Summary
Unlike other horror titles,survival horror gamesrely not just on scaring players with horrific enemies, but also on the idea of having scarce resources in unfamiliar environments specifically designed to kill the player character. In turn, it’s precisely through these characters overcoming these odds that make survival horror titles satisfying to play, especially when players manage to power through jump scares and difficult boss fights.
However, some survival horror titles manage to increase the scare factor by ensuring that the bosses players have to defeat always leave an impression. In fact, some of the genre’s most popular bosses have cemented themselves as some of the most iconic faces in the genre. However, which survival horror bosses set themselves apart from the rest of the pack?
Claim to Fame
Strongest Infected that can split into Bloater and Stalker halves
While the TV adaptation ofThe Last of Usreignited the love fans havefor the relationship between Ellie and Joel, they can rely onThe Last of Us Part 2to see how far Ellie has grown as a survivor, and how she sees the world around her. Throughout the game’s journey, they eventually encounter theRat King, perhaps the franchise’s most horrific invention yet. Named after the phenomenon of rats in a nest getting their tails knotted together, the Rat King is a mass of infected that can freely detach from each other in order to pursue their targets.
This horrific amalgamation is the Cordyceps fungus at its peak, as its component parts seem to be those of Stalkers, Clickers, and Bloaters all at once. Such is the toughness of this beast that players need to face it across three phases, where the best course of strategy will be unleashing as much firepower as they possibly can.
Created from a bloodied child using a cursed object
Whilethe base-building elements inThe Forestcan make it a chill game to play with friends (sans the horrific cannibals and mutants), those who play its story campaign will encounter and fight various forms of cannibals and monsters in the mysterious peninsula. At this point, players may have encountered the multi-legged octopus mutants Armsy and Spider, the bulky Cowman, and various assortments of multi-limbed mutant monsters. However, just when players think they’ve seen everythingThe Foresthas to offer,Mutant Meganis there to surprise them.
At some point in the game,The Foresttakes players to the research lab and will have them encounter a bloodied Megan Cross. Once she encounters the Resurrection Obelisk, she transforms into this horrific monstrosity. Unlike other bosses, the sheer size of Mutant Megan is already enough to frighten players into retreat. Her multi-hit strikes are lethal, while her leaping lunge can close significant distance. Its most dangerous attack is its spin attack, while she can also spawn mutant babies as fodder and distractions.
A constant presence in the game, particularly her laughter
Despite the manyghosts encountered and exorcised in theFatal Frameseries, it’sSae Kurosawa’spresence inFatal Frame 2: The Crimson Butterflythat’s guaranteed to frighten players exploring All God’s Village. As twins Mio and Mayu get lost in the village of perpetual night, they discover that Sae became a vengeful spirit after the villagers conducted an incomplete Crimson Sacrifice Ritual. Longing for her twin Yae, as they were supposed to partake in the ritual together, the Hellish Abyss corrupted Sae’s spirit with Malice, and thus let her usher in the horrific Repentance that devastated the village.
When Mio and Mayu got lost in All God’s Village, Sae mistook Mio for her sister and started following her. This makes Sae a constant presence in the game, particularly her unsettling laughter, which is heard throughout the campaign. Unlike other bosses, players can only damage Sae at higher difficulties. For much of their boss fight, Mio has to dodge Sae’s attacks and wait for an opportunity to truly exorcise her. The ending of the fight, and the fates of Mio and Mayu, are determined by the player’s choices.
Variant Physiology
The Groom is known to mutilate his male victims to make them into his ideal wife
WhileChris Walker remains one of the most terrifying bossesin theOutlastfranchise,Eddie Gluskinis perhaps the more memorable due to his sheer fright factor. Players first encounter Eddie at the start of theOutlast: WhistleblowerDLC as a victim in the Underground Lab, just prior to being subjected to horrific Morphogenic therapy. As players explore the facility as Waylon Park, they encounter Eddie in a more grotesque but dressed-up form on the third floor, addressing them as “Darling” and more than eager to acquire them as his prize.
The sight of Eddie’s scarred face and grin as he hunts down them can become a memorable sight for players, especially when Waylon is injured and has to outrun him with an injured leg. As it turns out, Eddie “transforms” his male victims into his ideal bride by lacerating their genitalia and mutilating their chests, forcibly making them appear feminine. When he is rejected, he turns violent and misogynistic.
Sharp Claws, Teleportation, Immense Durability
A slow-moving creature with razor-sharp claws and a weakness to fire. She possesses a large health pool, making it impractical to fight her head-on
Whilethe survival horror inThe Evil Withinis made bearable with the realization that protagonist Sebastian Castellanos is a detective who can handle a wide array of weapons, his expertise is challenged when he faces supernatural monstrosities. While his primary adversary comes in the form of the stoic Ruvik, one of his more memorable enemies isLaura Victoriano.
