What do you mean SS2 spiders are not real spiders? Those things, along with the spiders in Thief 1 and 2, were the most terrifying spiders I've seen in a game due to their design. Even the tarantulas from Skyrim don't scare me as much; in fact, I could argue that the "bears with outstretched hands" that a mod turns them into is much more disturbing. :/

In Tesla Effect they implemented spiders in the worst way possible for arachnophobes – in a maze. It's one thing to see them coming from afar, but it's far more terrifying to round a corner and suddenly find yourself face-to-face with one!

How come Half Life 2 isn't on the list? Headcrabs might not technically be spiders, but the fast and black variants look convincigly like spiders and trigger the same phobia.

Maybe it's the 4 legs vs. 8 legs thing :)
Headcrabs look more like ticks

They look and act like spiders (as much as one would expect of a hypothetical giant variety), but biologically they are something else entirely, right down to the molecular level.

When I see one of those things charging towards me, taxonomy is the last thing on my mind. I don't even have time to count the legs to see whether it's a proper spider or some other arthropod. It looks like a spider, walks like one and definitely bites like one. :)

Thanks again for all your contributions guys! Much appreciated!

In terms of SimCity 2000's spider mech or Dragon Commander's units, I think I'm going to err on the side of A-OK, unless someone can show me a screenshot that is would be unsettling. My reason would be that as the world becomes more mechanized and video games display a lot of robot and fanciful creatures, some of them might be able to evoke spider-ish appearances without actually being scary. A table can look like a spider if designed that way, but unless it has the fangs and bulbous center and movement and venom and everything else that makes spiders creepy creatures, I'm going to think it's unlikely to spark fear in players.

Half-Life 2 head crabs are interesting. Technically crabs are related to spiders in certain ways and in the past I've experienced slight bits of revulsion based on some of the biological traits, but I've touched crabs, been close to crabs, liked looking at realistic crabs at aquariums, when the same isn't true of spiders. However, real crabs don't jump on you (at least I don't think they do, anyone have any stories they want to share? :P), while real spiders do do that. (I'm taken back to when I was 15 and a spider jumped into my underwear as I was putting it on. I feel the pure expression of terror is the thought of a spider near your dick.)

So I can imagine somebody who is afraid of spiders being afraid of that in the same way. Then again, much like other insects and spindly animals, they aren't spiders. Then again, unlike System Shock 2, a game where the entire point of it is to extract poo out of your butt hole and deposit it into your pants by way of fright, I don't think people who go to play Half-Life are expecting the head crabs. In System Shock, the game is using the association to one of the most feared creatures on the planet to heighten the scary elements of the game. Can we say the same of Half-Life?

However, I tend to think the whole thing is a bit moot, because I'm also certain there's a mod out there to take out the head crabs in Half-Life, given its popularity and thus, like System Shock 2, if it were added, it would probably be in the workaround section. Does that sound fair?

Fantastic thread, +1 to the OP.
I never realized before than phobias can affect gaming which is stupid since I have an anxiety disorder that very much comes out to the surface with some games.

One more spider in the opening scene of Broken Sword 2.

Good point! I've put it under cartoony though unless the remaster is more realistic. If I remember correctly Broken Sword and Broken Sword 3 don't have spiders either, though I've never played Broken Sword 4 or 5, so maybe somebody can weigh in on those.

How about Little Big Adventure 2. It has a spider in it but I can't remember if it looks cartoony enough not to be scary.

Giana Sisters: Twisted Dreams
and
Giana Sisters: Rise of the Owlverlord
both have no spiders.

Spiders:

Skyrim

Metro Last Light (they are not really spiders but still scary)

Cute spiders:

Minecraft (kinda cute and blocky)

Non spiders:

All Spiderman games :-)

Nasty spiders (+ spider nests and a giant spider queen) in Bloodrayne.

Broken Sword 5 is spider free.

Who ever told you that Arcanum doesn't have spiders? Giant spiders are a frequent random encounter in the plains near Tarant, and are found in most dungeons as well as on the Isle of Despair.

In fact, there are common spiders, flaming spiders, crystal spiders, poison spiders, spell-casting spiders, mother spiders protecting their brood, and even spider hybrids that know how to use a bow and arrow. There's no way to play the game without running into a good number of them.

Edited to add: Technologists can even learn how to build medical (and other types of) arachnids, which are basically spider-like robots that follow you around.

Oops, thanks for the correction. I originally assumed that those Infinity Engine-type games' depiction of spiders would put them in the unrealistic/cartoony category since most of them are from a bygone age of 2D sprite spiders which aren't as intimidating. (They weren't for me.) Somebody corrected me above, and I accidentally moved it into No Spiders, when I meant to put it into Spiders. Thanks again.