In a world of gaming filled with zombies, aliens, orcs, assassins, and mutated monsters, it may seem that there’s not much room left for the worst enemy of them all…

…SPIDERS.

While I personally find skeletons to be the most unsettling type of enemy throughout entertainment, spiders take a very close second. Oh, I’m fine with the little ones that pepper the yard and occasionally make their ways into my home (though go they must when I find them!). But make them the size of anything larger than a penny, and I’m out. Like, waaaaaay out. Just thinking about large spiders is enough to send chills down my spine. Given that spiders, especially those of the extra-large and terrifying variety, are a dime-a-dozen in just about any fantasy game these days, one might think that I’d have gotten visually used to them. And maybe I have, a little. But that doesn’t mean I enjoy my encounters with them. Oh no, no, no. In fact, spider encounters remain my least favorite in games, as they tend to creep me out for days afterwards and are the most likely to instill dread during replays. But for my final Spooktober post (on the cusp of Halloween, no less), I’m going to face my fears and highlight a few of the most memorable arachnids I’ve encountered in recent games/replays!

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Huggin’ Molly – South of Midnight

Though I completed the game months ago, visions of the gigantic, tactile spider that is Huggin’ Molly in South of Midnight continue to haunt me. She’s based on a cryptid that’s said to “reside” in southern Alabama, and she perpetually seeks hugs to atone for the loss of a child. To deny Huggin Molly a hug means bad news for whomever she decides to haunt. South of Midnight begins with a warning about arachnophobia, and for good reason. While Huggin’ Molly’s story takes a turn for the good, her lair is intensely creepy, and the battle against her is just as wild.

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Thornback Matriarch – Hogwarts Legacy

If any current game should come with a warning for arachnophobes, it’s Hogwarts Legacy! Its spiders, some called Thornbacks, are all over the place. They all have to come from someplace, and that place is the huge Thormback Matriarch. Or rather, matriarchs, as there are more than just one! But meeting one of these monstrosities is plenty of spider for me. Nicely, I suppose, there are lots of visual warnings in the game that say “hey, spider lair here!” This is great, because if you’re like me and tend towards unobservant when you’re focused on completing a quest, seeing all the “spiders ahead” signs at least make me breath for a moment before barreling ahead. Nobody wants to be caught by spiders unaware. Nobody.

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Shoth the Tomb Queen – Neverwinter

Deep within the Waterclock Tower in Neverwinter’s Neverdeath Grvaeyard lives Shoth, a giant spider to end all giant spiders. I’ll admit that after spending so much time with the game, Shoth no longer creeps me out as badly as she once did, but that doesn’t make her encounter any better. While I may not see her as “scary,” she still puts up a good fight while spawning a significant brood of minion spiders. Considering that she’s been in the tower for so long and only has the occasional lost adventurer to feast upon, it’s no wonder she’s always ready for battle!

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Spiders in the Shattered Sanctum – Baldur’s Gate 3

As many well know, Baldur’s Gate 3 is jam-packed with surprises….and spiders. I mean, I’ve encounter lots of enemy spiders in my gaming travels, but they seem to be involved in nearly every battles in Baldur’s Gate 3! But, not all spiders in the game are bent on destruction. Deep underground, players are led to a temple that’s been taken over by Goblins, and in it are a few trapped spiders. Should a player happen to both free them and speak to them (using the “speak to animals” spell, the best spell ever in any game ever, by the way), they’ll learn that, indeed, these spiders are quite angry and hungry. But! Lest the party become spider food, one can convince them that goblins make much meals, proving that not all brushes with spider end in certain doom.

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Mora – Ori and the Will of the Wisps

As bright and as jubilant as the Ori series can be, it can sure go dark at time. Like deep, dark, and incredible spooky. Case in point: Mouldwood Depths in Ori and the Will of the Wisps. Scattered about this underground level is detritus and debris of the once-living, and it’s teeming with insect-like enemies and plenty of spiders. Queen of the spiders is Mora, a formidable arachnid who will do anything to protect her home. Her encounter is one of the toughest (spider or otherwise) fights there is, and it’s made worse for the fact that she’s in a frenzied state due to the fungus that’s infecting her. Defeating Mora also means saving her and Mouldwood Depths; so, scary though she appears, it is a battle worth fighting.

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Lede image captured by author during PS5 gameplay of Hogwarts Legacy (© Avalanche Software).