THE STATE OF SURVIVAL HORROR
MANY OF HORROR
After years of inactivity, survival horror is making a major comeback. Alex Calvin speaks to some of biggest players in this section of gaming about the state of the genre
I
t’s fair to say that survival horror had slipped out of the mainstream. The genre’s big series – Resident Evil, Silent Hill and Dead Space – have all opted for a more action-focused experience.
Since Resident Evil 4, survival
horror has swapped scares and a feeling of vulnerability for mobility and gunplay. “Resident Evil 4 is a fantastic
game,” says Al Hope, creative director on the terrifying Alien: Isolation at Creative Assembly. “It’s also a game which evolved
survival horror. It opened the genre to a wider mainstream audience with an emphasis on action
I would disagree that survival horror has fallen out of the limelight. I’d argue the
genre is evolving. Casey Lynch, Midnight City
and firepower. It inspired a new generation of games, including Dead Space or Gears of War.” Casey Lynch, co-founder and VP publishing of Midnight City – the firm Slender: The Arrival adds: “Audiences and developers alike have grown up since Silent Hill and Resident Evil defined survival horror. They are looking for new experiences some 20 years later. This is totally natural. “Since then, developers
have sought to improve that and provide a game they hear fans asking for – something scary, something with scarce resources and underpowered characters facing supernatural and overpowered enemies, but also something that moves at a faster clip. There’s also a whole new generation of fans who never played the older games, and are more interested in playing games with horror elements like Gears of War.”
IT’S EVOLVING Many argue that survival horror never actually
went away. Instead, it just changed and took on new elements. “I would disagree that survival
horror has fallen out of the limelight. Instead I’d argue the genre is evolving,” says Lynch. “I see the rebirth of survival
horror in this generation starting with Dead Rising, which took a totally long-view of the genre while leaning on many of the core mechanics. From there, it’s been Slender, Outlast, Amnesia and Daylight – some recent examples of very popular survival horror games.” Hope adds:
“There’s been a resurgence in survival horror-like experiences. “They might
not take the, ‘player walks around with a piece of
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