Survival horror game
Encyclopedia
Action-adventure game
An action-adventure game is a video game that combines elements of the adventure game genre with various action game elements. It is perhaps the broadest and most diverse genre in gaming, and can include many games which might better be categorized under narrow genres...
video games inspired by horror fiction
Horror fiction
Horror fiction also Horror fantasy is a philosophy of literature, which is intended to, or has the capacity to frighten its readers, inducing feelings of horror and terror. It creates an eerie atmosphere. Horror can be either supernatural or non-supernatural...
. These games make the player vulnerable by providing them with less ammunition and fewer heavy weapons than other action game
Action game
Action game is a video game genre that emphasizes physical challenges, including hand–eye coordination and reaction-time. The genre includes diverse subgenres such as fighting games, shooter games, and platform games, which are widely considered the most important action games, though some...
s. Although combat can be a part of the gameplay, the player is in various ways made to feel less powerful than in typical action games, because of limited ammunition, health, speed, or other limitations. The player is also challenged to find items that unlock the path to new areas, and solve puzzles at certain locations. Games make use of strong horror themes, and the player is often challenged to navigate dark maze-like environments, and react to unexpected attacks from enemies.
The term "survival horror" was first used for the original Japanese release of Resident Evil
Resident Evil (video game)
Resident Evil, known as in Japan, is a survival horror video game by Capcom. The first installment in the Resident Evil series, it was originally released in 1996 for the PlayStation and was subsequently ported to the Sega Saturn and PC. In 2002, a remake of the game was released for the Nintendo...
in 1996, which was influenced by earlier games with a horror theme such as 1989's Sweet Home
Sweet Home (video game)
is a survival horror role-playing video game that was released for the Famicom in 1989. It features several elements of console role-playing games. Sweet Home was developed and published by Capcom and the game was never released outside Japan...
. The name has been used since then for games with similar gameplay, and has been retroactively applied to games as old as Haunted House
Haunted House (video game)
Haunted House is an Atari 2600 video game, first released in 1982, in which the player must navigate the haunted mansion of the late Zachary Graves to recover the three pieces of an urn...
from 1982. Starting with the release of Resident Evil 4
Resident Evil 4
Resident Evil 4, known in Japan as , is a survival horror third-person shooter video game developed by Capcom Production Studio 4 and published by multiple publishers, including Capcom, Ubisoft, Nintendo Australia, Red Ant Enterprises and THQ Asia Pacific...
in 2005, the genre began to incorporate more features from action games, which has 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.
Definition
Survival horror refers to a subgenre of action-adventureAction-adventure game
An action-adventure game is a video game that combines elements of the adventure game genre with various action game elements. It is perhaps the broadest and most diverse genre in gaming, and can include many games which might better be categorized under narrow genres...
video games which draws heavily upon the conventions of horror fiction
Horror fiction
Horror fiction also Horror fantasy is a philosophy of literature, which is intended to, or has the capacity to frighten its readers, inducing feelings of horror and terror. It creates an eerie atmosphere. Horror can be either supernatural or non-supernatural...
. The player character is vulnerable and under-armed, which puts emphasis on puzzle-solving and evasion, rather than violence. Games commonly challenge the player to manage their inventory and ration scarce resources such as ammunition. Another major theme throughout the genre is that of isolation. Typically, these games contain relatively few non-player character
Non-player character
A non-player character , sometimes known as a non-person character or non-playable character, in a game is any fictional character not controlled by a player. In electronic games, this usually means a character controlled by the computer through artificial intelligence...
s and, as a result, frequently tell much of their story second-hand through the use of journals, texts, or audio logs.
While many action games feature lone protagonists versus swarms of enemies in a suspenseful environment, survival horror games are distinct from otherwise horror-themed action games. Rather, they de-emphasize combat in favor of challenges such as hiding or running from enemies and solving puzzles. Still, it is not unusual for survival horror games to draw upon elements from first-person shooter
First-person shooter
First-person shooter is a video game genre that centers the gameplay on gun and projectile weapon-based combat through first-person perspective; i.e., the player experiences the action through the eyes of a protagonist. Generally speaking, the first-person shooter shares common traits with other...
s, action-adventure games, or even role-playing games
Role-playing game (video games)
Role-playing video games are a video game genre with origins in pen-and-paper role-playing games such as Dungeons & Dragons, using much of the same terminology, settings and game mechanics. The player in RPGs controls one character, or several adventuring party members, fulfilling one or many quests...
