This game has its fair share of scary stuff, which makes way too much sense when you consider that the game’s story takes place in the same multiverse as Shin Megami Tensei and Persona.
All spoilers are unmarked. You have been warned.
- People are dying in their sleep, and all of the victims are young, apparently unfaithful men (one trailer shows the image of a man who lies in his bed as a desiccated, shriveled husk, his face locked in an expression of pure agony). Oh, and that woman Vincent/the player meets at the bar? She's actually a demon, sent to judge Vincent's worth. Choose to pursue a relationship with her, and you forsake your humanity and become a demon yourself.
- Every boss in the game counts in one way or another. Makes sense, as they are Vincent's fears and insecurities given physical form.
- The first boss is Katherine's hands, the "Fist of Grudge", (only giant, deformed, and holding a GIANT FORK with which to skewer Vincent with). Said hands will change Normal Blocks to Heavy Blocks (which Vincent has a harder time moving) with its strikes, all the while hearing a demonic voice screaming "TAKE RESPONSIBILITY!!" and "YOU WON'T GET AWAY FROM ME!"
- Any time Katherine and Catherine nearly find out about each other. The suspense is unbearable.
- Then comes the Wham Episode on Day 8, where Catherine and Katherine meet each other in person in the first time. Their shouting is so intense that even Vincent cringes and imagines screaming out loud! And later on, Katherine stabs Catherine in the stomach. The sheer horror in her eyes, and her screams... and all that blood... yikes! It was All Just a Dream, but still.
- The Full Body remake takes this up to eleven if you choose Rin's route. Vincent goes to check up on Rin and finally give them a Love Confession... except he finds Catherine in the room stabbing Rin's corpse repeatedly before setting her sights on him. It's especially jarring because Rin's corpse is slumped on their piano, and there's a Scare Chord to punctuate every stab. It gets worse when Vincent tries hiding in his apartment, only to find Katherine standing there. Despite being calmer than the other woman, she expresses disappointment that someone killed Rin before she could, and then tries to kill Vincent with an axe. Then Catherine cuts through his door with a chainsaw, like something straight out of a slasher movie. Katherine and Catherine end up fighting over who gets to kill him before attempting to kill each other. Catherine emerges as the victor and is about to deliver Vincent the Coup de Grâce with Katherine's axe, only for Rin to portal into the nightmare and save him at the last second. Catherine manages to inflict one slash on Rin's leg during the escape, but they get away. To make it even worse, Catherine is also fully aware of Rin's gender and refers to them as "THIS" or "that THING" instead of a person. The scene is far gorier than the original version, so be warned.
- Late in the game, Vincent confronts Boss about the Nightmares, giving him a good sock to the face. Boss' shades fall off, revealing that he has creepy red eyes with Hellish Pupils in the shape of male and female symbols. Almost nonchalantly, Boss reveals himself as some kind of godlike creature called Dumuzid.
- As you progress in the game, you'll notice that some of the Sheep-men have gone insane, becoming larger, wielding giant axes, and have red (most likely bloodstained) wool. They are the men who have lost their lives in the Nightmare World, existing only to maim and kill other Sheep... including you/Vincent.
- If the player dies and chooses to return to the main menu (which they are forced to do if they have no Mystic Pillows left), just before they return, the player is treated to a charming cutscene where Vincent's shriveled, desiccated corpse, face frozen in a look of utter horror, is shown in the real world.
- Heck, there's a minor nightmare fuel right before you even start a new game- one of the start screens is Vincent tied to the side of a tower with barbed wire, complete with blood, calling out for Katherine, who lounges indifferently on top of the structure.
- The boss of the Torture Chamber, the Immoral Beast, counts all on its own. Just what the blue hell is it?! It's like some mish-mash of a butt and vagina with legs, eyes and a mouth! Its giant tongue is no help in this regard, and the whole while it chases you screaming things like "Please... give me more!" and "Let's have some fun...". Where's the Brain Bleach when you need it?!
- Steve's Death. Holy shit, Steve's Death. After he and Vincent realize who each other are, Steve realizes the nature of the dream and shares it with Vincent. However, they spend too much time talking and Shadow of Vincent, the monster that had been chasing Vincent the entire level catches up to them, its mask cracking off to reveal its hideous almost zombie-like version of Vincent's face and Steve is too paralyzed in fear to do anything but stare in horror as the monster picks him up, screaming for his life all the way, and drops him into its mouth. The fact that you can hear Shadow of Vincent chewing for a few seconds before shifting its attention to Vincent and smiling at him doesn't help matters at all.
- The first time Vincent is with Catherine is plenty nightmare inducing on its own. He's taken home by a stranger while he was inebriated and emotionally vulnerable and wakes up naked and unable to remember what happened. The combination of his emotional state and Catherine's looks and nature means that he'd have a hard time talking to his friends or significant other about it even if he did recognize what happened to him for what it was. Men can definitely get taken advantage of just like women.
- On all the nights after this, you can ignore Catherine's texts and go home before she appears, avoiding her as much as humanly possible - including scenes that make it clear that Vincent returns home and falls asleep alone - and yet Catherine is there by his side when he wakes up in the morning, with Vincent being completely clueless as to how she got there and with no memory of the sex they apparently had. Obviously The Reveal makes it obvious how this is, but until you find that out, it just looks like she's breaking into his apartment and raping him, possibly while he's asleep...and it's still framed like he's actively cheating on his fiancee.
- As nerve-racking as Vincent's troubles can be, try imagining the other Stray Sheep's issues alongside his and you've definitely got a horrible week drawn up in your head, as they turn out to be tormented night after night by bosses taking the forms of a person who committed suicide at the end of a butterfly effect chain that they're sure they set off (Justin), an embodiment of sense of powerlessness over one's 32+ years of life (Daniel), a dead spouse one can't be sure they couldn't have encouraged to hold on for any longer (Morgan), a physically and emotionally abusive father (Todd), and an completely isolating sex slaver mother escaped by luck (Archie) respectively.
- In one of the cutscenes halfway through the game, after Catherine finds Katherine's hair on Vincent's pillow, she tells you that if you cheat on her, she would die. Vincent tries to calm her down, but then she says that she would kill him instead. With her hands wrapped around his neck, she gives him the choice of which option would be better; her dying or her killing him. She begins counting down to five before she kills him, but luckily, Vincent is able to snap her out of it. But combined with the atmosphere and the sudden change in Catherine's personality, it's no wonder Vincent starts to think that she would come after him with a knife.
Now's not the time to be dead!
