Sometimes in games, you can encounter characters whose fate is unfortunate and considered worse than death. This article will discuss such cases.

Middle-Earth: Shadow of War

The orcs of Middle-Earth are bloodthirsty creatures who often lack intelligence. The main character can turn them to his side by using a specific skill. But there is a skill called "Worse than Death." The character humiliates the orc to such an extent that they go insane and become highly aggressive. The complete loss of sanity makes the orc dangerous not only to friends but also to enemies.

Mortal Kombat 11

At the end of each fight, we can witness numerous fatalities that kill opponents in various ways. But there are also moves that won't kill the opponent but condemn them to a worse fate. Here are some specific examples:

• Frost. This fatality doesn't kill the enemy but ensures an unfortunate fate. Frost, a student of Sub-Zero, performs this fatality. She freezes the enemy and then removes their brain, which is taken to a special factory. There, the brain is placed into a cybernetic ninja. The defeated opponent will now do whatever they are programmed to do.
• Geras' Fate. Geras cannot be killed; he always resurrects. With each rebirth, his powers increase, making him a dangerous opponent. This continued until Raiden devised a cunning move. Geras was shackled with enormous chains and dropped into the Blood Sea, which has no bottom. Now Geras awaits a long and unfortunate life.

Fallout 3

In this installment, you can encounter fates worse than death twice:

• Harold. This person underwent experiments and radiation exposure. As a result of uncontrollable mutations, Harold ended up trapped in a tree, becoming half human and half ghoul. He cannot move but is fully aware of everything, experiencing unimaginable agony.
• Braun. Scientist Braun created a simulation of life in which he imprisoned real people. The people are in capsules and cannot leave this illusion, while Braun torments them in every possible way, deriving sadistic pleasure. Moreover, the main character's father is trapped in the simulation in the body of a dog. By activating the Chinese invasion module, all people, both in the simulation and in real life, will die. Braun, however, will remain alone in the simulation forever.

Dishonored

In this game, you can either destroy enemies or condemn them to a worse fate. Here are some examples:

• The protagonist can perform a lobotomy on a scientist. And it can be done in the chair that the scientist himself invented. For the scientist, this will be worse than death because the complete loss of sanity will prevent him from continuing his research and realizing his ideas.
• The leader of a religious cult. Instead of killing him, you can chain him to a chair and brand the word "Heretic" directly on his forehead. The cult members won't appreciate this and will banish the former leader, depriving him of water, food, and other means of survival.
• You can hand over a woman to the person who is pursuing her. He will assure the protagonist that she will remain alive, but no one will ever hear about her again. What awaits her? It's only left to speculate.

God of War

In the game, you can encounter a character named Mimir. He was once Odin's advisor and held a high position. But one day, Odin suspected him of betrayal and punished him. The punishment was incredibly cruel. Odin subjected Mimir to numerous tortures for 109 years, during which he did not die. In the end, Mimir was imprisoned within a tree. He retained his consciousness but cannot move from the spot.

Half-Life

In this game, Earth is invaded by aliens. There are many types of aliens, but headcrabs are truly horrifying. They seize control of a human's body by attaching themselves to the head (similar to the facehuggers from "Alien"). The horror lies in the fact that you can hear the screams of the victims and their pleas for help. The headcrabs do not deprive the host of their consciousness, which is worse than death.

Here we can also mention the stalkers. These are people who have undergone lobotomies and other horrific operations. As a result, they become mindless instruments programmed to carry out their owners' tasks. It's an unfortunate fate.

Resident Evil

The Umbrella Corporation was involved in creating weapons of mass destruction, particularly biological weapons. Naturally, experiments were needed to study the effects of viruses on living beings, especially humans. One of the subjects was a girl named Lisa Trevor and her mother. The mother did not survive the experiments and died soon after. However, Lisa was subjected to experiments for several years. As a result, she became a horrific monster who kills people and wears their faces as masks.

Days Gone

In addition to relatively mindless zombies of various kinds, the game features other infected individuals. One of them is a scientist named O'Brian. He was infected but retained his sanity and continues to remain human. Of course, there are external changes, and he has gained strength, but he has not turned into a bloodthirsty monster. The problem is that the scientist doesn't know when he will lose his sanity and turn into a monster, living day by day.

Prey 2007

Not always does the protagonist manage to save their loved ones. The same happens in this game. The main character's beloved girlfriend is abducted by aliens. But what's terrifying is not the abduction itself but what they did to her. They kept her upper body intact, but the lower part was replaced with a monster. Thus, she is fully aware of everything happening but has no control over the actions of the monster. For example, she attacks the main character without any desire to do so. Saving her is now impossible.

The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim

In this game, the character's soul can be condemned to prolonged suffering. It is enough to use the spell "Soul Trap" or strike with an enchanted weapon. In this case, the soul will be trapped in a black soul gem. Even if it manages to escape from there, the soul can wander the fantasy world for a long time, without finding peace and enduring suffering.

Last of Us

In this game, the cause of the apocalypse was the Cordyceps fungus. When it infects a person, it gradually takes control of them and alters their appearance. The person ceases to be themselves and does everything the Cordyceps commands. However, there is a belief that a part of their consciousness remains, making the existence of the infected truly horrifying. They experience terrible suffering and cannot do anything about it.

The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt – Hearts of Stone

Gunter O'Dimm is one of the most mysterious characters in the world of "The Witcher." But Doctor Shalock was determined to find Gunter and unravel his secret. However, he failed to do so. While studying the information, Shalock went blind. When this happened, Gunter appeared to him in person and said that he was flattered by such attention. Gunter trapped the doctor in a circle and said that he would die if he crossed the boundaries of that circle. Shalock began having nightmares, which caused him to stop sleeping altogether. And so it continued for a long time. It is indeed a terrifying fate.

