The Scariest Moment in the Entire Resident Evil Franchise
Scariest Moment in the Entire Resident Evil Franchise
The Scariest Moment From Every Resident Evil Game
The “Resident Evil” series remains one of gaming’s cornerstone horror franchises. Since its inception back in 1996, the series has provided gaming some of its scariest and most iconic moments. But perhaps none are as scary as the Mr. X chases throughout 2019’s remake of “Resident Evil 2.” The “Resident Evil” series had gone to this well before - perhaps most famously in “Resident Evil 3: Nemesis,” which sees the titular character chasing you throughout the streets of Raccoon City. But when it comes to pure, unhinged terror, we believe that the series perfected the art of the chase with Mr. X. First off, let’s address the surface level - his physical imposition. Mr. X is a big dude. He stands a good seven or eight feet tall and looks to weigh a solid 300 pounds, and seeing someone of that immensity chase you down a dark hallway is more than enough to give you the willies. But there’s a lot more to his physical appearance than his height and weight. His white, expressionless, very inhumane face is terrifying, and his black coat both masks his true appearance and gives him an air of the uncanny valley. You know this thing is not human, but the sophisticated outfit is certainly doing all it can to mask that unsettling reality. There’s also the sound design to examine. Mr. X plods along with heavy, plodding footsteps, each footfall bringing with it an eerie thomp that resonates throughout the building. He just sounds heavy, not to mention incredibly dense. By hearing how he walks, players again get the impression that this thing chasing them is most certainly not human. The sound design of the game also plays a major role in making Mr. X so relentlessly terrifying. Many games have made good use of footsteps to elicit fear, but perhaps none have done it as well as “Resident Evil 2.” Hearing Mr. X directly behind you is unimaginably scary, not to mention hearing him stomping around on the floor directly above you - or better yet, coming down the stairs that you so desperately need to go up. Which brings us to another facet of his brilliance - the ability to come out of nowhere. Tension has always played an important role in the “Resident Evil” franchise, and “Resident Evil 2” is rife with nigh-unbearable tension. Much of that has to do with looking for Mr. X. Mr. X has the penchant to appear out of nowhere, whether that be from around a corner when your guard is down or coming down a flight of stairs as you ascend. The game is usually pretty good at warning the player of his presence, but there’s always the odd time that you turn a corner only to be greeted by a particular fedora and a particular music cue. The music plays another important role in Mr. X’s imposing presence. He is always accompanied by a particular music cue, and the music that plays throughout his chases is really freaky. It has a very cold and industrial sound to it, sort of Marilyn Manson mixed with Nine Inch Nails. It comes complete with booming, thumping noises that mirror Mr. X’s relentless footsteps, piercing sounds like knives being dragged across metal, and even what sounds like a ticking clock - an eerie reminder that your time might be up and that Mr. X will never stop. It’s a brilliant piece of music, and it really helps give the Mr. X chases a distinct and utterly unwelcoming personality. Speaking of personality - Mr. X doesn’t have one. Unlike his accompanying music, Mr. X scares the player through sheer silence alone. There’s a reason that many slasher villains - including Jason and Michael - are silent. It’s just way creepier than speaking, and it makes them seem more inhumane. Like Death itself approaching, rather than just another psychopath. Mr. X uses silence to his advantage. His lack of speech doesn’t account for discussion, or pleading, or compromise, or even knowing what he wants. All we know is that this large, Terminator-looking thing is after us. We don’t know why, we can’t reason with it, and we can’t even beg it to leave us alone. Kyle Reese knows a thing or two about that. And, much like The Terminator himself, Mr. X is nigh unstoppable. Sure, you can fight back, but it won’t do you a lick of good, and it’ll only serve to waste your precious ammunition. It’s different, because players are used to “Resident Evil” villains being kill-able. Even the freakiest and deadliest of enemies have a weak spot, and even if it takes a large chunk of your ammunition, you can take it down. But not Mr. X. The game encourages you to run and hide from X, not fight. Fighting him will waste resources, it will only delay the inevitable, and sooner or later, it will get you killed. The fact that he is quite literally unstoppable makes him far more of an imposing and dangerous monster than anything before seen in the “Resident Evil” universe. Even the more gung-ho, Rambo-esque players who use ammo liberally and without second thought are powerless against Mr. X. And because the game forces you to run away, it in turn strips away your power and your agency. And there’s nothing scarier than feeling utterly alone, helpless, and defenseless. Exacerbating these feelings is the fact that Mr. X is incredibly dangerous. He’s practically a mini boss fight in and of himself. For one thing, there’s no defeating him. Secondly, X deals an unbelievable amount of damage. It only takes a few jabs (depending on the difficulty of course) to take you down. All of the preceding qualities of Mr. X would be meaningless if he didn’t actually serve as a dangerous and imposing figure. Creepy music and his hulking figure would be a lot less scary if he did the damage of a zombie. But he has the capability to drop you in just one or two hits, ensuring that the player remains vigilant and afraid of his mere presence. Him getting within three feet of you isn’t just an eerie event - it’s a matter of life and death. And finally, we come to the biggest reason for what makes Mr. X so scary - the primal fear of being chased and pursued. The fear of a pursuing figure has been hardwired into our brains. Even toddlers fear the approach of an unknown figure. And even kids realize the thrill of a chase - it’s why they laugh whenever their parents chase them and pretend to be monsters. But they laugh because they know that their parents won’t actually hurt them. Mr. X is a figure who means to inflict harm, so that thrill of the chase turns from innocent fun into a fight or flight response. Unfortunately, the game strips away your ability to fight and forces you to flee. It debases players into pure instinct. It turns us into a rat running from a cat. Maybe Mr. X reminds us that there are more powerful forces out there and that we aren’t as powerful or alpha as we’d like to believe. But then again, isn’t that the entire point of horror? To scare us into submission? To activate the thrill of danger without needing to be put in harm’s way? In that way, Mr. X succeeds. And in that way, Mr. X perfectly represents what people love about horror.
