One of the most terrifying things about horror games is the sheer number of ways to die. When a player faces their end in a first-person shooter, they're simply shot and killed. Meanwhile, getting punished in a horror game is far worse, and could mean getting ripped to shreds, decapitated, or worse.
However, there is the occasional death in a horror game that is easily avoidable, 100% the player's own fault, or simply hilarious. In a world where players must evade the deadliest of traps and enemies, there is the death or two that is just so unceremonious, that being bested by it is just plain humiliating. Here are some of the most embarrassing ways to die in horror games.
9 F.E.A.R. - Hug Of Death
One of the biggest twists in all of F.E.A.R. was that the protagonist, Point Man, was actually the son of the spooky antagonist, Alma Wade, the entire time. While Alma first appears as a clear threat, at one point, she begins to appear once in a while to keep an eye on Point Man, hovering over him but never fully attacking him.
Later in the game, Alma is overcome by love and tries to give Point Man a big hug. However, with her touch being lethal, this ends in a game-over screen for the player. Sometimes love really is pain.
8 Dead Space 2 - Running Out Of Oxygen
By the time Isaac reaches the Sprawl in Dead Space 2, he's already an experienced necromorph killer. Here, Isaac faces plenty of dangerous threats and on his journey to survive has to avoid disfigured enemies trying to eat him alive or blast him to pieces.
When the player needs to leave the ship, Isaac must rely on the limited oxygen supply he has in his RIG suit. If the player is too careless, Isaac can die in these short sections that are typically just for Isaac to travel from point A to point B.
Imagine being the brave, powerful survivor of the U.S.G Ishimura incident, just to die such an unceremonious (and easily avoidable) death.
7 Saw: The Video Game - Syringe Toilet
The Saw series is notorious for the terrifying traps that long-time antagonist, Jigsaw, sets up for his unlucky victims. These traps are typically quite gory and brutal, tearing apart victims, blasting them to bits, or even burning them to a crisp. However, in Saw: The Video Game, there is a particular section that makes for a bit of a silly game, rather than a frightening one.
While the toilet filled with dirty syringes is loosely based on the films, in Saw 2, the victim was forced into a large pit of needles, rather than simply sticking their arm in a toilet full of them like in the game. This then just prompts the player to ask why protagonist David Tapp couldn't simply remove some of the syringes before digging or using a nearby tool to pick out the key he was searching for.
6 Resident Evil 2: Remake - Shipping Container
By the time the player must face the mutated Dr. Birkin, Leon's rookie cop status isn't that big of a deal, considering that he had already survived hordes of hungry zombies all on his own. One would think (or hope) that Leon would be a dependable and capable protagonist by this point. No one would blame him for being bested by a zombie, licker, or the stylish (yet deadly) Mr. X, but during this particular battle is where Leon can meet a rather humiliating defeat.
To take down the mutated doctor, Leon can find a panel nearby to move a large shipping container. However, if the player mistimes this, a unique cutscene triggers and Leon is wiped clear off the platform, leaving Dr. Birkin completely unscathed.
5 The Quarry - Dying For Views
In the day and age of the takeover of technology, it's been a bit of an ongoing joke about kids simply being too absorbed into online culture these days. While it is half true, there is a particular death in The Quarry that is the epitome of an embarrassing Gen Z moment. Camp counselor, Emma, is an avid vlogger and enjoys using the precious resources of her phone for taking a quick update video for her followers rather than saving battery for light or a chance to call for help.
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After hearing a sound coming from a door while on her own, Emma casually asks her viewers if she should investigate or not. In an attempt to get a few good views, the player can make Emma check the source of the noise, inevitably leading to her doom.
Sometimes, it's not worth doing it for the Vine.
4 Resident Evil 4: Remake - Fish Food
Loyal Resident Evil fans may have already known to not shoot at the water in the Resident Evil 4 Remake, as Leon will pay dearly if the player decides to unload a magazine or two into the lake. If the player decides to shoot a few rounds into the lake for fun, Del Lago, a giant Plaga-infected amphibian, will come up and attack Leon immediately. In both the original RE4 and the 2023 remake, Del Lago will make an early appearance to swallow Leon whole if he decides to bother the fish in the lake.
While Del Lago is in fact a boss battle, the player does have the opportunity to meet their end earlier in this cutscene, which is entirely avoidable!
3 Lucius 2 - Irresistible Donuts
Lucius 2 is a horror game where the player takes the role of the terrifying antagonist and must find sneaky ways to murder anyone that stands in their way. Lucius (the title character) can take out his targets in horrific ways that can easily look like a simple accident, not leaving a single trace of evidence that leads to him.
While many victims may meet their end by burning or getting crushed to death, some may meet their end due to their own foolish gluttony. One of the easiest ways to kill victims (or rather to get themselves killed) is to use compelling items. Compelling items are items in the game that most individuals cannot resist; in Lucius 2's case, one of the most famous items is donuts. Combining poisonous items with a donut and simply dropping it on the floor, for the closest victim to succumb to is one of the most humiliating ways to take out a target.
2 Silent Hill 3 - The Ladder
Silent Hill 3's protagonist, Heather, seems to have a million and one terrifying ways to meet a tragic end. In order to stop players from constantly falling off platforms, Heather enters an animation of her about to fall. This animation is primarily there to be used as a buffer, in case the player did not intentionally mean to jump off a ledge.
As if falling to their death despite the multiple warning animations isn't embarrassing enough, there is a particular glitch that players can witness that adds even more humiliation to Heather's defeat. If the player falls off a ladder, they have the chance to see a glitch of Heather reverting to a neutral A-pose instead of flailing in fear. Between this and nearly killing herself via toxic vapor when carelessly mixing chemicals, Heather simply doesn't seem to be cut out for the life of a horror protagonist!
1 Resident Evil 7 - Death Soup
In the "Banned Footage Vol. 1" DLC for Resident Evil 7, the player controls Clancy Jarvis, as he tries to find his way out of the Baker's house bedroom. Taken in as a "guest", Clancy finds himself chained to a bed as Marguerite Baker serves him a homemade dish; likely a mix of human remains and raw animal meat. As Marguerite leaves her guest in the bedroom, the player must use this time to find a way to freedom.
However, if the player forces Clancy to eat more and more of Marguerite's dishes, he can die, simply from eating the rancid food.
Poor Clancy should have packed a few snacks for the trip to the Baker house!