nature made him unavoidable. Finding out he was actually born from protagonist James’ guilty psyche gave him a personal touch that somehow made him more frightening. You also have several Pyramid Head encounters to contend with, one of which is in a small room and another where there are two of him.

“Bloodborne” (2015) FromSoftware’s games are packed with intimidating bosses. However, the studio’s most distressing design is, naturally, found in its horror game, “Bloodborne.” Ludwig can be fought within the game’s ‘The Old Hunters’ DLC. An unholy chimera of human and horse parts, Ludwig shambles into view as an NPC begs for mercy. As one mouth, full of eyeballs, shifts, his half-blind horse head takes one look at you and screams. It’s quite the introduction, and you have two phases of him flailing about and shrieking at you to then deal with. It isn’t FromSoftware’s hardest boss fight, nor even the hardest in this game. But Ludwig’s constant wailing and his supremely unnerving appearance definitely make him the scariest.

“Undertale” (2015) Most of the scariest bosses in recent memory rely on modern advancements in graphics for their troubling designs. And while “Undertale” was inspired by retro RPGs in both style and presentation, Flowey is still more alarming than most. The sadistic flower will confront you at the end of the game, absorbing Asgore’s collected souls of dead children and transforming into an abomination known as Photoshop Flowey. The fight bombards you with a tense soundtrack and even tenser gameplay. All the while, the mangled concoction of plant, flesh, and machine taunts you, cackles maniacally, and projects disturbing faces on his monitor to stare you down. His violent demeanor throughout was already unsettling; here, his appearance reflects that.

“The Evil Within” (2014) Two things almost universally guaranteed to creep people the hell out are spiders and vengeful spirits. Well, put them both together and you have Laura from “The Evil Within.” Don’t let her regular name fool you; Laura is one nasty piece of work. Born from the death of Laura Victoriano and her brother’s hatred, this boss’ body is made up almost entirely of appendages…long, gangly appendages with severe burn marks and razor sharp nails. Her pale face brings to mind the Onryō, Japanese ghosts who died under traumatic circumstances and made popular through movies like “The Grudge.” She also hits like a truck, can teleport, and has extremely high health. So yeah, not exactly a pleasant experience.

#2: The Rat King

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“The Last of Us Part II” (2020) Naughty Dog’s sequel managed to make the already terrifying Infected much scarier by introducing variants based on location and environment. Their design reached peak disgust and fear with Abby’s horrifying fight against the Rat King. There’s excellent build up as you navigate the lower levels of the hospital. When it finally reveals itself, you almost have no time to take in its repulsive appearance before it attacks. The Rat King is made up of several infected, conjoined over time by the cordyceps fungus. The space in which you fight it is claustrophobic, leading to multiple moments of panic as the foe closes in. Making it worse is the Stalker who breaks off mid-fight so that you’re hunted on two fronts.

“Resident Evil 7: Biohazard” (2017) “Resident Evil” is the king of Horror for many reasons, though one of the biggest is how petrifying its bosses are. Sure, “Resident Evil 2’s” Mr. X causes us much anxiety (Xref). But when it comes to blending ungodly fear and pure revulsion, it’s tough to beat Marguerite Baker. The matriarch of the Baker family is fought in the second house and mutates after the first brief encounter. Her appendages grow longer, her voice more demonic, and she scrambles about on the walls and floor like a giant bug. Speaking of bugs, it only took one look at her body’s nest to make us never want to repeat this encounter. Add on the dim lighting and tight space, and this is one seriously stressful fight.