Survival Horror last edited by Mopopolis on 08/06/22 09:42PM View full history
Overview
Players are typically placed in dark, secluded environments with limited inventory space and scarce ammo in order to put them at a disadvantage and consequently, make them focus on survival. These games commonly incorporate puzzles as well as visceral action sequences. Another factor that is often used to provoke a response from players is jump scares, these are used not only to startle players, but to also keep them on their toes. Typical adversaries in these games include; zombies, aliens, insects (often spiders), and grotesque monsters.
There are generally two sub-genres of survival horror:
- Psychological horror (e.g. J-Horror). Examples include Silent Hill, Fatal Frame, and Amnesia.
- Action horror (i.e. Hollywood-style visceral horror). Examples include Resident Evil and Dead Space.
History
The term "survival horror" was first used for the original Japanese release of Resident Evil in 1996, which was influenced by earlier games with a horror theme such as 1989's Sweet Home. The name has been used since then for games with similar gameplay, and has been retroactively applied to older games as well. Both Sweet Home and Resident Evil were Capcom created games by Tokuro Fujiwara, along with Shinji Mikami in Resident Evil's case. The Resident Evil series went on to inspire the Silent Hill series.
Starting with the release of Resident Evil 4 in 2005, the genre began to incorporate more features from action games, which led game journalists to question whether long-standing survival horror franchises have abandoned the genre. Still, the survival horror genre has persisted in one form or another, though with Resident Evil 6, Capcom has used the label "dramatic horror" to refer to this departure.
Notable Franchises
Some franchises have helped the survival horror genre in making a name for itself over the years. The following is a list of some of the most notable, in alphabetical order:
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