8 of the Most Gruesome Videogame Death Scenes

If you’ve played videogames for any length of time, you’ve seen your share of on-screen death. Some of them are as tame as Mario falling off the screen, but sometimes death scenes can be pretty brutal. That’s the case for the entries on today’s list. These eight titles feature some of the most gruesome death scenes you’ll see in gaming. Obviously, the entries might be a little disturbing.

Think we missed one? Tell us what it is in the comments!

Dishonored – Devoured by rats

If everyone had to make a list of terrible ways to die, I imagine that “devoured by rats” might appear on many of them. If you spend your points correctly, you get the ability to summon swarms of rats that feast upon your enemies. Not only do they remove them as a threat, they eat them until there’s nothing left. Even the bones! You have to wonder where they put it all.

Dead Rising – Who’s laughing now?

Dead Rising’s psychopathic clown Adam MacIntyre stops Frank West from shutting down the roller coaster by blocking his way with two chainsaws. When he’s defeated, he falls on the still-running chainsaws, which hack him to death. The most disturbing thing about his death isn’t the chainsaws – it’s the creepy laughter that keeps echoing as the chainsaws dig into him.

Mortal Kombat 9 – Noob Saibot Fatality

There really not much to say about this one. In a game filled with gruesome fatalities, Noon Saibot’s takes the crown. It’s both surreal and disturbing, and somehow manages to make you wince every time you see it.

Resident Evil 6 – Meat Grinder

Poor Leon. Not only does he die in a most gruesome manner, but his ineffectual “friend” Helena just stands there and watches it happens. Yeah, thanks for yelling “Leon!!!” in such a compelling fashion after I’m gone.

Tomb Raider – Pretty much all of them

The Tomb Raider reboot is full of gruesome deaths. Lara gets herself crushed, impaled, and stabbed, just to name a few. The thing that makes these deaths so bad are the little touches, like her futile efforts to free herself from the pole her head is impaled on, or the twitching hand you see after a rock smashes her skull.

Dead Space 2 – Stick a needle in your eye

The NoonTech Diagnostic Machine is used to extract information from inside a subject’s brain by sticking a needle in their eye. While this sounds painful enough, if Isaac panics while using the machine and doesn’t hold his eye still enough, the results are even worse.

Phantasmagoria – Splitting headache

When it launched in 1995, Phantasmagoria was an anomaly. Its lead designer, Roberta Williams, was responsible for the King’s Quest series, but Phantasmagoria was a huge departure. The survival horror title was part adventure game, part interactive movie. It featured live-action actors in disturbing horror scenes, and it was awesome. This death was just one of many disturbing experiences awaiting gamers.

God of War 3 – The death of Helios

God of War 3 was filled with brutal experiences, so almost any of these could have made this list. My personal choice is Kratos’ fight with Helios. After shooting down his chariot, Kratos finds the injured god, then defeats a pile of enemies around him. After a bit of discussion, he rips off Helios’ head, looking super satisfied with himself. He even takes the head along and uses it as a flashlight for the rest of the game.