In life, almost always, a villain is a person. In games though, there is the absolute freedom to make villains out of mythical creatures, corporations, people with superpowers, or… houses. Whether they are haunted or they have been created to make the hero’s journey even more difficult, some houses in games are more than just scary.
But the good news is that (most of the time) these houses can be defeated, just like the villains. Sometimes defeating them means being able to escape unscathed (well, kinda), and other times it means literally destroying the house and the evil that lives within its walls.
5 Resident Evil Village – House Beneviento
The scary houses and manors are not a new thing in the Resident Evil franchise. Almost every game features a house that the player has to get through that is, let’s say, not very cozy and warm. But in Resident Evil Village there is a house that takes the crown – hands down. House Beneviento is the ultimate villainous house for multiple reasons.
After the player has completed Dimitrescu Castle, they might think that it’s time to move on from the creepy interiors to something a bit brighter, or, if not bright (it’s Resident Evil after all), at least a bit easier. That assumption would be wrong. House Beneviento is quiet at first, too quiet one might say. Soon, this changes, as Ethan finds a doll in need of an autopsy, underground labyrinths, lights that turn off, and when they turn on things have changed, and… the fetus, a.k.a, one of the most horrifying creatures that have ever been made.
4 Amnesia: The Dark Descent – Brennenburg Castle
What happens when an otherworldly villain is placed in a castle? He makes the gothic Castle Brennenburg, which is, on its own, a villain. In Amnesia: The Dark Descent, a lot of players have found themselves confused, horrified, and facing the dilemma of “I never want to see that house again” with the “I kind of want to visit that place”.
In the game, more and more of the castle crumples as the Shadow is pursuing Daniel, but it’s not an easy thing to bring it all down as it holds since the Medieval Period and legend has it that it has the bodies of many wandering villagers inside. Its architecture is -to say the least- labyrinthian and has many rooms for the player to explore and be absolutely scared out of their minds.
3 What Remains Of Edith Finch – The Finch House
Gamers who love walking simulators fell especially in love with What Remains Of Edith Finch, for multiple reasons. One of the main ones though was the amazing Finch House and how beautifully, and poignantly, it was made. The Finch House might not pose as the average house-villain, but for the protagonist, it was more than she could handle.
The family estate has some superbly weird architecture, and all the rooms are created in a way that fit the personality of the late inhabitant. Or, the house-shaped the inhabitants' characters. Either way, the player sees it while walking through it and exploring the family secrets, the house definitely has some bad feelings about the family, and let’s just say that it wants to be left alone.
2 Thief: Deadly Shadows – Shalebridge Cradle
It is easy to forget this one, but Shalebrige Cradle is definitely one house that nobody wants to mess with. In Thief: Deadly Shadows this haunted house has its own grim history: it once functioned as both an orphanage and an asylum for the insane – at the same time. As if that wasn’t enough for creepy, there was also a fire that nobody knew how it started, and two orphans once encountered a strange being which ended with one of them dead.
The player is burdened with the task to free the ghost of the orphan that was killed because the house still held her there. To do that, they have to destroy her personal things from around the house, so it might finally forget her and let her move on. That is not a very easy task, since the house keeps more souls and also has its own will.
1 Silent Hill 2 – Woodside Apartments
On a trip down memory lane, Silent Hill 2 had the ultimate creepy living spaces. Although “living” might be a bit wrong in this case. The Woodside Apartments are one of the first things the player has to explore when they start playing the game, and it definitely sets the tone for the whole playthrough.
It has three floors and many apartments, and they are all very lovely – at least for the creatures that stay there. For the rest, it is a hellhole. Quite literally one might say, as outside of one of the rooms there is an arrow and the inscription “To Hell” painted on the wall with blood. Also, in specific places, the player can hear heavy breathing coming from somewhere, giving the idea that the house is actually alive. The architecture of the apartments also leaves the player very confused and requires them to take some very brave decisions in order to progress.