. "Survival horror is different from typical game genres in that it is not defined strictly by specific mechanics, but subject matter, tone, pacing, and design philosophy."
De-emphasized combat
Survival horror games are a subgenre of action-adventure gameAction-adventure game
An action-adventure game is a video game that combines elements of the adventure game genre with various action game elements. It is perhaps the broadest and most diverse genre in gaming, and can include many games which might better be categorized under narrow genres...
, where the player is unable to fully prepare or arm their avatar. The player must face a large number of enemies, but ammunition is sparser than in other games, and powerful weapons such as rocket launchers are rare, if even available at all. Thus, players are more vulnerable than in other action game
Action game
Action game is a video game genre that emphasizes physical challenges, including hand–eye coordination and reaction-time. The genre includes diverse subgenres such as fighting games, shooter games, and platform games, which are widely considered the most important action games, though some...
s, and the hostility of the environment sets up a narrative where the odds are weighed decisively against the avatar. This gameplay shifts away from direct combat, and players must learn to evade enemies or turn the environment against them. Games try to enhance the experience of vulnerability by making the game single player rather than multiplayer, and by giving the player an avatar who is more frail than the typical action game hero.
The survival horror genre is also known for other non-combat challenges, such as solving puzzles at certain locations in the game world, and collecting and managing an inventory of items. Areas of the game world will be off limits until the player gains certain items. Occasionally, levels are designed with alternative routes. Levels also challenge players with maze-like environments, which test the player's navigational skills. Levels are often designed as dark and claustrophobic to challenge the player and provide suspense, although games in the genre also make use of enormous spatial environments.
Enemy design
A survival horror storyline usually involves the investigation and confrontation of horrific forces, and thus many games transform common elements from horror fictionHorror fiction
Horror fiction also Horror fantasy is a philosophy of literature, which is intended to, or has the capacity to frighten its readers, inducing feelings of horror and terror. It creates an eerie atmosphere. Horror can be either supernatural or non-supernatural...
into gameplay challenges. Early releases utilized camera angles seen in horror film
Horror film
Horror films seek to elicit a negative emotional reaction from viewers by playing on the audience's most primal fears. They often feature scenes that startle the viewer through the means of macabre and the supernatural, thus frequently overlapping with the fantasy and science fiction genres...
s, which allowed enemies to lurk in areas that are concealed from the player's view. Also, many survival horror games make use of off-screen sound or other warning cues to notify the player of impending danger. This feedback assists the player, but also creates feelings of anxiety and uncertainty.
Games typically feature a variety of monsters with unique behavior patterns. Enemies can appear unexpectedly or suddenly, and levels are often designed with scripted sequences where enemies drop from the ceiling or crash through windows. Survival horror games, like many action-adventure games, are structured around the boss
Boss (video games)
A boss is an enemy-based challenge which is found in video games. A fight with a boss character is commonly referred to as a boss battle or boss fight...
encounter where the player must confront a formidable opponent in order to advance to the next area. These boss encounters draw elements from antagonists seen in classic horror stories, and defeating the boss will advance the story of the game.
Origins
The origins of the survival horror game can be traced back to earlier horror fiction. Archetypes have been linked to the books of H. P. LovecraftH. P. Lovecraft
Howard Phillips Lovecraft --often credited as H.P. Lovecraft — was an American author of horror, fantasy and science fiction, especially the subgenre known as weird fiction....
, which include investigative narratives, or journeys through the depths. Comparisons have been made between Lovecraft's Cthulhoid Old Ones and the boss
Boss (video games)
A boss is an enemy-based challenge which is found in video games. A fight with a boss character is commonly referred to as a boss battle or boss fight...
encounters seen in many survival horror games. Themes of survival have also been traced to the slasher film
Slasher film
A slasher film is a type of horror film typically involving a psychopathic killer stalking and killing a sequence of victims in a graphically violent manner, often with a cutting tool such as a knife or axe...
subgenre, where the protagonist endures a confrontation with the ultimate antagonist. Another major influence on the genre is Japanese horror, including classical Noh
Noh
, or - derived from the Sino-Japanese word for "skill" or "talent" - is a major form of classical Japanese musical drama that has been performed since the 14th century. Many characters are masked, with men playing male and female roles. Traditionally, a Noh "performance day" lasts all day and...
theatre
J-Horror Theater
With the success of the Japanese film Ring , a group of six directors were asked by producer Takashige Ichise to create a film, each to be released under the umbrella of J-Horror Theater....
