Death is a natural part of life. It's also an integral consequence of playing poorly in video games. The worlds of Dark Souls are riddled with bloodstains where fellow adventurers perished, and Super Meat Boy players even get to watch the cute little guy die dozens of times after beating a level. With so many characters constantly dying in games, it makes sense there's a place to lay those fallen heroes to rest. In celebration of the afterlife and Halloween, we've gathered the most iconic and uniquely...executed graveyards in all of video games.
10. MediEvil - (1998 - PlayStation)
Sir Dan is the reanimated corpse of a knight who - legend
has it - led the kingdom of Gallowmere in battle before dying from his battle
wounds. But really, he was an incompetent warrior who died almost immediately
in the fight. It makes sense that his afterlife adventure begins where he was buried
- an elaborate mausoleum in a huge graveyard. Thanks to an evil wizard casting
a reanimation spell on the hallowed grounds, Sir Dan must fight his way through
crawling severed hands and deadly zombies, and leap past dozens of boulders
inexplicably tumbling down the highest hill in the cemetery.
9. Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots (2008 -
PlayStation 3)
The ending of Guns of the Patriots (MGS 4 spoilers ahead) is about as heartfelt and revealing as Solid
Snake's convoluted-yet-compelling storyline gets. The veteran stealth maverick
pays his respect to the grave of Big Boss - his genetic father by way of
cloning. The graveyard itself is pretty standard, but the twist that occurs
here makes it one of the most memorable in gaming. After Snake salutes his
dad/mortal enemy's grave, he discovers that Big Boss lives on via Solidus'
repurposed body parts. Then after a lengthy discussion, Big Boss explains that
the only way to truly save the word is to kill a 105-year-old man right there
and then. In the graveyard. Next to his own grave.
8. Max Payne 3 (2012 - PS3, 360, PC)
Speaking of unexpected twists while paying respects to your
loved ones, Max Payne 3 really ratchets it up a notch. Continuing his streak as
the unluckiest
sad sack in all of video games, Max Payne is saying goodbye to his murdered
wife and baby daughter when the cemetery erupts in gunfire. Max is forced to
take cover behind the gravestone of his dead wife as mobsters take potshots.
His wife's headstone gradually crumbles under the volley as Max is forced to
battle his way out of the graveyard and eventually New York. Against all odds,
his life only gets worse from there.
7. Silent Hill 2 (2001 - PS2, Xbox, PS3, 360, PC)
Silent Hill's notorious fog induces a stroll down an
innocuous city street with a sense of dread. That unease is ramped up even more
when James Sunderland's lonely path leads into a dreary graveyard early on in
the game. While that initial cemetery is spooky, James stumbles upon something
even scarier when exploring an underground labyrinth. James enters an
unsettling room filled with a small plot of land and a few empty graves with
headstones. Most of them are shallow, but one gives way to a dark, seemingly
bottomless pit players must leap down to progress. The name on the headstone?"James Sunderland."
6. Ghosts 'n Goblins - (1986 - NES)
Making a graveyard look cutesy isn't a simple task. That
also may not have been Capcom's primary goal when creating the first stage of
Ghosts 'n Goblins, but that's what happened. The heroic knight, Arthur, is just
hanging out in a graveyard with his girlfriend while wearing only his skivvies
when suddenly a demon appears from nowhere and steals away his lover. Arthur
then dashes through the cemetery to rescue her as coffins rise from the ground
and the walking dead shamble out. One hit from these ghouls sends Arthur's
armor flying off and he's back to wearing his undies - just another reason why
you shouldn't take your date to a cemetery.
Up next: Ghosts that fit in your pocket and Raccoon City's dearly departed...