Dead Space

Among all the creatures that the main character has to confront, the stalkers are truly pitiful. Their upper bodies remain human, but the lower part is absent. Instead, it is replaced by tentacles made of entrails. The person is conscious and experiences indescribable pain, which they scream in response to.

Amnesia: A Machine For Pigs

In this game, people are turned into repulsive mutants. They become humanoid pigs devoid of reason. They are driven only by primitive instincts and do not control their own bodies. Moreover, this process occurs gradually, and human limbs are gradually replaced with pig-like ones. Gradually losing their human form is a fate worse than death.

Singularity

The Mobile Temporal Manipulator is a terrifying weapon. Even scientists said that it should not be used on humans. But how to get through hordes of enemies? If the MTM is used on a person, several outcomes are possible:

• Rapid aging, turning the enemy into a skeleton;
• Reversion to the original state, with a mass of living cells;
• Transformation into a zombie that spits venom and eventually explodes.

The horror lies in the fact that a person affected by the MTM will feel everything that happens to them.

Inside

There is a fate worse than death when a character becomes part of a massive biomass, and moreover, a conscious one. In this game, that's exactly what happens. At first, the boy, whom we play as from the very beginning, becomes part of the biomass. But as biomass, the hero manages to break free from the laboratory and wreak havoc in the office. The director of this organization also faces a horrifying fate. First, the biomass breaks through the window, and then it engulfs the director, making him a part of its experiment.

Soma

Simon's life was cut short by a car accident. The hero suffered a severe brain injury. But one beautiful day, he was offered to participate in a medical experiment that could help him. Simon agreed. But the result did not bring him joy. Upon waking up, he learned that a comet had destroyed humanity, and his loved ones were gone. And he himself was not Simon but only his prototype. Truly, nothing to envy.

Darkwood

In this game, the forest poses a serious threat to people. The thing is, if you stay there long enough, you can permanently lose your human form. That's what happened to a man who lived in a cottage in this forest. He fed on frogs, snails, and so on. Most likely, it is because of this that he himself turned into a huge snail. Moreover, when you meet him, you can have a conversation on quite normal topics, which indicates that he has not lost his sanity and still believes he is human.

Wolfenstein: The New Order

Blazkowicz and his comrades fell into the hands of the Nazis for failing the mission. The player is faced with a difficult choice of which of the comrades-in-arms will die. However, death does not come in the literal sense of the word. At the end of the game, Blazkowicz fights a huge combat robot, inside of which is the brain of the "dead" comrade. The horror lies in the fact that the imprisoned consciousness asks the main character to destroy it, as it cannot control itself and experiences indescribable torment.

Penumbra

To find oneself alone underground, trying to survive and gradually losing one's sanity, is truly an unenviable fate. But that's exactly what happened to Thomas Redwood. He worked in a mine, but one day the mine collapsed, blocking Thomas's way to the surface. He was declared dead, and no one bothered to search for him. Thomas survived in the mine for 30 years, feeding on the meat of zombified dogs. The pitch-black darkness, complete solitude, and the virus from the meat took their toll, and Thomas became a real monster.

Quake 4

The Strogg are extraterrestrials who attack humanity in this game. They replenish their ranks by capturing prisoners. The procedure is horrifying. The captive has their limbs and internal organs amputated, all without anesthesia. The brain is also affected. As a result, a soldier is created who will unquestioningly fight for the aliens.

Silent Hill 2

In the dark city, one of the characters in this game named James will experience horrific sensations throughout the game. The thing is, he encounters corpses that closely resemble him. The horror lies in the fact that James is actually dead, and the town is a purgatory. Now his soul will wander, finding no rest. James killed his wife, and in Silent Hill, he will do it over and over again, experiencing immense guilt and being in solitude.

Dragon Age

In this game world, there are creatures that evoke horror and disgust. To reproduce, they abduct women of other races and take them to their dungeons. There, the abducted ones are forced to feed on the flesh of the monsters. Gradually, the abducted loses their sanity and transforms into a monster plagued by constant hunger. The ultimate outcome is transformation into a womb, where human, ant, and octopus merge together. The womb gestates new monsters, and the cycle repeats until it is destroyed.

F.E.A.R.

The girl Alma underwent numerous experiments, conducted by her own father, due to her paranormal abilities. She was subjected to various forms of abuse. As a result, the girl fell into a coma. Alma was artificially impregnated with the aim of creating superhuman telepathic soldiers. The experiments ended with Alma's death, and she suffered a prolonged and agonizing demise. What the girl experienced before her death was far more horrifying than death itself.

Mass Effect

In this game, the fate of those transformed into "Husk" robots is pitiable. They can be both dead and still living individuals or representatives of other races. They are impaled on a special spike and drained of moisture and other nutrients, while their bodies are generously equipped with implants. The result is a robot devoid of any emotions except the desire to kill anyone who stands in its way.

Katana Zero

The substance "Chronos" is capable of granting true immortality to those who take it. However, if the character is killed at the moment when the effects of "Chronos" wear off, their physical body dies, while their consciousness is transferred to a purgatory where they endure repeated torments.

Metal Gear Solid

One of the heroes in this game was brought back to life. However, it was done quite crudely, by pumping him full of various drugs and placing him in an exoskeleton. As a result, he became a machine, losing almost all of his personality and memories. He has no purpose or meaning to his existence.