Hello, readers, and welcome to our inaugural The Top 5! Every week a few of us at We The Nerdy will be posting our top 5 picks for themed topic. Since it’s October, each week will be about all things scary in games. This week’s list? The Top 5: Horror Game Locations.

Without further ado, let’s get into it!

Brian –

5. U.S.G Ishimura – Dead Space

The lifeless halls of a ship that was once full of passengers really sets the mood for a fantastic game. The brilliant design of the ship makes for more than a few memorable set pieces. What sets this locale apart are the few scenes where you forced to leave the spaceship. When in the vacuum of space, there is no sound leaving ripe opportunities for the Necromorphs to sneak up on you.

4. The Mansion – Resident Evil (GameCube)

The Mansion from Resident Evil is one of the most iconic areas in gaming, and the first that introduced us to the revolutionary horror franchise. The mansion is full of zombies and other creatures trying to take you out, and the cramped feeling of the building gives you an almost claustrophobic feeling. Some of the puzzles in the mansion are even chilling and there is something almost hollow about how Moonlight Sonata echoes through the bar. I chose the remake over the original because the fear a Crimson Head or Lisa Trevor could be lurking behind any door made the atmosphere even more tense.

3. Silent Hill – Silent Hill

Silent Hill is a great location because while it always changes in every iteration, the core world is still the same. In Silent Hill, the hospitals are filled are filled with nurses who would rather lodge a scalpel in your back than suture a wound. Walls that were once normal twist and turn leading you down deeper into a metal abyss. A location can definitely be considered unsettling when even the save points are as creepy as the televisions that crackle with static in Silent Hill 3. The bits of ash that fall from the skies outside serve as a reminder that something about this world just isn’t right.

2. The Rovias Mansion – Eternal Darkness: Sanity’s Requiem

Eternal Darkness takes place in the mansion that was owned by Alexandra’s grandfather until his death. As the player you begin to uncover a multitude of secrets about the old house and the history of your family. The house is unsettling and seems to be falling apart and has a crypt directly under it. The house itself is certainly unnerving, but the sanity effects are what really make it frightening.

The magics that hold power over the Rovias mansion will slowly begin to drive you insane. In order to get some pages of the magic book needed to progress the story you’ll have to dig into a tub filled with your dead body. As your sanity degrades further you’ll have to deal with statues and busts following you with their heads. Rooms in the mansion will begin to tilt to the side. The mansion even will trick you by making the room you just left link to the same room. The unique sanity tricks that the Rovias Mansion plays on you are what catapults it into my top five.

1. Bart’s Department Store – Condemned: Criminal Origins

Condemned was a surprisingly creepy game, especially considering that it was one of the first titles on the Xbox 360. The department store in the game is easily the most terrifying area that I’ve ever played through. The main area of the department store is pretty scary with well hidden enemies ready to jump at you, but as you progress things take a turn for the worse. Enemies begin to masquerade themselves amongst the mannequins, all to put you at a disadvantage as they leap from their stationary positions to attack.

When you finally make it to the warehouse area of the store you’ll find dozens of mannequins, again with enemies interspersed. As you dispatch enemies you’ll get the sneaking suspicion that these mannequins are actually following you, and that’s because they are. Once they are out of your sight, more of the same mannequins will appear behind you, chasing you through the back rooms. They function a lot like Weeping Angels in that you’ll never see them move, yet the mannequins still close in on you. This brilliant use of faceless mannequins is why i put Bart’s Department Store as my best horror location.

Sean –

5. Mercy Hospital – Left 4 Dead

Hospitals are creepy enough as it is. Add in the zombie apocalypse and it just gets a whole lot worse. What makes Mercy Hospital so special to me is how that AI Director in Left 4 Dead makes navigating it a crap shoot nearly every single time. When the time comes to defend the roof while waiting for rescue, the open space doesn’t give the player many places for respite. Turn up the difficulty and see how well you do.