, the books of Edogawa Rampo
Edogawa Rampo
, better known by the pseudonym , was a Japanese author and critic who played a major role in the development of Japanese mystery fiction. Many of his novels involve the detective hero Kogorō Akechi, who in later books was the leader of a group of boy detectives known as the .Rampo was an admirer...
, and Japanese cinema
Cinema of Japan
The has a history that spans more than 100 years. Japan has one of the oldest and largest film industries in the world – as of 2009 the fourth largest by number of feature films produced. Movies have been produced in Japan since 1897, when the first foreign cameramen arrived...
. The survival horror genre largely draws from both Western
Western culture
Western culture, sometimes equated with Western civilization or European civilization, refers to cultures of European origin and is used very broadly to refer to a heritage of social norms, ethical values, traditional customs, religious beliefs, political systems, and specific artifacts and...
(mainly American
Culture of the United States
The Culture of the United States is a Western culture originally influenced by European cultures. It has been developing since long before the United States became a country with its own unique social and cultural characteristics such as dialect, music, arts, social habits, cuisine, and folklore...
) and Asian
Culture of Asia
The culture of Asia is human civilization in Asia. It features different kinds of cultural heritage of many nationalities, societies, and ethnic groups in the region, traditionally called a continent from a Western-centric perspective, of Asia...
(mainly Japanese
Culture of Japan
The culture of Japan has evolved greatly over the millennia, from the country's prehistoric Jōmon period to its contemporary hybrid culture, which combines influences from Asia, Europe and North America...
) traditions, with the Western approach to horror generally favouring action-oriented visceral horror while the Japanese approach tends to favour psychological horror
Psychological horror
Psychological horror is a subgenre of horror fiction that relies on character fears, guilt, beliefs, eerie sound effects, relevant music and emotional instability to build tension and further the plot...
.
Some common elements of survival horror games can be found in the 1982 Atari 2600
Atari 2600
The Atari 2600 is a video game console released in October 1977 by Atari, Inc. It is credited with popularizing the use of microprocessor-based hardware and cartridges containing game code, instead of having non-microprocessor dedicated hardware with all games built in...
game Haunted House
Haunted House (video game)
Haunted House is an Atari 2600 video game, first released in 1982, in which the player must navigate the haunted mansion of the late Zachary Graves to recover the three pieces of an urn...
. Gameplay was typical of future survival horror titles, as it emphasized puzzle-solving and evasive action, rather than violence. The game made use of monsters commonly featured in horror fiction, such as bats and ghosts which each had unique behaviors. Gameplay also incorporated item collection and inventory management, along with areas that are inaccessible until the appropriate item is found. Because it has several features that have been seen in later survival horror games, some reviewers have retroactively classified this game as the first in the genre. That same year saw the release of another early horror game, Bandai
Bandai
is a Japanese toy making and video game company, as well as the producer of a large number of plastic model kits. It is the world's third-largest producer of toys . Some ex-Bandai group companies produce anime and tokusatsu programs...
's Terror House, based on traditional Japanese horror, released as a Bandai LCD Solarpower
Bandai LCD Solarpower
The LCD Solarpower series were handheld electronic games powered by solar energy made by Bandai in 1982. Some of the games, such as Terror House, featured two LCD panels, one stacked on the other, for an early 3D effect. This was particularly prominent in the horror-themed game Terror...
handheld game
Handheld electronic game
----Handheld electronic games are very small, portable devices for playing interactive electronic games, often miniaturized versions of video games. The controls, display and speakers are all part of a single unit. Rather than a general-purpose screen made up of a grid of small pixels, they...
. It was a solar-powered game with two LCD panels on top of each other to enable impressive scene changes and early pseudo-3D
2.5D
2.5D , 3/4 perspective and pseudo-3D are terms used to describe either:* 2D graphical projections and techniques which cause a series of images or scenes to fake or appear to be three-dimensional when in fact they are not, or* gameplay in an otherwise three-dimensional video game that is...
effects. The amount of ambient light the game received also had an effect on the gaming experience. Another early example of a horror game released that year was Sega
Sega
, usually styled as SEGA, is a multinational video game software developer and an arcade software and hardware development company headquartered in Ōta, Tokyo, Japan, with various offices around the world...