In the game, Laura appears as a literal twisted creature bearing four long arms with extremely sharp claws. The only recognizably-human aspect of her appearance is her face, particularly her long black hair and her screams when hit with fire. Laura constantly pursues the player throughout the game, and she is eventually revealed as a warped version of Ruvik’s memory of his older sister. In the game’s past, Laura tragically dies during the same barn fire that left Ruvik disfigured. Laura’s persistence in fighting the player seems to reflect how she was the only one who understood Ruvik, and was the motivation of his desire to fully control the mind-altering STEM device. Meanwhile, her aversion to fire clearly stems from the real Laura’s untimely demise.
Superhuman Physique, Immense Durability, Regeneration, Insect Summoning, Transformation
The most grotesque of all Baker family members who were infected
While the events ofResident Evil 7eventually reveal how the bioweapon child Eveline became the controlling figure behind the Bakers' growing instability, the game showcases how each Baker is a force of horror unto themselves while Ethan Winters is trapped with them. Chief among them isMarguerite Baker, whose aging appearance didn’t do much to help her grotesque appearance. Behind her cheeky smile is the ability to summon and control insects, and the family’s descent into madness is accompanied by resorting to cannibalism when victims don’t fit Eveline’s “family.”
WithResident Evil 7being the series' first FPS outing,Marguerite becomes a horrifying representativeof the franchise’s potential for horror. When Ethan attempts his escape, Marguerite is persistent in chasing him both physically and via her insects. She slowly devolves into a horrific form throughout their encounters, with her lower abdomen becoming a hive for her critters. With Marguerite having an active speaking role compared to some otherResident Evilantagonists, her presence may leave a mark on fans eager for a true “return to form” in the franchise’s action-packed era.
Alien: Isolation(2014)
Powerset
Nigh-Invulnerability, Acidic Bodily Fluids, Two Mouths, Razor-Sharp Tail and Claws, Immense Speed
Cannot be killed in the game, but must be outrun at all costs
When Amanda Ripley ofAlien: Isolationgets clues about the whereabouts of her missing mother, Ellen Ripley, she ventures into the space station Sevastopol to find Anesidora, the salvage ship who found the flight recorder of the Nostromo where Ellen was last seen. Unfortunately for her and her comrades, the space station is abandoned and desolated. Moreover, not only are the station’s androids suddenly reprogrammed to attack humans, but aXenomorphis stalking and killing everyone in sight.
Similar to her mother, Amanda now has to use the full extent of her training and the surrounding environment to outlast this “perfect organism.” Considered the main source of the game’s jump scares, the Xenomorph is extremely sensitive to Amanda’s noises and light sources, forcingplayers to keep on their toesor meet an early death.
Superhuman Physique, Great Knife, Great Spear
An embodiment of inner torment and the religious zealotry in Silent Hill
DespitePyramid Headonly making his debut inSilent Hill 2as one of its major antagonists,thisSilent Hillboss easily became the most recognizable figurein the franchise. At first, Pyramid Head’s butcher’s attire and executioner-inspired headpiece imply his representation of Silent Hill’s rather twisted religious beliefs. However, revelations about protagonist James Sutherland’s past eventually show that Pyramid Head’s manifestation also embodies his own torment and guilt.
What sets Pyramid Head apart from the rest of the series' bosses is how he’s fought but never truly “killed” in any of his encounters inSilent Hill 2. Most of the encounters with him are time-based, forcing players to survive just long enough for a cutscene to signal the end of the fight. As players explore more of the game, Pyramid Head becomes a constant presence - a reminder of the lengths it took for SIlent Hill’s residents to prove their faith.
Extreme Durability, Weapons Mastery, Programmable Matter
Persistently follows Jill Valentine and resurrects upon defeat, can only be truly defeated in a specific boss fight
While theResident Evil 3 Remakeretains the fright of Nemesis chasing down Jill Valentine wherever she goes, the game’s improved graphics gave players more of a fighting chance against this evolved Bioweapon. This isn’t the case forNemesis in the originalResident Evil 3, as the forced perspective and limited movement on Jill’s part made Nemesis a much tougher enemy to face.
Both games would reveal theNemesis T-Typeas clones of the T-103 (Mr. X) fromResident Evil 2that are infected with Nemesis Alpha Parasites, transforming them into more “intelligent” and programmable monstrosities. Such is Nemesis’s strength that, while Jill can theoretically kill Nemesis in random encounters, the monster will continue pursuing her. Nemesis is officially faced in three boss fights, with only the third and final confrontation finishing the beast off for good.
