10 Best Gory Games, Ranked (2024)

Gore in video games is an acquired taste, turning the stomachs of many players and thrilling others. While blood and violence are used primarily to shock audiences, no horror game would be complete without a few entrails on display.

Similar to how The Exorcist was shocking to Hollywood at the time, a number of these gory video games were also taboo creations in their field and put developers in the crosshairs of many parents. Here are some of the goriest titles in video games.

10 House of the Dead

The classic light gun shooter title, released by Sega in 1996, was the staple horror game to flock to in arcades, which not only tested your accuracy but your stomach as well - likely full of candy - and it deserves an honorable mention on this list.

Tasked with clearing the eponymous house, you play as AMS agents hellbent on stopping the evil Dr. Curien’s plan to turn zombie hordes on the public. These undead brutes took more than one shot to kill, resulting in masses of brain and blood splatter dotting the screen with nothing but the gun in front of you to hide behind.

9 Saw: The Video Game

Based on one of the goriest film franchises - which will be making a return this year - the 2009 Saw video game by Konami did exactly what it was supposed to do by delivering as much gore as it could get away with for the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360.

Due to the game’s nature, navigating a former detective through a series of unforgiving body traps, Saw deserves a mention on this list for its pain meter and sad*stic setting created by the iconic mastermind, Jigsaw.

8 Dead Space 2

Described as a survival horror released in 2011 by Visceral Games, Dead Space 2 was expected to produce a decent amount of gore for fans of the franchise. However, the amount of eye-gouging present was enough to make even seasoned horror fans flinch.

Many players will remember the excruciating scene when Isaac is impaled through the eye during the NoonTech Diagnostic Machine procedure, which is a memory that doesn’t fade fast in the minds of players and is therefore deserving of a place on this list.

7 Aliens Vs. Predator

The ruthless creatures are at war in this first-person shooter, inspired by the science-fiction film franchise, and humans are caught in the crossfire. Released by Rebellion Developments in 2010, Aliens vs. Predator let you play as either monster on a bloodthirsty hunt.

Playing as the acid-ridden Aliens allowed you to lay eggs in humans’ stomachs by way of the Chestbusters and manning the Predator had you on a mission to collect as many human heads as possible. These incentives alone award the game a place in the low ranks.

6 Outlast

Everywhere you turn in Red Barrels’ first-person survival horror, Outlast, has a mutilated corpse displayed in front of you, or the remains of one. The blood-soaked floors mixed with the countless disturbing enemies tracking you down accompanied by a terrifying score is a firm entry to close the low ranks.

Existing as one of the most terrifying games of the last decade, Outlast leaned into the extreme macabre and put investigative journalist, Miles Upshur, in a chilling position that gave players a serious case of claustrophobia and likely post-traumatic stress.

5 Until Dawn

Considering many of these entries tease the abundance of gore in their titles, Until Dawn may not be the first game you think of when it comes to body horror. However, you would be massively mistaken because some of Supermassive's challenges contest the Saw trials.

Between Chris’ unbearable decision to cut romantic interest Ashley or his best friend Josh in half, and Jennifer’s brutal, jaw-ripping death, Until Dawn is a definite contender on this list and is worthy of beginning the top five countdown.

4 Scorn

The 2022 survival horror Scorn from Ebb Software isn't necessarily the goriest game when it comes to violent encounters, but the nightmarish H.R. Giger-inspired setting and the sound design make this the dark horse on this list and awarded fourth place for various reasons.

Firstly, the entire world is jostling with grotesque, mutated creatures inhabiting an expanse that serves as a living organism in itself. With walls and weapons made of flesh and bone, everywhere you step is squishy and players who suffer from Trypophobia will not have a good time.

3 Manhunt

The 2003 stealth game Manhunt released by Rockstar was the gory and violent game on every parent's hit list when it came out because every teenager wanted a piece of the action for being a taboo release in the video games industry.

Controlling death row inmate, James Earl Cash, players had to kill a number of gang members throughout a series of snuff films, and it soon developed a cult following for its high level of graphic violence for the time and the mark it left on the industry is worthy of a third place ranking.

2 Splatterhouse

Even though the graphics are not as defined as other entries, that didn’t stop the 2010 hack-and-slash arcade remake title from Namco Bandai Games, Splatterhouse, from sickening players by painting every scene red just like the title suggests.

The main character Rick Taylor was a bloodthirsty brute in this title, and sometimes you couldn’t make out any details due to every surface running red. Combining an incessant squelch with slow-motion muscle-tearing, this is a valid entry for second place on the list.

1 Mortal Kombat 11

It’s only fitting that first place goes to the franchise that began with a title dubbed the goriest game of its time. Released in 1992 by Midway Games - before being passed over to NetherRealm Studios - the first Mortal Kombat was the fighting game that prompted the creation of the rating system in video games.

Now widely known for its iconic Fatalities, Mortal Kombat 11 went on to display a montage of spine-ripping, jaw-splitting knockouts during every 1 v 1 and should rightly be crowned the goriest game on our list.

NEXT: Best Enemy Designs In Horror Games, Ranked