Some horror characters in gaming are absolutely terrifying. Some are unkillable monsters bent on bloodlust, pain, and destruction, but then there are those who simply do it for the flair. Just because they dabble in the gruesome and grim doesn't mean they can't have fun while doing it as well. For every Mr. X, there's a Count Dracula waiting in the wings.
There are plenty of gaming characters worthy of their own slasher movie, but there are also those that carry just as much over-the-top personality as Freddy Kreuger or Pennywise. They might be scary, but there's no denying that they aren't both monstrous and memorable.
Dracula (Castlevania: Symphony Of The Night)
This might only be applicable for the English dubbed version, but every good version of Count Dracula needs to have at least some measurement of over-the-top goodness to give him a little flavor. The version presented in Symphony of the Night comes off more like a stage play variation of the count rather than the evil king of vampires he's been built up to be.
The man might be just a miserable little pile of secrets, but this version of Dracula has an almost laughable element to him. Sure, he's the game's big bad and final boss, but his line delivery is so melodramatic that it's a wonder he doesn't punctuate every syllable with a cape flourish.
Tom Savini’s Jason (Friday The 13th: The Game)
Tom Savini is a master of the monster makeup industry, a true titan of the horror business, and a legend in his field. That all being said, there is such thing as overkill, which can be thoroughly seen with his design for a demonic Jason in the Friday the 13th video game.
Jason is a pretty scary guy who can do enough all by himself, but Savini's hellish design grants him the firey powers of a demon, complete with a pitchfork "pried from the hands of Lucifer himself." There's no way anyone would survive an encounter with this sinister slasher.
Needles Kane (Twisted Metal)
Clowns are a bit of low-hanging fruit in the horror genre, but this clownish mascot for the Twisted Metal franchise definitely has more than a few over-the-top features about him. Along with being a masked serial killer with a flaming head, he also drives a killer ice cream truck that can turn into a giant robot.
At some point during the series development, some designer must have been throwing things at the board just to see what stuck, and what they got was a seriously freaky killer clown that's certainly more than qualified. Someone had to have lost the plot along the way because Kane has officially reached rigamarole status with his weapons and reputation.
Adam The Clown (Dead Rising)
While Adam's design might be simple, he's still a textbook example of a scary clown. A horde of the undead is one thing, but a chainsaw-swinging clown is a whole new kind of scary. That being said, watching one's audience being devoured by zombies will have a negative effect on anyone, although perhaps not to this degree.
On one hand, Adam could pretty much fit on the poster art for any killer clown movie. On the other, his performance and high-pitched voice are so out of left field in this game, that he stands out from many of his kind and vocation.
The Jester (Devil May Cry 3)
Dealing with the forces of Hell can result in some pretty intense encounters, but there's always one or two wildcards thrown in the mix to keep things interesting. That concept is especially true for Arkham's jester appearance in Devil May Cry 3, as demonstrated by the cackling, colorful, clown.
In a game populated by demons, fiends, and other brands of hellspawn, it's a bit weird to see a character behaving more like a Batman villain than a monster. While he might just be a disguise for one of the main villains, he's a welcome splash of color in an otherwise dark and gory game.
Ghostface (Dead By Daylight)
Any horror villain that has to take a selfie with their latest kill is over-the-top by default, but that couldn't be given to a more fitting character than Scream's Ghostface. Since the Wes Craven classic was already a self-aware take on the slasher genre as a whole, it makes sense that this interpretation of the character would be a little more meta.
While he might have been given a new suit of clothes to wear, he's still the poster boy for the teen slasher motif fans will easily recognize. It's a simple case of if it works, it works.
Bob Barbas (DmC: Devil May Cry)
There's obvious, there's blatantly obvious, but then there's painfully obvious. This hack-and-slash reboot of Devil May Cry might have been a little heavy-handed in its commentary, but this take on overly conservative media network gets a little wiggle-room simply for how out of the box it is.
If the Raptor News Network is a representation of Fox News, Bob Barbas is a blatant stand-in for newscasters like Bill O'Reilly or Alex Jones, but perhaps with an extra helping of fear. A bit on the nose, but it's a great commentary on how media personalities can possess their viewers.
Sander Cohen (Bioshock)
Similar to the previously mentioned Jester, Sander Cohen is definitely a wildcard character that's introduced to break up the dark and gritty overtones of the game. Granted, the eccentric composer from Fort Frolic could be a villain in a Stanley Kubrick film, but that's part of what helps the character pop.
Cohen is a mutated hybrid of Salvador Dali and Joel Grey's Cabaret Emcee, and his decadent personality mixes with his murderous nature as he guides Jack through the level on his way to find Andrew Ryan. To his credit, not many characters can make "Waltz of the Flowers" sound intimidating.
Umlaut (CarnEvil)
CarnEvil is a light-gun arcade title surrounding an evil circus that rises from beyond the grave, so it's nearly impossible to find a character that isn't over-the-top. Still, the taunting flying jester skull, Umlaut, has to take that title due to how frequently he appears in the game's cutscenes.
Umlaut is the mascot for the cabinet, and essentially the master of ceremonies that introduces each new level. While his lines might be something Freddy Kreuger would say. he's definitely one creepy little freak.
All Of The Bosses (Resident Evil: Village)
From Lady Dimitrescu to Heisenberg, the villains of the popular Resident Evil: Village feel more like characters from a Hammer Horror film or Tales From The Crypt episode than a set of truly terrifying monsters seen in previous titles in the series.
From their designs to their performances, they feel like they were designed to purposefully evoke that eccentric and over-the-top nature seen in so many cheesy creature films. Vampires, witches, killer dolls, they all seem par for the course for any classic creepy movie. Either way, it's obvious they all enjoy the terror they wreak.