Microsoft has an enormous game library as it has both console exclusives that it had released in the earlier years when the Xbox was first made along with a giant catalog of games for its users that predominantly use a PC. In the catalog lies a lot of games that have scary characters that are included.
These characters mainly show up as enemies or the game's primary antagonists as developers do a good job at artistically creating antagonists that fit into the scarier genre in both predominantly horror titles and some non-horror titles. This list will touch upon all the scariest characters that have shown up in different games on Microsoft.
10 Tornado - Alan Wake
The tornado is Alan Wake is a tornado that has been controlled by the darkness in the game. This is not a very hard boss as the game makes it pretty simple for the player to defeat using some decently timed flairs and destroying a couple of objects. This is however fitting as the game builds in its narrative at this point.
The presence of the tornado when it first appears is frightening as it presents a spectacular final battle for the player to go up against before reaching the game's conclusion.
9 Freddy Fazbear - Five Nights At Freddy's
Freddy Fazbear serves as the primary antagonist of Five Nights at Freddy's. He has a humanoid type of figure that also resembles a bear. His animatronic design is lighthearted and not so menacing when it is performing naturally as it is supposed to. It is only when the animatronic starts to freely walk around at night that its petrifying appearance starts to break through.
Freddy shows up farther away from a lot of the cameras than Bonnie and Chica in the first game. He is often hidden in the shadows with only his eyes menacingly looking back at the player.
8 Xenomorph - Alien: Isolation
The Xenomorph in Alien: Isolation is one of the most terrifying enemies in gaming not because of the way that it looks, but because of the way that it was designed. The enemy was made with an AI that is intelligently searching for the player and trying to outsmart the player at every point in the game.
The design of the monster is also done well as it is very similar to that in the movies but brought to life with graphical design rather than practical effects.
7 Lament - The Evil Within 2
Lament is a monster in The Evil Within 2 that is made up of different female body parts meshed together to create a deformed creature that no player wants to run toward head-on. If this monster catches the protagonist, Sebastian, then it will vomit acid in his face and instantly kill him. The animation is gory and shows the face before and after it has been melted off.
Everything from this character's way of moving to the screech that it makes when it tries to grab the player makes it absolutely horrifying to encounter. This is an enemy that players will always want to sneak around to never get caught in its grip.
6 Tar Monsters - Condemned 2: Bloodshot
Tar Monsters in Condemned 2: Bloodshot are enemy types that will come after Ethan in his nightmares which is why they have such a horrific appearance. The tar monsters look like malnourished demons that are after the player. Most of them can be defeated fairly simply as ones that are heavily affected by tar move slowly and die in one hit.
It is not the fear of dying to these monsters place upon the player but the fear of becoming one of them. The tar fills some enemies leaving them heavily disfigured and creating scenes where one will pop up right in front of the player out of the tar that fills many of the nightmare's areas.
5 Mary Fleischer - Rise Of Nightmares
The Final Boss in Rise of Nightmares, Mary Fleischer, is designed like a boss in a Resident Evil game as she goes from her human form into a giant mutated version of herself. She uses giant tentacles that she summons out of the ground to attack the player and the player needs to use their body to dodge the tentacles.
She has an upper body that slightly resembles human but more porcelain in structure. She also has a hideous Jellyfish type of lower body that plays on the body horror style with giant organs hanging out of her enormous dress.
4 Spider Splicer - BioShock
The Spider Splicer in the BioShock series is one of the first Splicers that the player will encounter, but the player will not be fighting them until somewhat later in the game. In the first game, the enemies offer some scares as they crawl above the player and are able to attack the player from a distance as well as jump down and face the player in a melee battle.
In BioShock 2 the Spider Splicer is a little more formidable as an opponent because it has more health than a regular splicer enemy. The different variations like the crawler are much scarier as they have long arachnid-like limbs and disfigured faces.
3 The Flood - Halo: Combat Evolved
The Flood in Halo: Combat Evolved is part of what shows the prowess of Halo's storytelling capabilities using the world to guide the player through a terror-fueled experience. The entirety of the game leading to the point where the Flood is introduced is mainly based on heavy combat situations. This has the player walking for around 10 minutes with little to no combat in sight.
When the player finally reaches the Flood in the level where they first appear, the parasite shoot after the players in droves, and they have to quickly take out the masses of enemies. It's a good build with a fun payoff that forces the player into a survival horror mindset.
2 The Witch - Left 4 Dead
The Witch is a character that was first introduced in Left 4 Dead and makes another appearance in Left 4 Dead 2. The Witch is a character that won't be hostile so long as the player is not aggressive toward her. As soon as the character shoots her or does anything to agitate her then she will instantly pounce onto the player.
She has the ability to take out most of the players right away and will call on more zombies to rush the area, so players have to be careful when there is a Witch around and make sure that they don't accidentally shoot her.
1 Matriarch - Gears 5
The Matriarch is part of Gears 5's has a twist in the human DNA that belongs to it that's mixed with Locust's DNA. The dream sequence with Kail, the protagonist, going into her mind and seeing a mutated version of her mom is the perfect way to introduce the fight. The Matriarch is powerful with the ability to dish out big hits and throw spikes from its back but the boss is also blind which the player can use to their advantage.
It is not the most difficult boss in the game as it involves a fairly basic shoot-and-freeze pattern. The monster's design sticks out regardless of its difficulty. The matriarch's spiked back and large mutated status make it look like Marvel's Abomination.