Survival Horror

[Cait]

One of my favorite games has to be Resident Evil, it has just enough action, mystery, survival, and a little bit scary (it had its moments, but nothing over the top). I've played all the old ones, but suddenly I wasn't able to play the one for Gamecube (I didn't own one, was quite pissed when it was exclusive). Well, suddenly, in RE4, it turned into a crappy shooter and suddenly, my beloved Survival horror was all, but a distant memory. When Resident Evil 5 came out, I hoped it would return to its roots only to be shoved another action game down my throat. I hear Resident Evil 6 is going to be unlike the previous ones, so not an action game, not a survival horror!? :shock: NO thanks, I think I'll pass! But I've noticed that a lot of "HORROR" games are losing their touch, their fans saying how the new $hit isn't as good as the old stuff. So is it US or THEM?

1. Are we so desensitized that we're not shocked by anything?
2. Have the game makers lost track of what horror is and are not even trying anymore?

I mean, what will the people who loved survival horror do since there doesn't seem to be any coming out? I guess I could play my old games, but after awhile, that will be boring. (o.o) Is this why people are coming up with their own games? Discuss what is the likely future of survival horror games?

 

[Sgt. Cookie]

Us or them? Play an earlier Resi and tell us.

Never really played survival-horrors so I can't test this myself.

 

[Cait]

^_^ Well, I was leaving that open, but me, I say THEM! I mean, Hollywood who are not good at making anything horror related is at least, trying. >.< Resident EVIL not so much anymore.

 

[GameBoy]

Capcom stated that RE:Revelations on Nintedo 3DS will have old RE feel. They also working simultaneously on RE: Mercenaries 3D where you will have more RE 4/5 based gameplay.

BTW I think that RE 4&5 was f**cked up because player was forced to kill all enemies (you know, for stuff like pesos or ammo ;x), because who doesn't wan't extra ammo, especially in RE game.
For example in L4D series killing all enemies isn't necessary. Just shoot only that zombies/infected who are on your way (and of course a f***ing TANK :3).

I haven't played good survival horror since ages. The last game was Amnesia: The Dark Descent, but it was little boring.

I hope that new Silent Hill will be great survival horror (but wait, no OST from Akira Yamaoka? ;_; ). Also Polish (I'm so proud ) game Dead Island looks pretty neat. Same No More Room In Hell, a HL2 multiplayer mod with zombies, very realistic, but still under development (since 3 years mayby? ;x).

I think that only Indie devs can revive survival horror genre from it state of suspended animation. Big devs are rather closed for revolutionarize ANY genre (and that's survival horrors need), because it's better for them to stick to "safe" gameplay cliches like automatic healing in FPS etc.

 

[Misery]

I think partly it's them and partly us,
I'm currently playing alone in the dark, i expected it to be an atmospheric survival horror, but it kinda wasn't... like a lot of other "horror" games it relied more on things jumping out for a cheap scare rather than the actual survival horror you were after.

But if your looking for a good horror game, i would recommend Deadly premonition, it has atmosphere and just general horror, but i don't find it that scary as i'm used to horror and being shocked.

So, to finalize, I think that its both of us.

 

[Venetia]

IMO Resident Evil (especially the 1st) wasn't very good at survival horror ;x. It was cheesy as hell and there was no sadism, or macabre complex subjects, and the plots were never unsettling. They are were basically Sci-Fi Channel B-movies with gameplay. RE4 & 5 were the best because the gameplay was actually fun (despite their being less "scary").

No one's ever hit the mark quite like Silent Hill 2 for me and I am skeptical that anything ever will .

ONE PART of Amnesia was a great survival horror thrill: The part with the water & the invisible creature. But the rest was B.O.R.I.N.G.

Though ... Phantasmagoria was pretty good. [It was more an adventure game than a survival horror, however] It was acted out by a bunch of porno actors, so it was rife with cheese, but back in the day, the themes and atmosphere did a fairly decent job of making me feel uneasy.

