If there’s one thing the Resident Evil franchise is known for, it’s the grim assortment of toothy, tentacle-y horrors it pits players against. From mighty bosses to lowly mobs, so many of the series’ enemies are just horrifying to behold. Among them all, Mr. X stands tall as one of the most menacing.
Having said that, Resident Evil isn’t alone in bringing us true nightmare fuel. Monsters, bosses and enemies from across the industry have terrified players, sometimes in horror games and sometimes not. Let’s take a look at some that may even top Mr. X in fright factor, along with some others that probably aren’t on his level.
10 WAY SCARIER THAN MR. X: Kizuna Himuro, The Rope Shrine Maiden (Fatal Frame III: The Tormented)
If you’re familiar with the Fatal Frame series, you’ll know that it takes more of a psychological, supernatural approach to its scares. Essentially, the gameplay revolves around the player’s battle to exorcise ghosts using a special camera, the Camera Obscura. In Fatal Frame III: The Tormented, series protagonist Miku has more mysteries to try and unravel, leading to an encounter with the fearsome spirit of Kizuna Himuro.
Kizuna was a Rope Shrine Maiden (a young woman sacrificed in a Strangling Ritual), and the violent nature of her death is reflected in her appearance. It turns out that her lost limbs… aren’t as lost as we might have thought. Couple this with the fact that this cursed specter attacks in a similar way to her treatment at the ritual (stretching to death), and you’ve got an enemy as frightening to behold as her backstory is shudderingly tragic.
9 NOT AS SCARY AS MR. X: The Unknowns (Final Fantasy VII)
Now, generally speaking, the RPG genre isn’t really known for horror themes or terrifying enemies. This isn’t to say that it hasn’t brought us any over the years, though.
Let’s take one of the most beloved RPGs of all time, Final Fantasy VII. Over the course of the game, we see the awful depths Shinra plumbed with their experiments, some of the awful critters that were produced. Aboard the sunken Gelnika, we discover some of these dirty little secrets: biological weapons of different mutated varieties known as Unknown (not forgetting Unknown 2, Unknown 3 and so on). While they’re not on the same level as some of Resident Evil’s most hideous monsters, they were created in a similar fashion, can be just as dangerous and certainly horrible to behold.
8 WAY SCARIER THAN MR. X: Pyramid Head (Silent Hill Series)
We can appreciate a plain old vicious monster. We definitely can. There will always be a place in any horror fan’s heart for a relentless, bloodthirsty beast. At the same time, though, sometimes we want something a little more cerebral than that. Deep, psychological scares. This is where Pyramid Head tops Mr. X for us.
This icon of Silent Hill fame is a physical powerhouse, there’s no denying that. These things (there are more than one) can smash through walls and chase your sorry, snivelling self down with the best of them. However, there’s also something deeper at the root here. Pyramid Head largely exists as a manifestation of the player characters’ weaknesses, doubts and traumas, which elevates it far beyond the status of a mere scary monster.
7 NOT AS SCARY AS MR. X: The Creeper (Minecraft)
Some of you may be surprised to see Minecraft’s infamous Creeper here. After all, how can something rendered in this game’s iconic blocky style possibly be considered scary?
Well, friend, maybe you’ve never been on the receiving end of a Creeper attack. These cunning creatures approach silently, utilizing the simple-yet-effective battle tactic of running at the player and trying to blow their pixelated faces into the next biome. Their otherworldly designs, their potential to morph into more powerful Charged Creepers and their unmistakable hissing all make for one heck of an unnerving enemy.
6 WAY SCARIER THAN MR. X: The Big Daddy (BioShock)
Speaking of iconic, super creepy enemies, our next case study is none other than the big Daddies of the BioShock series. These powerhouses have become series mascots, instantly recognizable for their terrifying and entirely unique design.
Again, though, this is no mere mindless monster. Big Daddies are augmented human beings, which have ‘become one’ with the diving suits they’re contained within (think Doctor Who’s Cybermen). They were created to protect the Little Sisters, and there’s nothing more frightening and haunting in the series than the plaintive moan of a Big Daddy. Their tragic origin story and formidable appearances makes them one of gaming’s scariest recent monsters.
5 NOT AS SCARY AS MR. X: Pius Augustus (Eternal Darkness: Sanity’s Requiem)
Eternal Darkness: Sanity’s Requiem is one of the forgotten GameCube gems. This system exclusive was reminiscent of classic Resident Evil titles, but added its revolutionary ‘sanity meter’ to spice up the gameplay. As the player character saw more horrors, their sanity would decrease, leading to hallucinations (some of which were quite spectacular).
The game’s main storyline took place over several centuries, with each chapter starring a different character from a different time period as the tale of humanity’s battle against the ancients was told. The first protagonist was Pius Augustus, a Roman centurion who started the whole mess by (effectively) taking in the ancients’ essence. From there, he became their puppet, plotting his master’s assault on this dimension. A powerfully magical warrior in his own right, Pius’s grotesque skeletal face has become synonymous with the game. On Mr. X’s level, though? We don’t quite think so.
4 WAY SCARIER THAN MR. X: Ludwig The Accursed (Bloodborne)
Naturally, when it comes to Bloodborne, we had a whole host of choices here. There’s nary a boss (or regular enemy, really) that isn’t absolutely disgusting. Kudos to FromSoftware, who really outdid themselves with these creature designs.
Which is the scariest? We’re casting our vote for the first boss of The Old Hunters: Ludwig the Accursed. This grotesque horse-beast screams, howls and brutally charges its way around the blood-soaked arena it calls home, utterly intimidating the player. When its HP falls to half, Ludwig tragically regains his sanity to some degree and battles on as Ludwig the Holy Blade. The battle is hard, haunting and horrifying in equal measure.
3 NOT AS SCARY AS MR. X: Dry Bowser (Super Mario Series)
Once again, Super Mario may not be your first port of call when it comes to some of gaming’s scariest monsters, but let’s just stop and be honest with ourselves for a moment: Bowser really is a heck of scary creature all around. His size, his strength, his brutal nature, his many claws, spines and horns… he’d make a perfect survival horror enemy is he didn’t call the Super Mario series home.
What’s scarier than the Koopa King? The Koopa King with all of his flesh burnt off, that’s what. Dry Bowser really is a frightening prospect, but his origins as Nintendo character dull his edge.
2 WAY SCARIER THAN MR. X: Nemesis (Resident Evil 3: Nemesis)
Of course, for some in the Resident Evil community, this is going to be a controversial pick. Both Mr. X and Nemesis have very similar origins, tactics and jump scare surprise factor, after all. Having said that, we do think that Nemesis edges out Mr. X quite easily.
Nemesis is infinitely more iconic. Its rocket launcher and groans of STAAAAARS struck fear into the hearts of a generation (and a new generation, thanks to the recent remake). Why isn’t Resident Evil 2 titled Resident Evil 2: Mr. X? Because that would be terrible and Mr. X isn’t on Nemesis’ level in that respect, that’s why.
1 NOT AS SCARY AS MR. X: Freddy Fazbear (Five Nights At Freddy’s Series)
Scott Cawthon probably couldn’t have imagined the sensation he had on his hands with the original Five Nights At Freddy’s. The simple gameplay belies the multi-layered lore, which is precisely why the series went on to become a phenomenon.
So too did Freddy Fazbear himself. Along with his fellow animatronics, the character will be forever associated with frantic camera-switching gameplay and theatrical jump scares. It’s just a shame that those scares are a little one-dimensional and repetitive.