4. Ravenholm – Half-Life 2

While Half-life 2 isn’t exactly a horror game, “We Don’t Go To Ravenholm…” is definitely a horror infused chapter of the brilliantly designed game. And man, is Ravenholm creepy. A deserted mining town, Gordon Freeman and by proxy, the player, must navigate through it to further the story. Throughout, the player is constantly attacked by Headcrab zombies – disgusting victims of Headcrab parasites attacks in which the creature basically swallows their head and uses their bodies to attack and kill anything or anyone in their way. It’s a standout location for the game, and games in general and clearly lays the groundwork for Left 4 Dead.

3. The Police Station – Resident Evil 2

Two words: Interrogation room.

2. Silent Hill – Silent Hill

I would be remiss if I didn’t include the incredibly effective, disturbing, and downright terrifying city of fog also known as Silent Hill. While the fog may have been a design choice to mask the loading of the town as the player walks through, it’s one of the most effective concessions ever. The player’s surroundings are barely visible beyond a few meters, and hearing the radio static get louder as enemies draw near adds a level of terror few games have been able to replicate.  Until….

1. The Hallway – P.T.

Yes, I am aware that P.T. is nothing more than an incredibly effective, interactive teaser for the upcoming Silent Hills, but that doesn’t change the fact that it’s one of the most unsettling and flat out terrifying locations in a horror game I have ever experienced. Consisting of two stretches of hallway, including a foyer, and a bathroom, the simple location mines so much terror from it’s simple little design that its ingenious design has to be admired. When you add in the fact that the the space changes in subtle ways on each pass through of the loop, I really can’t think of a single location in any game I have ever played that has been more frightening. Don’t even get me started on that time I turned the corner and saw this….

Nick –

5. Raccoon City – Resident Evil series

Raccoon City arguably remains as the best location that the Resident Evil series has ever produced. It was with Raccoon City that the dreaded zombie creating T-Virus was born and released. Things got so out of hand that a cover-up story had to be created when the president ordered the destruction in order to contain the outbreak. Raccoon City’s legacy will live on forever in gaming history.

4. Dark Carnival – Left 4 Dead 2

Although Left 4 Dead 2 wasn’t the scariest of games, there was always one location that was scarier than the rest. That place was the Dark Carnival. Any type of amusement park overrun by hordes of zombies would seem menacing, but this one was a bit more special than that. It’s just the perfect amount of enjoyable atmosphere you’d come to expect from a carnival, with the creepy factor of hordes of undead clowns.

3. Silent Hill – Silent Hill series

There’s something to be said about Silent Hill and its very unnerving existence. Sometimes it’s more of a psychological trip than a physically chilling town, but it always manages to take things to a darker level. That is, unless, a dog is controlling the entire town. Silent Hill is an anomaly of a town that brings out some of the darkest nature seen in its characters.

2. USG Ishimura – Dead Space 1 and 2

Space has proven time after time that it can be one of the scariest places outside of our planet and the USG Ishimura was an outstanding influence of just that. Of course it was infested with undead alien metamorphic infestation known as Necromorphs, but the tight corridors and scarcity of ammo kept you on your toes. Although the Ishimura was a bit emptier upon your return in Dead Space 2, it was still very apparent that this was a place to be tense about. The Ishimura will always be hallmark of the Dead Space series.

1. Bright Falls – Alan Wake

What honestly made Bright Fall so incredible in a horror genre was the personality of the town. Every character you met along the way gave this town more and more personality which made things harder when it succumbed to the darkness. Alan Wake was more than just about Alan’s nightmare come to life, but the undeserving supernatural chaos on a quiet town. Bright Falls was the perfect small town feel with just the right amount of creepiness.

