Top 5 Greatest Gory Games Of All Time

Today’s Top 5 list comes with perfect timing, considering the MadWorld cover art has been released. Also, with Halloween just around the corner. So today we are going to celebrate the great gore that we’ve seen throughout the years on Nintendo consoles. Considering Nintendo has had pretty strict censorship in the past with gore, today’s list might be a challenge.

5. Killer Instinct – Killer Instinct isn’t necessarily the ‘goriest’ game out there. What is lacks in quantity, it makes up for with solid gameplay mechanics, and a wonderful visual style. Mortal Kombat might have more gore, but Killer Instinct’s blood looks prettier.

I know you’d rather see a video for proof then keep reading me harp on it:

Killer Instinct Finishing Moves

4. No More Heroes – Travis Touchdown’s adventure to becoming the #1 assassin is one filled with enough blood to supply a third world country. Unlike some games who try to be realistic with their blood usage, No More Heroes throws the rules out the window.

I’ve stated numerous times my problems with the gameplay in No More Heroes. Yet it still keeps popping up in my Top 5 lists. The over exaggerated use of gore and violence has a lot to do with that.

Here’s a video that is a great example of how well stylized the gore factor is used in No More Heroes:

RASPBERRY CHOCOLATE SUNDAE!!!!

3. Mortal Kombat II – In my Killer Instinct listing I talked about graphical quality, and gameplay. Although Mortal Kombat II might be a tad behind in those departments, it doesn’t stop it from being the most gore filled fighting game of all time.

The original Mortal Kombat isn’t being listed, because for those who know their history the original MK was edited. Therefore it is going to be a no-show for today’s list. Censorship FTL.

Censorship isn’t the only reason that MKII is being listed over the original. Although Mortal Kombat might be the beginning of gory fighters, MKII took the formula and exponentially multiplied it. The fatalities were more hardcore, there was more blood sprites, and better environment fatalities.

Just like I did for Killer Instinct, here is a video of all the fatalities in Mortal Kombat II:

2. Resident Evil 4 – What kind of list of gory games would this be if there wasn’t a zombie-esque game included somewhere? I can think of no better title to represent the survival-horror genre than Resident Evil 4.

Ok, so technically there aren’t zombies in RE4, but are we really going to split hairs about it? Although the Los Ganados aren’t zombies in a technical sense, that doesn’t stop them from bringing the gore soaked goodness. Chainsaws, brain controlling parasites, huge boss finales are all parts of the overall whole that make Resident Evil 4 such a blast to play.

The previous Resident Evil games might have had more extreme bits of gore, but Resident Evil 4 decided to go with a more realistic, disturbing take. There will be no people eating intestines, or feasting on a stomach. But there are bits of torture, dismemberment, and very unsettling gory pieces that keep the sense of urgency and dread very fresh.

1. Splatterhouse – There’s really no other game as deserving of #1 in today’s list than Splatterhouse. Some will say that it was originally a TurboGrax-16 game, but it was released on the Virtual Console so therefore it’s now a Nintendo Wii game.

I know it might be a stretch, but Splatterhouse was/is the king of gory games. If I’m not mistaken it’s the first game to receive a warning on the box, and there’s good reason. Before Splatterhouse there really wasn’t a whole lot of over dramatized violence in games. We had Mario jumping on goomba heads, Link was slashing at Ganon. There were some military based violent games, but nothing with the likes of Splatterhouse.

The game pays homage to horror movies, as evidenced by the Jason-like mask that the main character wears. You’re saving your girlfriend from the evil clutches of an ancient evil inside a mansion. Of course there’s a crazy doctor behind a lot of what’s happening. There are bits of gory set pieces along the way. The enemies are very creative, and styled in a way that their creepiness, and gore still holds up to this day.

Alright, now’s the time to refute my claims. What games that have been released on Nintendo consoles do you deem the king/queen of gore? Feel free to leave your comments below.