Players with arachnophobia are often provided with a corresponding mode if spiders appear in the game. The developers’ creative solution for censoring spiders is presented to you by MeinMMO in this list.
Arachnophobia is the fear of spiders. According to AOK, around 5% of the population in Germany suffers from this fear. However, more people feel uneasy at the sight of spiders.
I’m not sure if I really have arachnophobia, but just thinking of spiders gives me the chills. At least I feel STRONGLY uncomfortable when I think of spiders or even have to see them. My friend always has to rescue me from the crawling beasts, throwing himself in front of me and taking the little creature outside.
Since spiders are popular enemies to defeat in some games, many offer an arachnophobia mode. In this mode, players no longer have to face the sight of spiders but are confronted with something else instead.
These solutions can look quite different, and I’ve picked out 6 examples of games that have come up with exciting alternatives.
Hogwarts Legacy
Hogwarts Legacy features some spiders as enemies and opts for a kind of diminishment regarding the arachnophobia mode. Spiders retain their rough shape but start floating as red balls.
To avoid crawling movements, they wear roller skates in the special mode and glide around.
Monster Hunter Wilds
In Monster Hunter Wilds, players find the arachnophobia mode almost creepier than the spiders themselves. Monster Hunter Wilds transforms the spiders into giant blobs that crawl across the ground.
Some players rightfully wonder on Reddit whether perhaps the spiders are actually better and easier to tolerate:
Satisfactory
Satisfactory opts for cats in the arachnophobia mode. Instead of spiders, players see giant 2D cat heads. I find that much easier to endure than spiders!
For some players on Reddit, however, this mode seems even scarier:
Grounded
Grounded offers probably the worst experience for arachnophobia. After all, players are transformed into small figures while defending themselves against the giant insects, including spiders. One reason why I have never played the game!
In contrast to the other entries on this list, the game Grounded does not directly replace the spiders but offers players various gradations of small crawling creatures:
- Level 1: Instead of eight legs, the spiders have four legs.
- Level 2: All legs are removed, causing the spiders to float.
- Level 3: The spiders’ mandibles are removed, making them look less scary.
- Level 4: The head becomes a large ball with only two eyes.
- Level 5: The spider transforms into an abstract object made up of two white balls that floats.
Lethal Company
The indie game Lethal Company has found one of the simultaneously least creative yet funniest ways to protect players from spiders. When you turn on the arachnophobia mode here, instead of small creatures, just large letters spelling “SPIDER” appear.
By the way: When the spiders die in the arachnophobia mode, the letters rotate. For me, definitely the favorite of the list!
World of Warcraft
World of Warcraft replaces the spiders simply with crabs, similar to Hytale. However, they are not necessarily less creepy when you look at the corresponding pictures. Thus, the creep factor certainly does not disappear.
MeinMMO editor Benedict Grothaus has actually played the arachnophobia mode so intensely that he now has a fear of crabs. You can read more about it here on MeinMMO: I played a raid in WoW in the mode for people with a fear of spiders – Now I have a fear of crabs
