Survival Horror (opinions)

Just a quick survey of opinions. Do you guys think that the survival horror genre is dead or do you think that devs will try to revive it the way it was originally intended to be? (like the classic RE and Silent Hill games)

SH: Downpour kept the genre alive for me. I mean, the genre has to evolve, but not switch to action shooter like RE, and SH has done that successfully.

For right now, the genre is kinda stagnant, but you never know what the future holds.

Its never going back to how survival horror was the reason why games were like that back then was due to limitations in hardware. I would love to see an old school Survival Horror title and so far the ones I know of are the sequel to Amnesia and Zwei (Shinji Mikami's survival horror game)

Dead Space 3(people can call it what they want it has dread/horror in there just not in a way that makes it survival) sadly is going co-op and EA want the horror gone from it =S yeah talk about not knowing why the game sold so well oh well Gears of Space anyone?

The market isn't dead per say but its as what people have said so far its stagnant, on the subject of Downpour you do know the studio that worked on it is closing down? its like a curse Team Silent left SH back in the day and since then the entire series went downhill and each game went from shit to shittier after each incarnation (I blame Western developers not knowing their japanese myths and ghost stories since SH was built on some of them) Shattered Memories was a good game, Origins was meh but good for a psp game, homecoming...I can't get into it and Downpour is on my to buy list due to it going back to its roots but the cost to do that has being high =(

Survival Horror as we know it is dead and buried indie companies have proven that there is some more life in the genre but from any AAA companies not a chance its all money and how well a product sells and sadly Survival Horror games aren't in demand COD though... piece of shit of a game.

I don't really think the genre is dead but it definitely is on life support.

Amnesia, Siren and Silent Hill have kept things from going down the drain but there really aren't any big developers interested in the genre. As far as Resident Evil goes, Revelations was a step to the right direction and I really hope that the rumor about Downfall is true as it might keep RE games focused on horror at least on the handheld market. I just wish they did that on PS3/360/Wii U.

A lot of indie devlopers are taking the genre as their own, though, and I do appreciate it. I've actually been planning on making a thread for freeware horror games anyone can download, jut need to do more research so I can link to all of them.

It's certainly not what it was, but of course, most franchises end up that way eventually, just because they need to try and keep things original. I think Capcom are unwilling to resurrect Clock Tower as it is a pure horror game unlike Resident Evil 4, 5 or 6.

If they kept on doing them the exact same all the time, nobody would find that very good and then the games would never sell as well, because if nothing changes, people will see it's nothing new. Part of the problem with the survival horror genre is that it isn't really a genre all of its own, in that it basically recycles a lot of stuff commonly used in the films they pay homage to, but they do try to be unique doing it, which is met with either lukewarm or mixed results depending on how good or bad they make them.

I don't really have anything to say that hasn't been said already. I don't think it is dead either, just on "life support", as Mass said. Barely hanging on. I can only hope that developers turning every game into Gears is simply a phase. I think that in time people will begin to get tired of every game being a run and gun. I also agree with DXP's connection between hardware and game genres. Once we reach a certain point on our technological plateau developers will have to start changing their ways, and start focussing on the lost game genres. My theory is that it's all one big cycle, like all other things in life.

Has anyone else here read the September issue of OXM? Specifically the RE6 article? The editor was basically just criticising their hands on demo of Leon's campaign because it took them 15 minutes until they got to shoot something. They just went on about how they were bored to tears. People just don't appreciate the atmosphere of a game like they used to..

I liked certain aspects of Amy, for it reminds me of the 'old school' horror titles. But it has dull generic gameplay and therefore got pretty bad reviews all around. A lot of old horror games were more renowned for their story than control mechanics, but unfortunately Amy wasn't anything new. I don't think companies wanna lose fans. It's hard to please everyone and they know MOST gamers want bloody shoot 'em up action, so that's what they focus on. This is why RE and yes, even Silent Hill, are going towards action and abandoning what made it great.

Do you watch wrestling like WWE? It's strayed far from what made it good. Survival horror has did this as well.

In my opinion, it's not REALLY dead...but honestly, how can they make Survival Horror games that don't try to copy elements and gameplay from other games anymore? Developers I think are running out of ideas. I honestly think the only route that could put Survival Horror back on the map is virtual reality.

Like the Oculus Rift with Doom 3? I hear it's actually really good.

I think indie developers are trying their best to keep the genre alive but it's nowhere close to what it used to be. I don't think their will ever be a game with fixed camera angles, tank controls, and all the other components that make up a "classic" survival horror game. More than anything I want Capcom to port the REmake to PS3 and 360 but I don't ever see that happening.

the_darkest_one wrote:

Just a quick survey of opinions. Do you guys think that the survival horror genre is dead or do you think that devs will try to revive it the way it was originally intended to be? (like the classic RE and Silent Hill games)

