Scariest ghost ship in games

Important takeaways

• Video games use “ghost ships” that are not exclusive to nautical themes, expanding into interstellar and futuristic settings.
• Unique locations such as “Abandoned Ship” i
  Pokémon
  create an enhanced atmosphere that enhances the player experience.
• Games like
  SLEEP
  ,
  Dead Space
  and
  Alien: Isolation
  have haunted ships as central elements in their stories, evoking horror.

While the “ghost ship” may have cemented itself as a horror trope in fiction, its role in video games has expanded from being exclusively nautical vessels to even the frontiers of intergalactic transportation.

From long-gone space transports to sunken wrecks filled with treasure, the “ghost ship” trope may be used often in fiction, but it's done nothing to quell the dread many players will no doubt feel walking through them.

1 “The Abandoned Ship” / SS Cactus

An ill-fated ship with cabins and treasures hidden underwater

While the annals of derelict ghost ships in video games are unsurprisingly filled with examples from the thriller and horror genres, that doesn't mean haunted ships are exclusive to horror-filled experiences. Examples of this are the setting and atmosphere in “Abandoned Ship” by Pokémonthird generation.

Nestled on Route 108 – between the gym towns of Dewford Town and Slateport City – within Hoenn's vast oceanic waterways, the SS Cactus, known to players as the “Abandoned Ship” is a rare glimpse into the darker side of the typically family-friendly Nintendo franchise. With rusted portholes and rotting doors and floorboards, the SS Cactus' hazy waterlogged fate adds to the ship's somber tone. Augmented by a chain of locked doors and hidden keys on the ship's lower levels, accessible only after players have access to the Dive HM and leading to the captain's office and hidden scanner objects, the sunken fate of the “Abandoned Ship” is a uniquely chilling location in Pokémon franchise.

2 Obra Dinn

A literal ghost ship with hidden mysteries galore

Originally proclaimed as a passion project by Paper, please developer Lucas Pope, Return of Obra Dinns eight-hour story surrounding the fictional 1802 disappearance and further revelation of the titular merchant ship is an experience uniquely focused on the fate of the ship's former crew.

Using a paranormal pocket watch to relive the final moments of the 60 souls lost on Obra Dinn's voyage around the Cape of Good Hope, players must guess the identity and fate of each passenger. Shown in a retro-inspired black-and-white binary image style, Obra Dinn's South African travels were filled with all manner of perilous incidents; from the paranormal to the mysterious and murder.

3 Helios

The Art Deco corpse of an alt-future Utopia

Similarly to the claustrophobic tone of recent immersive sims like 2007's Bioshock, Close to the sun not only trapping players within the confines of a location but giving it a sinister personality of its own. Set in the crumbling decadence of the ocean liner Helios, Close to the suns “unbound utopia” is transformed by “the stench of rotting flesh”.

In an alternate future of 1897, where technological powerhouses Thomas Edison and Nikola Tesla battle for supremacy over the world, the quarantined halls of Helios are home to many of the guests' last gasps, ranging from declarations of cruelty, passion and heartbreak. . As players unravel the mystery with Close to the sunthe art deco-inspired glamor of Helios begins to peel away, and the corruption of Tesla's utopian vision for humanity shines through.

4 MS Curie

A seemingly submersible savior for those trapped within Pathos-II

While players spend most of their time during the 2015 survival horror title SLEEP within the cramped confines of the Pathos-II underwater research station, the safety and hope that the MS Curie drowner symbolizes becomes too alluring to ignore.

As such, although its hull has been reclaimed by the sea and is damaged beyond repair, the player ventures further into its metal corpse to investigate it further. Unfortunately, the halls of MS Curie are similarly haunted by the terrifying humanoid figure of a Flesher. MS Curie's last gasp of life is used by the player to eject its escape pods as it self-destructs, taking with it the Flesher but also one of the shining hopes for those trapped underwater in Pathos-II.

5 USCSS Torrens

The Nestromo-inspired spaceship That Bookends Alien: Isolation's Narrative

Although most Alien: Isolation18 hours of runtime spent aboard the dark confines of Sevastopol Station hiding from a stealthy Xenomorph, the role of USCSS Torrens as a ferry for Amanda Ripley to the dying space station and as a hope of escape is crucial to the game's story.

While wounded near Alien: Isolations start, and threatened to be pulled down by Sevastopol Station itself, the USCSS Tower's location in the title's final moments is poignant and terrifying. With a striking interior resemblance to the original USCSS Nostromo Foreign movie, the Xenomorph's violent spree transforms this nostalgic design into a horror-inspiring set piece seemingly lost in the infinite vacuum of space as Ripley hurls herself and the titular Alien out of the spacecraft's airlock.

6 The Abandoned Reaper

The vessel-sized corpse of Mass Effect's existential threat

Within its role as the existential threat of the whole Mass effect universe, the Reaper's position is as a purely antagonistic force that should be met with immense caution due to their destructive capabilities. As such, the existence of the abandoned Reaper orbiting Mnemosyne that players can venture within during Mass Effect 2 is a completely unique one in the history of the series.

With a team of Cerberus scientists silenced aboard the formerly sentient ship, players find themselves similarly trapped as they venture into the Forsaken Reaper to sense their fate. Entering the organic hull of the series' greatest enemy faction is an incredibly panic-inducing experience, and the existence of the research team's Husks adds to the horror-inspired themes of bioorganic terror.

7 SS Ourang Medan

An eponymous WW2 freighter with connections to the real world

Based on the somewhat matter-of-fact reports of a missing ship of the same name, the fate of the SS Ourang Medan in the self-titled narrative horror title from Supermassive Games is as terror-inducing as it is open to interpretation.

Abandoned for 72 years before being discovered by the player's group of amateur divers, the WW2 cargo ship is home not only to seemingly pirates and supernatural creatures but a hefty dose of very real danger to the group of friends. Trapped in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, players navigate the rusted and dilapidated hull The Dark Pictures: Man Of Medans ship is tasked with the twisted challenge of keeping each of the eager explorers alive while exploring the dark corners and rotten glamor of 20th century freighters.

8 Dead Space

The CDC's flagship became the vessel for one of horror games' best creatures

Whether players experience the dense body horror and claustrophobia that Dead Space's USG Ishimura within the confines of the third-person survival horror's original release in 2008 or the 2023 remake, CEC's flagship horror remains the same.

With arachnid-like Necromorphs taking advantage of the Ishimura's low emergency lighting and ventilation systems, and the suffocating space blocking any form of escape, players have no choice but to force their way through the ship's deathly silent halls. Existing almost as a panting creature itself, USG Ishimura is not only the setting for one of the most influential horror titles of the seventh console generation, but one of the creepiest horror title locations in the entire genre.