When it comes to horror games, replayability can be a big concern for developers. How can playersbe expected to feel the need to keep playingafter the scares and spooks fade away? No jumpscare or enemy swarm can feel as shocking or impactful as the first playthrough, after all.
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In order to remedy this, horror games areoften notorious for hiding fun secrets, easter eggs, and weapons for players to hunt down after their initial playthrough. Some of these secrets are forplayers to discover hidden loreand others are a means tolet them feel drunk with powerfor a less tense new game plus experience. Here are a few of the best hidden (ie. missable) weapons that are unlockable in horror games.
8Doom Eternal: The Unmaykr
The Unmaykr is an alien superweapon found inDoom Eternal. Making its first appearance inDoom 64(then spelled “Unmaker”), the powerful automatic gun, the Unmaykr, is only unlocked after a great deal of hard work. In order to access the Unmaykr, the player must first acquire all six Empyrean keys from every Slayer Gate in the game.
These Slayer Gates tend to be quite difficult and aren’t mandatory areas to clear so they can be a big risk to take. However, the satisfaction from the sheer firepower of the Unmaykr is enough to tempt any player into giving a Slayer Gate a try at least once.
7The Suffering: Gonzo Gun
A 2004 horror game,The Sufferingwasn’t only about instilling fear withgrotesque imagery in the form of threatening enemiesbut also through its grim story.The Sufferinghas an incredibly dark plot that deals with trauma, incarceration, and other heavy subjects. So it comes as a bit of a surprise that the developers would decide to add something as absurd as the Gonzo Gun.
The infamous Gonzo Gun is a special weapon that is unlocked much later in the game (or via cheats inThe Suffering: Ties That Bind) that is literally a simple chicken. The absurdity of this deadly chicken gun doesn’t stop there; not only does the gun itself resemble a chicken, but it is also complete with thematic egg ammunition.
After tracking down the Purple Skull inDead Islandand placing it in its designated location, players can unlock the “Developer’s No. 4 Craft” which then unlocks the blueprints to make the elusive Mindblowing Military Knife. What is special about this secret weapon is that (much like its name implies) it has the unique ability to explode zombies' heads on impact.
In any zombie game, it’s only natural to give players a hidden weapon capable of achieving quicker runs with and effortless one-hit kills. Although this weapon only works on certain enemies, it’sdefinitely a fun rewardfor all the hard work that goes into unlocking it.
5Call Of Duty Zombies: Wonder Weapons
Although the universe ofCall Of Dutygames has kept itself rather contained to generally realistic means of warfare, all those kinds of restrictions are thrown out the window for the fan-favorite “Zombies mode”. TheCall Of Duty"Zombies mode" features tons of wacky weapons that don’t make any appearances in the normal game.
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The “Zombies mode” features not just one but a plethora of special weapons, called Wonder Weapons. Some of the most notable Wonder Weapons include the powerful Ray Gun, the explosive Matryoshka Dolls, and the one-hit-kill Golden Spork.
Only the most dedicated of fans know the wondrous feeling of blasting through hoards of necromorphs with the powerful Hand Cannon inDead Space 2. The foam finger weapon is only unlocked after completing the game on Hard Core Mode where only three saves are permitted for the entirety of the game.
This hilarious weapon doesn’t require any ammo and does not need to be reloaded. Not only is the Hand Cannon ridiculously powerful, Isaac himself can’t seem to contain his excitement when using the weapon as he shouts, “bang” or “pew pew” when firing the “gun”. There couldn’t be a more embarrassing way for a necromorph to die!
3Friday The 13th: Tommy Jarvis
Although Tommy Jarvis himself isn’t technically a weapon, he counts as a bonus character inFriday The 13thand comes with a handful of advantages over normal camp counselors. Whilemost counselors will opt to try to hide until time runs outor gather parts for a vehicle to drive off to safety in order to achieve a win, another alternative is calling for one of the film’s famous protagonists, Tommy Jarvis.
Not only does Tommy come with perfect stats on his character (ie. luck, composure, strength), but he also arrives onto the scene with a shotgun, a med spray, and even a pocket knife tohelp escape Jason’s grabs. Even if Tommy doesn’t manage to kill Jason, he definitely has enough firepower to help other counselors escape in his steed.
2Resident Evil 7: Albert -01
During the final fight ofResident Evil 7, an injured Ethan Winters is rescued by Chris Redfield andeliminates a mutated Evelineonce and for all with the help of a special gun; the Albert-01. Named after the long-timeResident Evilvillain, Albert Wesker, the Albert-01 gun can only be unlocked at the end of the game, after defeating the final boss.
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However, in a new game plus file, the Albert-01 makes a return as the Albert-01R. Although the gun in the new game plus mode is only a replica of the gun that eliminates Eveline, it still very much packs a punch and is a great weapon to keep around for harder difficulties.
1Silent Hill 3: Heather/Sexy Beam
After completing multiple playthroughs and defeating a certain number of enemies, the player can then use a secret unlockable weapon called the Heather Beam. However, as strange as a supernatural beam that Heather shoots from her head, there is something even more absurd.
In the unbelievably dark, gruesome world ofSilent Hill3lies an out-of-place unlockable costume called the Transform Costume. After unlocking this adorable “magical girl” outfit for Heather, an even more ridiculous weapon can be used called the Sexy Beam.
A more powerful version of the Heather Beam, the Sexy Beam isn’t a physical weapon that the protagonist is equipped with but more like a powerful move. Between the Sexy Beam and the infamous “Dog ending” inSilent Hill 2, it’s clear the devs over at Konami know how to add a bit of comedic relief to their terrifying backdrops.
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