Nope SurvHorror is packed and sent to its glorious past. Every game that used to be under that genre has switched its course and became more action based. most of horror survival fans blame the newer generation of gamers, but thats not the whole truth, yes the action games are most popular right now, but still the main reason of the course change is the evolution of both soft and hardware of computers, along with it changed the engines and developed the graphical parts of the games. its really hard to imagine a game with graphics like RE 6 while having motion limits like it used to be, i mean really, a game with an HQ graphics where its not even possible to shoot on run, simply is booring and will turn into a box office bomb. Small horror survival games might come out and be welcomed on Nintendo 3ds or VITA, but as it seems it will never appear on stronger engines like PC PS Xbox and if it will it wont sell. So as it seems the great genre of Horror Survival is dead, but its reflection will stay in newer games, like lack of ammunition and health packs. Though there's still a chance to remember the old times with playing RE 123, with its remake and Code Veronica. ( one thing that actually has a chance to happen and sell quite amount of copies Are the remakes of old games For ex RE2)

ChrisRedfieldRE156 wrote:

Small horror survival games might come out and be welcomed on Nintendo 3ds or VITA, but as it seems it will never appear on stronger engines like PC PS Xbox and if it will it wont sell.

That's not entirely true. Survival horror games strive on PC. Take Amnesia: Dark Descent, for example.

Mass Distraction wrote:

ChrisRedfieldRE156 wrote:

Small horror survival games might come out and be welcomed on Nintendo 3ds or VITA, but as it seems it will never appear on stronger engines like PC PS Xbox and if it will it wont sell.

That's not entirely true. Survival horror games strive on PC. Take Amnesia: Dark Descent, for example.

Actually that is truth, i had no idea that such game existed, just as the 90 % of gamers, i have checked it and it is a box office bomb, though warmly welcomed by critics, and graphics sucked btw, so as i said that games in that genre will never be as popular as RE 1 or silent hill was in its days.

There are still lots of popular horror games on the PC. Penumbra, Lone Survivor, Alpha Polaris, Dementium, Corpse Party... they all are smaller indie games but still awesome. Besides, graphics don't mean jack shit. Sure they might not make millions of dollars but they are popular as hell.

Amnesia was popular enough to get a sequel, being made in collaboration with another indie horror developer.

On top of those, there are a lot of promising horror titles coming up for the PC like Sound of Silence, Nevermind and Among Sleep. Let's not forget about Shinji Mikami's Zwei either.

What I'm trying to say is that while horror games might not be the mainstream of gaming anymore (if it ever was) it's still alive and kicking, with indie developers and a few others taking the matters to their own hands. If you want horror, you can get some. You just have to look harder.

00biohazard wrote:

SH: Downpour kept the genre alive for me. I mean, the genre has to evolve, but not switch to action shooter like RE, and SH has done that successfully.

Yes Silent Hill. Especially the newest one, downpour. It seems like the only true survival horror game out right now that is actually pretty creepy.

To me, the genre has definately changed. RE, Silent Hill, Fatal Frame, they all had a certain feel to them back in their heyday. Games like Dead Space I don't really consider "survival horror" since they're pretty far from the genre's origins in terms of game design. Sure, it's a scary game, but if you compare how you play it to something like the the original Resident Evil or Silent Hill, it's fairly linear.

Indie developers seem to be taking up the mantle of mainsteam developers pretty well when it comes to horror games. I'm not too sure that I'd classify Amnesia as a survival horror game either, but maybe that's just me. To me survival horror has always had a distinct style that hasn't truly been replicated for a long time.

GTMippey wrote:

To me, the genre has definately changed. RE, Silent Hill, Fatal Frame, they all had a certain feel to them back in their heyday. Games like Dead Space I don't really consider "survival horror" since they're pretty far from the genre's origins in terms of game design. Sure, it's a scary game, but if you compare how you play it to something like the the original Resident Evil or Silent Hill, it's fairly linear.

Indie developers seem to be taking up the mantle of mainsteam developers pretty well when it comes to horror games. I'm not too sure that I'd classify Amnesia as a survival horror game either, but maybe that's just me. To me survival horror has always had a distinct style that hasn't truly been replicated for a long time.

Yea the style had changed a lot, but its hard to imagine a game with limits of Horror Survival genre and graphics of like RE6, the games in that genre will never be as famous as they used to be like in the end of 90s or early 20s. But there's still a chance, like Capcom might release the Reboots of Dino Crisis and RE2, Really dont think that they will change anything in those games, they'll just tune up the graphics and thats it.

GTMippey wrote:

To me, the genre has definately changed. RE, Silent Hill, Fatal Frame, they all had a certain feel to them back in their heyday. Games like Dead Space I don't really consider "survival horror" since they're pretty far from the genre's origins in terms of game design. Sure, it's a scary game, but if you compare how you play it to something like the the original Resident Evil or Silent Hill, it's fairly linear.

Indie developers seem to be taking up the mantle of mainsteam developers pretty well when it comes to horror games. I'm not too sure that I'd classify Amnesia as a survival horror game either, but maybe that's just me. To me survival horror has always had a distinct style that hasn't truly been replicated for a long time.