's arcade game
Arcade game
An arcade game is a coin-operated entertainment machine, usually installed in public businesses such as restaurants, bars, and amusement arcades. Most arcade games are video games, pinball machines, electro-mechanical games, redemption games, and merchandisers...
Monster Bash, which introduced classic horror-movie monsters, including the likes of Dracula
Dracula
Dracula is an 1897 novel by Irish author Bram Stoker.Famous for introducing the character of the vampire Count Dracula, the novel tells the story of Dracula's attempt to relocate from Transylvania to England, and the battle between Dracula and a small group of men and women led by Professor...
, the Frankenstein
Frankenstein
Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus is a novel about a failed experiment that produced a monster, written by Mary Shelley, with inserts of poems by Percy Bysshe Shelley. Shelley started writing the story when she was eighteen, and the novel was published when she was twenty-one. The first...
monster, and werewolves, helping to lay the foundations for future survival horror games. Its 1986 remake Ghost House
Ghost House (video game)
Ghost House is a single-player, side-scrolling horror-action video game published by SEGA and released in 1986 for the Master System, which was loosely based on Sega's 1982 arcade game Monster Bash....
had gameplay specifically designed around the horror theme, featuring haunted house stages full of traps and secrets, and enemies that were fast, powerful, and intimidating, forcing players to learn the intricacies of the house and rely on their wits.
In 1985, Magical Zoo's The Screamer was a bio-horror RPG
Role-playing video game
Role-playing video games are a video game genre with origins in pen-and-paper role-playing games such as Dungeons & Dragons, using much of the same terminology, settings and game mechanics. The player in RPGs controls one character, or several adventuring party members, fulfilling one or many quests...
released for the NEC PC-88
NEC PC-8801
The NEC PC-8801 was an early Zilog Z80-based computer exclusively released in Japan, where it became very popular, by NEC Corporation in 1981. It was informally called the "PC-88"....
that was set in a post-apocalyptic research facility, while the gameplay featured shooter
Shooter game
Shooter games are a sub-genre of action game, which often test the player's speed and reaction time. It includes many subgenres that have the commonality of focusing "on the actions of the avatar using some sort of weapon. Usually this weapon is a gun, or some other long-range weapon". A common...
-based combat and permanent death
Permanent death
In role-playing video games , permanent death is a situation in which player characters die permanently and are removed from the game...
. The latter half of the 1980s saw the release of several other horror-themed games, including Konami
Konami
is a Japanese leading developer and publisher of numerous popular and strong-selling toys, trading cards, anime, tokusatsu, slot machines, arcade cabinets and video games...
's Castlevania
Castlevania
Castlevania, known as in Japan, is a video game series created and developed by Konami. The series debuted in Japan on September 26, 1986, with the release of for the Family Computer Disk System , followed by an alternate version for the MSX 2 platform on October 30...
in 1986, and Sega's Kenseiden
Kenseiden
is a video game for the Sega Master System created by SEGA. Kenseiden was released in 1988.-Summary:Kenseiden stars Hayato, a samurai that has to fight against warlocks and evil spirits that plague 16th century Japan. The warlocks stole the five secret scrolls and the sword of the Dragon Lord...
and Namco
Namco
is a Japanese corporation best known as a former video game developer and publisher. Following a merger with Bandai in September 2005, the two companies' game production assets were spun off into Namco Bandai Games on March 31, 2006. Namco Ltd. was re-established to continue domestic operation of...
's Splatterhouse
Splatterhouse
is a beat 'em up arcade game developed and published by Namco. It is also subsequently the title of the entire series of games released in home console and personal computer formats....
in 1988, though despite the macabre imagery of these games, their gameplay did not diverge much from other action game
Action game
Action game is a video game genre that emphasizes physical challenges, including hand–eye coordination and reaction-time. The genre includes diverse subgenres such as fighting games, shooter games, and platform games, which are widely considered the most important action games, though some...
s at the time. Splatterhouse in particular is notable for its large amount of bloodshed and terror, despite being an arcade beat 'em up
Beat 'em up
Beat 'em up is a video game genre featuring melee combat between the protagonist and a large number of underpowered antagonists. These games typically take place in urban settings and feature crime-fighting and revenge-based plots, though some games may employ historical or fantasy themes...
with very little emphasis on survival.
