The Unlikely Villains in Gaming That Will Send Chills Down Your Spine

Highlights

Metroid Dread's EMMI enemies are made scary by creating a sense of urgency and danger while evading them.

Metroid Dread may not fall under the horror genre, yet it successfully evokes a sense of dread and anxiety by introducing challenging encounters with EMMI. In the realm of maintaining consistently frightful adversaries within a franchise, the EMMI enemies of Metroid Dread stand out as an exceptional and hair-raising addition to the Metroid series.

Scary enemies in games are often rare because they must have a profound impact on the player. Some enemies are frightening due to their unsettling appearance or ability to provide jump scares, while others instill terror through their relentless pursuit and unbeatable nature. While horror games are known for featuring scary enemies as a deliberate attempt to terrify players, it's worth noting that scary enemies can exist beyond the horror genre.

For instance, Nemesis in the Resident Evil 3 remake may not be inherently scary despite relentlessly chasing players, whereas Psycho-Mantis's ability to manipulate players in a fourth-wall-breaking manner can be highly disturbing. Additionally, Monster-Ock in the PS1 Spider-Man game is uniquely anxiety-inducing, even though the game itself is not typically categorized as scary. However, in recent years, one enemy that stands out as possibly the scariest in gaming is EMMI from Metroid Dread.

Metroid Dread’s EMMI Still Reign Supreme as Dread-Inducing Enemies

EMMI, the Extraplanetary Multiform Mobile Identifiers in Metroid Dread, are often overlooked despite their significant impact. While the game brought the Metroid franchise back to its 2D roots with impressive animations and nostalgic abilities, the highlight was undeniably the challenge of navigating past each EMMI enemy.

Although Metroid Dread isn't classified as a horror game, it lives up to its name by creating a paralyzing sense of dread when entering an EMMI zone. Players must carefully evade detection, making their way through these areas with constant danger and anxiety, akin to walking on fragile eggshells. Adding to the tension is the urgency felt when Samus is grabbed, with only two opportunities to counter its instant-kill spike through melee attacks.

Players must summon the courage to confront an approaching EMMI head-on, standing down a lengthy corridor and taking aim with the Omega Stream. By firing upon the EMMI until it becomes vulnerable to a devastating Omega Blaster shot, the player achieves a gratifying defeat. The terror induced by EMMI enemies is complex and culminates in a satisfying victory. Metroid Dread, to be fair, did not face intense pressure to deliver scares. However, genuine horror games have an obligation to provide enemies that embody the genre's essence.

Maintaining consistently frightening enemies within a well-established franchise can prove more challenging than in a game that does not primarily focus on scares, aside from a single distinct element. Resident Evil 7 exemplified this, as it faced criticism for its limited variety of enemies known as the Molded. But the game compensated for this with its charismatic and memorable bosses. On the other hand, Doom Eternal could be considered part of the latter category due to the Marauder enemies, who instill panic and dread whenever they appear in combat encounters.

The macabre imagery and gory nature of Doom may not be terrifying to players, unless they have a fear of Hell and demons. It's ironic that players take on the role of an individual that demons should fear. The inclusion of a pursuing enemy that induces panic in the Metroid franchise was an acquired taste, and it remains to be seen if Nintendo will continue to introduce more stress-inducing encounters and enemies in the future.

Get Metroid Dread now on Nintendo Switch.