Yeah, the older ones were pretty much some of the greatest horror games back in the day. Resident Evil (1996) was like the one that everybody had to have. Then Silent Hill (1999), i think that's the year, changed the horror genre of being scary to disturbing and fucked up

GTMippey wrote:

To me, the genre has definately changed. RE, Silent Hill, Fatal Frame, they all had a certain feel to them back in their heyday. Games like Dead Space I don't really consider "survival horror" since they're pretty far from the genre's origins in terms of game design. Sure, it's a scary game, but if you compare how you play it to something like the the original Resident Evil or Silent Hill, it's fairly linear.

Indie developers seem to be taking up the mantle of mainsteam developers pretty well when it comes to horror games. I'm not too sure that I'd classify Amnesia as a survival horror game either, but maybe that's just me. To me survival horror has always had a distinct style that hasn't truly been replicated for a long time.

I agree, Survival/Horror is more than being a scary game.

I feel like RE4 did a great job with the survival/horror aspect, early in the game. Later on, particularly once you get to the island, it becomes very stale and boring at times. I hated spots where they had like 50 ganados shooting at you with crossbows, and throwing dynamite at you, and beating you with Stun Rods.

But the stuff in the village, and even the castle, was terrific.

In survival/horor, I think it's always really comforting when you finally find a good weapon, like a shotgun, or if you didn't have any guns to begin with, finding a handgun. It's all that's between you, and the zombies. That was such a great feeling holding that shotgun with only enough shells to kill select enemies, so you find yourself running around some, taking damage sometimes to avoid wasting ammo, etc.

RE4 prepares you a little better, but still does it all pretty nicely. RE5 has a partner, among other things. I do feel like they are drifting farther and farther away.

I've heard a lot of people use the word, "dread". You dread being there, you don't feel safe. It's like that in RE1, it's like that at the beginning of RE4. Is it ever like that in RE5?

And while I love RE6, is it ever like that there? IDK, they just need to do what we all know they can do, to give us the RE experience we want, again.

"Survival Horror doesn't sell as well."

B.U.L.L.S.H.I.T.

Game developers killed Survival Horror on their own. Then blamed the players and said "it doesn't sell as well".

Here are the typical staples of surival horror games:

- Confusing
- Bad clunky controls
- Restricted movements
- Dark room with a flashlight
- confusing Maze like levels
- Puzzles that don't make sense
- Extremely slow paced
- Slow character animations (running, reloading)

If games in any other genre had these characteristics it would be blasted as a 3/10 or a 2/5 star game. Yet developers think they have an excuse because they're making a "horror" game and it's suppose to be like that.

No. It's crap. It didn't sell because it's crap.

If Capcom came out with RE7 and it was done like RE1 and 2 , it would sell well ...

and its scary in the early games cause your trying to find stuff and figure stuff out ... then pops zombies or creatures in your face ...

now its just go go go and keep blasting away ... what would be scary about that?

it needs more puzzle solving and stuff like that ... yes it makes the game slow but thats the point .... its Survival Horror ... not Action

i mean back in the day ... you know how long it would take me to finish RE1 or 2 , 3 etc? a LONG time ... now i can beat all RE6 characters in one day ...hmmmm

02viperacr wrote:

If Capcom came out with RE7 and it was done like RE1 and 2 , it would sell well ...

Trust me, it wouldn't. Most gamers nowadays are just too ADHD to actually sit down and play a game, they need to blast through it with all guns blazing. One difficult puzzle and they are taking the game back. Sure, the old RE fans would buy it but it would significantly cut the sales of the game from a bigger perspective.

The games don't need to be about horror. I'm perfectly happy with a game that's fun. They aren't even marketed as "survival horror" anymore.

And to be honest with you, the first time playing any of the games I've taken pretty much the same amount of time. I actually think RE6 took me the longest because of the amount of content. RE1-3 can all be beaten in 2 to 3 hours.

yes if you know exactly what your doing RE1 & 2 etc ... can be beaten fast ... but your not gonna beat them fast if you just play it for the first time and dont cheat ...

i think the industry THINKS everyone wants the fast passed GO GO GO games ... and survival horror they think is tooo slow ... but theres ten million fast games ... and thats whats wrong with the world ... people / kids think they should do everything fast when its more about the quality experience ...

think of a haunted house ... like Survival horror ... you WALK thru it ... usually painfully slow at times ... but thats what survival horror or Horror in general is ... it builds the Intensity up ... you get nervous ... then Boom Zombie in your face and you freak out ...

RE Games and Movies are getting way to far away from Horror ... i thinks its time to head back home for them

02viperacr wrote:

yes if you know exactly what your doing RE1 & 2 etc ... can be beaten fast ... but your not gonna beat them fast if you just play it for the first time and dont cheat ...

Even then, the first time I've played any of the games (apart from Survivor) it has taken me about the same time to beat each of them, from the oldest to the newer ones.

02viperacr wrote:

i think the industry THINKS everyone wants the fast passed GO GO GO games ... and survival horror they think is tooo slow ... but theres ten million fast games ... and thats whats wrong with the world ... people / kids think they should do everything fast when its more about the quality experience ...

You just countered your own statement. The industry thinks that because most of the newer generation of gamers think that. Simple as that.


On a side note, I've never really felt that RE was about the horror. It's the story and the characters and the crazy virus leaks. I'm more into the whole package, I don't really care what the actual genre is.