Kierra –

5. Bright Falls – Alan Wake

It’s not so much that Bright Falls in and of itself is scary. It’s not really dark or decrepit, it’s not particularly spooky, and a large amount of Alan Wake takes place during the day time. So why is Bright Falls scary? Simply because it feels odd. As soon as your wife goes missing and the townspeople start in on “But you came here alone”, the once idyllic Pacific Northwest town starts to feel like one of those small towns where the townsfolk have a secret and they don’t take kindly to outsiders. Add in some labyrinth like woods, caves, and a lake with a deep secret and you have a great recipe for a small town you want to leave instantly. With or without creepy shadow people.

4. Hanuda – Siren

At first glance Hanuda seems like your average Japanese village. Until ancient rituals get interrupted and the town enters its own dimension somewhere within an unknown timeframe and all paths out lead to a sea that looks like blood. With everything taking on a red tint the town itself seems like it has been doused in blood (including the sky). But it’s the environments that get to me. Siren has a focus on running and hiding from enemies and most environments within the game reflect that with various places to hide, and mostly involving small cramped quarters. The first time you’re forced to hide under desk or inside a cabinet the horror will get to you. It’s a claustrophobic game that utilizes its location to the best of its abilities.

3. Brennenburg Castle – Amnesia: The Dark Descent

I play a lot of horror games but there was just something about Brennenburg Castle that got to me. The castle is giant with a ton of rooms to explore and that is essentially where the horror lies. Because the castle is so sprawling you find yourself becoming at ease with the place. The last few rooms were empty. That door is locked. You’ve already been here. But then you hear it. The footsteps of something. Of some terrible creature you have yet to lay eyes on. But the sound is coming closer. You desperately look around the room. Where was that cabinet at?! As you see it in the corner of the room you begin walking towards it (don’t run! the creature will hear you!). You fit yourself inside just in time to see the door to the room open. The creature walks right in front of you. You hope the crack you left yourself doesn’t tip the monster off. Luckily it doesn’t and it leaves, its footsteps getting more and more distant. But don’t feel too safe. Because the monster is there. Somewhere. Inside the gigantic mansion you’re in. And there’s more of them. Each and every one may be only a door away. You better keep your ears and eyes open.

2. All God’s Village – Fatal Frame II: Crimson Butterfly

Listen, I don’t care what this village was actually named or if it was even called anything else. It will forever be All God’s Village. When you first arrive the village looks like nothing more than a traditional Japanese village that seems abandoned. And then you begin finding the diary pages. It turns out this historic village seemingly appears and disappears from reality and people have been known to get stuck inside it and never be found. Oh, and there was also some ritual that prevents some unknown entity from destroying everyone inside it. And all these things may explain why the village is haunted by a ton of ghosts. The best thing about this game is that through exploration and gameplay you find various articles and diary pages that slowly explain the village’s haunting history. Which is great because there’s always something you find that makes you question what’s going on. Why are certain houses connected to each other by elaborate tunnels? Why is there what appears to be an altar in the woods? Why are these super scary dolls following me around this entire house? And more importantly, why can’t you leave this super haunted village?

1. Silent Hill – Silent Hill Series

I had to make my number one Silent Hill. While certain locations and ideas remain the same across games (such as the school and the always present fog) the scary thing about Silent Hill is that its horrors and its very core seem to depend on the person. The Silent Hill series is renowned for focusing on the psychological aspects of horror and that’s why the town itself earns my number one spot. It’s not that the town remains dark and foggy. That there’s various creatures running amok. That there never seems to be a way out. That the moment that siren rings, you know you’re in for something really, really bad. No, the scary thing about Silent Hill is that its very existence wouldn’t exist without you. Silent Hill exists to make you confront your innermost secrets, fears, and thoughts. Silent Hill’s horror only exist because you exist. In a way, Silent Hill only functions because something brought you to it. This isn’t a town you accidentally stumbled into. The evils don’t exist because of some ancient curse, ritual, or unsolved murder. No, the evils exist because you need them to. And the evils might actually turn out to be you.

So there you have it. These are some of the best, scariest locations in horror games. What do you think of our lists and how do they stack up against your own? Let us know in the comments!