 

[redmoon3580]

[Deleted]

 

[GameBoy]

IMO Resident Evil (especially the 1st) wasn't very good at survival horror ;x. It was cheesy as hell and there was no sadism, or macabre complex subjects, and the plots were never unsettling. They are were basically Sci-Fi Channel B-movies with gameplay. RE4 & 5 were the best because the gameplay was actually fun (despite their being less "scary").

Yeah RE4&5 was nice SHOOTERS (although part of RE4 in village was sometimes creepy).
First REs was actually SCARY for me. Facing bunch of zombies with single handgun always was thrilling for me. Also enemis with insta-kill abillity, like hunter/licker who cut your head off if you have half HP, same with Nemesis from RE3 who can kill you in many ways including smashing you to ground in last stage of mutation, or mutated William Birkin from RE2 with f***ing HUGE CLAWS, or grave digger/hunter/snake/shark/lurker (RE0,1,3,Code Veronica) who can do insta-kill you by eating you alive. Or getting draged out of a window in RE: Outbreak. So don't say that there isn't sadism in early REs. In RE2 after got killed by pack of zombie player was forced to watch them eating main character. Also some of diarys etc. that can be found in game are sometimes very creepy (like diary of some random worker turning slowly in zombie, or about getting some brain hormones by drilling into living human brain WITHOUT anaesthesia). Still B-movie style crap, but it just works.

Yeah, I'm a huge fan of whole series. I beat RE3 hundreds times (literally).
I unlocked whole stuff in RE4 (including 5 stars in every mercenaries mode map) on goddamn keyboard and I didn't found any other game which capture B-class movies feel with nice background plot and awesome gameplay. Oh maybe except of Parasite Eve 2 (first one was very good, but too rpg-ish) which is also one of greatest survival horror game.

Silent Hill is also very good but it scares in very different way(captain obvious is obvious).

@redmoon3580: I heard many good words about Dead Space, but even as a huge horror fan (games, movies, books etc.) I'm still didn't get it. It's looks kinda meh. I didn't want even "buy" it.

BTW stay tuned for my horror game (look at my avatar). I'm gonna mess a little with that genre.

 

[StrawberrySmiles]

I don't know, it could be both.

I did find parts of the earlier Resident Evil scary, but not that I'm slightly older, I'm kind of "eh."

Yet games, like Fatal Frame still freak me out. Yes, I'll have nightmares about the floating head ghost or broken neck. *shifty eyes*

The first and second Silent Hill REALLY scared me. But now I could play them all over again, without flinching.

It sounds like it's all me why they're not scary, but the newer ones seem more like "more action, less scary".

Doom scares me more than other survival horror games, and it's a FPS. D=

 

[Cait]

o.o I have an active (er, sometimes overactive) I didn't startle me in the sightliest when the giant scorpion destroyed the roof of the train car (I saw it coming, and when it happened I heard it coming). Resident Evil Zero was kind of disappointing, and I have since learned that Survival Horror is a thinking man's game which I agree with. I mean, it's about being in a situation with little or no resources, and surviving some strange situation. I have since learned that Resident Evil might have been an (originally) remake of a game called "SWEET HOME" it was made by the same team, same company. It wouldn't have been the first time Capcom was making one game, ending up making an original game. I don't remember the name.

Sweet Home was an RPG with horror elements (Mansion, puzzles with five members). The five members, each had skills and special tools, but members of the party could die (But you could find things to replace the members skill if they died), and depending on who survived it affected your ending. There were multiple endings from what I read and it sounds like an interesting game. It had NES graphics as it was for the Nintendo, but I would love it if they remade the game. It sounds really interesting.

I am hoping that what they (Capcom) said means they're returning to more survival horror elements because people want to be scared (that's why we watch horror movies, or play horror games). Me, I guess I just love to really think (for some odd reason).