There are many ways to stop a person in their tracks, but it takes something special to do it with a look. The darkest glowers and hardest stares can send chills up people’s spines. But for some media, like video games, that's not enough.
Characters have got to have a deadly gaze that can literally kill anyone they set their sights on. Whether it's due to magic, technology, or innate skill, these video game characters can kill with just a look.
8 Kano in Mortal Kombat
There are a number of characters who can blast lasers out of their eyes. Though most of the time they’re just a standard projectile attack. Cyclops in the Marvel games and Darkseid in Injustice 2 harm, but don’t kill. Not beyond a depleted health bar, a 'You Win!' message, and a Victory screen anyway. Mortal Kombat’s Aussie arms trader is a different story.
His cybernetic eye could make his foes explode into a cemetery's worth of bones in Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3. The newer games would tone its damage down, yet increase the grisly detail as it bore through opponents' heads in Mortal Kombat X, or sliced them apart in Mortal Kombat 11. As if his knives and Ball Attack weren't bad enough.
7 Sariss in Jedi Knight: Dark Forces 2
The ‘Prophetess’ was one of the seven Dark Jedi seeking to reclaim the Valley of the Jedi. Though abused by her fellow Prophets, she mastered the Dark Side of the Force under Inquisitor Jerec, the man who murdered the father of protagonist Kyle Katarn. Needless to say, the three have a few issues to work out.
One of Sariss' abilities was Deadly Sight. It allows her to channel all her hatred and rage into her eyes and blast anyone facing her, from individuals to big groups. So, it lives up to its name. Kyle can use it himself if the player decides to join the Dark Side. Though given it drains a lot of force power, it's best used sparingly.
6 Cassiopeia in League of Legends
In Greek mythology, Cassiopeia was the mother of Andromeda, the woman doomed to be sacrificed to a monster. In League of Legends, Cassiopeia du Coteau was doomed to become a monster. Seeking a weapon to aid her mother and the Black Rose group, she was poisoned with a toxin that turned her into a lamia-like gorgon.
With her Serpent’s Embrace ability, she can damage anyone facing her, and turn them to stone to add insult to injury. While the petrification doesn’t usually last too long, it can be long enough to send an unfortunate player to the grave. Even if they're not looking at her directly, Serpent's Embrace will slow them down and hurt them all the same.
5 Medusa, Euryale, and the Gorgons in God of War
Speaking of Greeks and Gorgons, they would turn up as foes in the original Greek God of War games. Medusa basically serves as a tutorial for the basic Gorgon enemies in the first game, where Kratos has to keep moving to avoid their glare, or he'll turn to stone. Then the player would have to hammer Circle to break out of it or get reduced to rubble by one hard strike.
Euryale in God of War 2 is a much more formidable figure. She’s bigger, hits harder, and has a stronger gaze. She'll blast in big waves, swarm it all over the stage, or blink out sneaky balls of petrifying energy that'll turn Kratos into a statue. Once that happens, the player won't have enough time to break free before Euryale smashes Kratos to bits. Not unless they have fast fingers and keen senses.
4 Aec'Letec in Baldur’s Gate: Tales of the Sword Coast
The Tanar'ri Demon of Durlag’s Tower in this Baldur's Gate expansion also has a similar glare to Cassiopeia and the Gorgons. Well, in that anyone caught in it will be frozen in place. Though their fates are arguably worse than being turned into a garden ornament.
Aec’Letec’s death gaze will eventually kill its victim and turn them into a ghast, a particularly aggressive form of an undead ghoul. It can sicken the other party members, reducing their defense, or turn anyone Aec'Letec's glare misses into another undead minion.
3 Sai in Akatsuki Blitzkampf
The developers may be called Subtle Style, but there's nothing subtle about their top fighting game. It's set in an alternate future where the military, the Knights Templar, and figures from mythology battle it out for supremacy. Yet outside its cult fanbase, the game is best known for producing the Blitztank in BlazBlue: Cross Tag Battle.
One of its other characters, Sai, seems like a humble info broker from Hong Kong. In truth, he’s an MI6 agent with ‘evil eyes’. By lore, they can kill people on sight. In practice, they can inflict curses on their opponent, like reducing their speed, nerfing their defense, draining their health, or producing all three at once. In a skilled player's hands, he can be a deadly opponent.
2 The Irithyll Jailers in Dark Souls 3
There are plenty of action RPGs, though few dedicated themselves to difficulty like the SoulsBorne games. The extra challenge made them a genre unto themselves, even when some of the hard parts felt less like challenges and more like dick moves. Like the glare of the Irithyll Jailers in Dark Souls 3, which even seasoned players dread.
It inflicts recoverable damage, which doesn't sound too bad, even when they cluster in groups. The sucky part is that they reduce the player's max health as well. If the player gets stuck in a bunch of Jailers, they could be stuck on a sliver of health until they can find a way to heal themselves. It's one of many incentives in the series to 'git gud'.
1 Deadshot in Batman: Arkham City
After investigating the victims of some hits, Batman has to race against time to save Jack Ryder from being sniped by Deadshot. Once he succeeds, he has to rise to the rooftops, then sneak under Deadshot's platform to take him down once and for all. It's not a particularly hard encounter either, as there's plenty of cover to aid Batman's sneaking.
However, Deadshot only needs to catch Batman once with his laser sight to shoot him dead with his wrist guns. It's not a tick of damage like the shots from the regular goons either. If Batman is spotted or tries to use any of his gadgets on the hitman, Deadshot will kill him instantly, then taunt him on the kill screen. There's only one way to win: stealth.