If there is one surefire way to guarantee a gamer to get scared: include an underwater segment. There could be nothing in the water but the paranoia of what could be is enough to make them scared to continue. So when game developers actually put water threats in there, it becomes pure nightmare fuel.
Despite the fact that most shark attacks are cases of mistaken identity and sharks rarely actively go after humans as shown in the likes of Jaws, it doesn't game developers from using them. Over the years, many games have included sharks as threats and some have led to the dread of gamers everywhere.
Maneater
This is a case where the player controls a shark in an over-the-top and comedic RPG known as Maneater. It isn't without its horror though, one could view that all the killing the shark does as horrific. There are also other sharks that can provide a scare if the player is not leveled up enough or has difficulty cranked up.
Hammerheads, great whites, and makos among other predators like alligators and orcas are featured in Maneater as regular enemies and the region bosses known as Apexes. Even the human hunters can be a little scary to fight when they get stronger and stronger.
Ark: Survival Evolved
Ark: Survival Evolved is a dinosaur-centric game that has its fair share of scary creatures if the player is not prepared. In the oceans, there are Mosasaurs, giant manta rays, Ichthyosaurs, and the most famous underwater monster: Megalodon.
These massive sharks can catch a player off guard, leading to horrifying encounters. However, if one can do the right steps, Megalodon can be tamed and mounted. Likely though, a first encounter will result in a few screams.
Resident Evil HD
The Spencer Mansion is home to many mutant animals such as giant spiders and snakes as well as the unlimited zombies. Those are expected whereas massive mutant sharks being held below the mansion are not. The room containing the sharks of the Neptune project provides several puzzle rooms, each providing different levels of dread.
Such as a room with a shark attacking the glass à la Deep Blue Sea, giving the player a limited amount of time to escape. Or running around the room trying to figure out what to do while the shark is constantly hunting. Resident Evil 4 would hark back to this with a giant carnivorous fish boss in a lake.
Raft
A surprise indie game about one to four survivors stranded on a seemingly endless ocean. All they have is a small raft and a grappling hook which can be used to fish for floating supplies. While the player works on building their raft, getting food, and looking for land, there are threats in the water.
The raft will be stalked by a shark that circles until it decides to attack. Not only can they kill the player but bite off entire pieces of the raft. While they can be killed, they still provide a shocking entrance.
PlayStation VR Worlds (Ocean Descent)
The immediate staple if one owns the PSVR is PlayStation VR Worlds. It provides several short interactive adventures similar to rides in a theme park. One world that stole the show was the Ocean Descent which featured the player in a cage being lowered to the deepest depths.
As more things go wrong, the scarier it gets with sharks emerging to provide a few scares. The game is so well-detailed that the sharks genuinely feel like they are coming at the player. That combined with the intense situation with the cage is enough to scare anyone from the PSVR for a few days.
Shark Attack Deathmatch 2
One would think having a team of other players as a backup would make sharks less scary. That is an incorrect assumption as Shark Attack Deathmatch 2 provides a horrifying experience. Not only are the sharks hunting players but so are other players, providing two threats at once.
Players can also control the shark in a first-person view, adding a layer of fear since the sharks are not just random AI. They're thinking and strategizing, making things even worse for human players.
Sea Of Thieves
For every person wanting to live their own Pirates Of The Caribbean adventure, there is Sea Of Thieves. It is fun and easily one of Rare's best games they've ever made. It has a few horror elements such as some of the undead enemies and many underwater threats including krakens.
Of course, it wouldn't be on this list if there weren't sharks. Yes, there are sharks and despite the cartoonish art style of the game, Sea Of Thieves has some scary sharks that can kill the player quickly. There are also Megalodon boss fights just in case traversing the seas wasn't scary enough.
Far Cry 3
For the most part, the fan-favorite Far Cry 3 is a great dark and gritty open-world shooter that reinvented the series into a long-running series. Throughout, it remains an action-adventure with some dark elements, nothing all that scary. That is until the player is in need of certain skins to craft better equipment.
The instant Far Cry 3 forces the player into the ocean, it transforms into a horror game. The sharks are fast, realistically designed, and require the player to be up close in order to skin them. Their spawning is sporadic which can lead to some heart-stopping encounters.
Depth
For a more polished experience than Shark Attack Deathmatch, there is Depth which can be described as an underwater Dead By Daylight. One team of humans attempts to finish objectives while another player as the shark stalks and kills the humans. The difference here is that there are two sharks in the water.
There is an option for playing against AI but either way will lead to some scary shark attacks. The environment and sounds are surprisingly realistic, forcing the player to have constant awareness. The sharks are fast and can appear at any second.
Stranded Deep
Stranded Deep can best be described as Cast Away the game and that's not a bad thing. Stranded Deep was a surprising indie title about that player stuck in the middle of the ocean and forced to survive. They go from island to island, getting supplies in a survival adventure game à la Ark: Survival Evolved.
Of course, there are things in the water to not only harvest and scavenge but sharks that stalk the player. Tigers sharks, hammerhead sharks, and great whites all equally scary since they are far from easy to kill. Being killed in Stranded Deep means a lot of backtracking, making these creatures along with others including the giant squid can lead to some screams of fear.
