The hardest decisions in horror games

The survival horror genre in gaming began by demanding tough choices from the player. Options like saving or using up your ammo and fighting or running away from enemies were common, and in the name of survival style. Later, however, horror games focused more on the story itself and forced difficult choices not on the player but on the character in question.



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A keyboard and mouse alone can be intimidating.

Heavy choices that affect the story primarily assigned to the character and often under time constraints. Both gameplay and story choices can be incredibly difficult in horror games, especially if you don't know what the implications will be.

These decisions may be present in specific horror games or general decisions present in many.

Updated by Dominic Allen on October 17, 2024: Similar to horror movies in which decisions for the cast of characters play a large role, the same applies to horror games. These decisions can be really difficult with serious consequences, but you must make them. The results may not apply to NPCs as well, as even multiplayer horror games have key choices you have to make for your party. Multiplayer options weren't included before, so adding some would be great.


Spoiler alert


11 Resident Evil Disaster File 2: Saving or Leaving Linda

Do you have the guts to take on the final boss?

Cindy faces off against the final boss of Resident Evil Outbreak File 2.

The final decision in Resident Evil Outbreak File 2 is quite interesting. To escape the city, you have two options. You can leave by helicopter, which is the fastest option, or if you're too late and don't make it, you can leave by truck. Saving Linda mainly affects the ending, but the problem is that unless you get the right race, getting to the helicopter with Linda is extremely difficult with the time you're given.

If you decide to save him you'll probably have to escape via truck, but that also means you'll have to face the final boss, Nyx. Nyx has a reputation for destroying newcomers to the game, especially on PC, where many people still play online. In those scenarios, you might consider leaving town via helicopter.


10 Left 4 Dead: Save teammates or leave them for dead

It's in the name of the game

An injured player watching his teammates leave him in Left 4 Dead.

There's a very good reason Left 4 Dead is the title, and it's because on higher difficulties, deciding whether to save or leave your allies is a crucial choice. Just like in Zombies mode from Call of Duty, some players need to stick around, so you want to keep them alive to get better.

However, sometimes, the heat from enemies is too much, and you risk dying trying to save them. How far you are in the level is also very important in terms of risk taking, and the RNG also plays a role, as survivors can return to the toilet after dying. You need to get lucky, though.


9 When to save in survival horror games

Do you really want to redo all that progress?

In classic survival horror and even some modern ones, deciding when to save can be a complicated process in your head. You often have to decide to either save now or save later, but risk losing progress if you die. In these games, saving also acts like a checkpoint system.

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In some games, they give you a lot of save opportunities, but in others, like Tormented Souls, they give you so few that it can be difficult to choose when to save. If you've passed some difficult sections, you'll probably save, but if the process was a breeze, you'll probably consider waiting to save for another time. If a hard section appears it can bite you, and you die, you have to redo a lot of progress.


8 Silent Hill 1: Kill or save Cybil

A choice that could end in tragedy

In the last third of Silent Hill 1, you may decide that, if you haven't explored enough, it might be hard to do. At the amusement park, you have to fight against Cybil, who is infected and possessed by a parasite.

Cybil is a support character that you'll be interacting with throughout the game, so blasting her with shotgun rounds is unpleasant. Finally, Cybil drops her gun, where the choice is made. If you've explored enough of the game and collected the red liquid, you can now use it to get rid of the parasites. However, if you don't collect it, you have no choice but to kill him.


7 Saw: The final decision

Freedom or Truth

The final choice with Tap sees Jigsaw's Billy puppet from the Saw video game on the TV screen.

Since the Saw movies revolve around options, especially Saw 6, it makes sense for the two licensed Saw games to include them. In the first game, you play as David Tapp, Danny Glover's character from the first Saw. The final verdict is perfect for a Saw game. You are given the choice to escape by choosing the Door of Freedom or the Door of Truth to get your hands on the jigsaw.

This is a Saw game, so both paths don't end well. Choosing Freedom gives you that, but Tapp eventually kills himself due to his failure to catch the jigsaw. Choosing the Door of Truth results in an old switcheroo as the black-clad figure is not Jigsaw, but another person who is unfortunately killed by the trap. Jigsaw sure is always one step ahead.


6 Saving or using high-powered ammo in survival horror games

Sometimes, you just have to save up for boss fights

In survival horror, conserving ammunition is a part of the game, but the hardest part is when it comes to high-powered weapons. With weapons like magnums or sniper rifles, you'll want to save all the ammo for them and use them exclusively for challenging fights or bosses. However, what if they never come around?

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Sometimes in horror games, you save all your ammo, and by the final boss, you have a truckload of ammo you want to use. It can also be that the game takes away your weapons, such as Silent Hill: Downpower, making the decision feel even worse.


5 Jigsaw 2: The first decision

A beginner trap

Campbell sees Michael getting crushed by Saw 2: Flesh and Blood.

Saw 1's final decision was tough, Saw 2's toughest decision you won't see coming. At the beginning of the game, you are given the choice to sacrifice another victim you don't know to live or to save yourself after that person is killed.

If you choose to save yourself, you probably think you'll be playing this character later, right? That's not the point. For the rest of the game, you play as Michael, and at the end, it's revealed that Michael is the unknown victim. It feels so cheap because that choice is early in the game, and you can assume you'll be playing that character again.


4 Resident Evil 7: Heal Mia or Zoe

Another decision that may well bite you

Deciding to treat Mia in Resident Evil 7

Resident Evil 7 was the first numbered RE game to feature multiple endings since Nemesis. At the end of the final Jack Baker boss fight, you are given the stark choice of healing Mia or Joey with the serum. Zoe seems like a better choice to survive as she knows more about the situation, while Mia is Ethan's wife.

The consequences of the choice are very Hollywood, as choosing not to heal his wife leads to disaster. Zoe is killed anyway, and later, you are forced to kill your wife. However, this path results in a fun line read in the game at the end.

3 Until Dawn: Shoot Ashley or yourself

A decision that can be cold

The player is presented with the option to shoot either Ashley or himself until dawn.


In the third act of Toll Dawn, many of the game's characters are forced to participate in Saw-esque traps. They also mimic Saw's voice for instructions. The hardest ones include Chris and Ashley. Chris is given a gun to shoot himself or Ashley before the saw comes down on them both. The rest of the people will live.

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This decision gives you the illusion of a blank bullet choice, but it still shows some drastic results. Ashley's shooting will inevitably help Chris get killed by the Wendigo. He won't open the door to let Chris in, and he dies. That is very cold.

2 Fatal Frame 2: Go after Mayu or leave her behind

Not just a big mistake, but a terrible one


The Fatal Frame series is generally known for its challenging choices, but one particular choice in Fatal Frame 2 is on a whole new level. At the end of the game, right before you make your escape to leave the haunted village, your twin sister Mayu is captured by the ghosts.

You can leave now or go and save your sister. If you decide to leave, you will have a worse fate than a bad ending. You finish the game, no credits appear, and you have to load the last save point. This is a harsh punishment for leaving your sister.

1 Telltale's The Walking Dead: Kill or Spare Lee

One of the most emotional decisions in gaming

Clementine is about to shoot Lee on Telltale's The Walking Dead.


In the season one finale of Telltale's The Walking Dead, one of the series' toughest choices comes. Lee Everett, the character you've been playing for the entire season, is ambushed by a walker, and you have the choice to let Clementine shoot him or leave him hanging around.

Because of the zombification process in zombie media, these stories are as ripe for human drama as they are. This choice is different from the others because you are not in the role of Clementine. You are a father figure who has to tell Clementine what to do, changing the player's feelings dramatically. This makes this choice more personal and effective.

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