Shiryou Sensen: War of the Dead, a 1987 title developed by Fun Factory and published by Victor Music Industries
Victor Entertainment
is a subsidiary of Japan Victor Company that produces and distributes music, movies and other entertainment products such as anime and television shows in Japan. It was formerly known as...
for the MSX2
MSX2
MSX2 may refer to:* Msh homeobox 2, a human gene* The second generation of the MSX home computers...
, PC-88 and PC Engine
TurboGrafx-16
TurboGrafx-16, fully titled as TurboGrafx-16 Entertainment SuperSystem and known in Japan as the , is a video game console developed by Hudson Soft and NEC, released in Japan on October 30, 1987, and in North America on August 29, 1989....
platforms, is considered the first true survival horror game by Kevin Gifford (of GamePro
GamePro
GamePro Media was a United States gaming media company publishing online and print content on the video game industry, video game hardware, and video game software developed for a video game console , a computer, and/or a mobile device . GamePro Media properties include GamePro magazine and...
and 1UP
1UP.com
1UP.com is a video game website owned by IGN Entertainment, a division of News Corporation. Previously, the site was owned by Ziff Davis before being sold to UGO Entertainment in 2009....
) and John Szczepaniak (of Retro Gamer
Retro Gamer
Retro Gamer is a British magazine, published worldwide, covering retro video games. It was the first commercial magazine to be devoted entirely to the subject. Although launched as a quarterly publication, Retro Gamers soon became a monthly...
and The Escapist
The Escapist (magazine)
The Escapist is an online magazine covering video games, gamers, the gaming industry, and gaming culture. Published by the Themis Group, it was edited by Julianne Greer up to June 30, 2009, then by Russ Pitts through September 2011, and is currently edited by Steve Butts. The Escapist was first...
). Designed by Katsuya Iwamoto, the game was a horror action RPG
Action role-playing game
Action role-playing games form a loosely defined sub-genre of role-playing video games that incorporate elements of action or action-adventure games, emphasizing real-time action where the player has direct control over characters, instead of turn-based or menu-based combat...
revolving around a female SWAT
SWAT
A SWAT team is an elite tactical unit in various national law enforcement departments. They are trained to perform high-risk operations that fall outside of the abilities of regular officers...
member Lila rescuing survivors in an isolated monster-infested town and bringing them to safety in a church. It has open environments
Open world
An open world is a type of video game level design where a player can roam freely through a virtual world and is given considerable freedom in choosing how to approach objectives...
like Dragon Quest
Dragon Quest
, published as Dragon Warrior in North America until 2005,Due to the inconsistent usage by sources since Square Enix obtained the naming rights to Dragon Quest in North America. Dragon Quest has been used by sources to refer to games released solely under the Dragon Warrior titles...
and real-time side-view battles like Zelda II
Zelda II: The Adventure of Link
Zelda II: The Adventure of Link, released as in Japan and often mistakenly called The Adventures of Link, is an action role-playing video game with platforming elements. The second installment in The Legend of Zelda series, it was developed and published by Nintendo for the Nintendo Entertainment...
, though War of the Dead departed from other RPGs with its dark and creepy atmosphere expressed through the storytelling, graphics, and music, while the gameplay lacked a leveling
Level Up
Level Up was a UK children's TV programme that was broadcast on CBBC. It was launched on the 3rd April 2006, replacing Xchange. The show was an hour long and during the school year broadcasting from 7:30am until 8:30am...
system and featured side-scrolling shooter based combat with limited ammunition for each firearm, forcing the player to search for ammo and often run away from monsters in order to conserve ammo, though the player could punch or use a knife if out of ammo. The game also featured a limited item inventory and crates to store items, and introduced a day-night cycle
Persistent world
A persistent world is a virtual world that continues to exist even after a user exits the world and that user-made changes to its state are, to some extent, permanent...
, where it becomes dark at night, the player can sleep to recover health, and a record is kept of how many days the player has survived. The plot later involves a portal to another world. That same year saw the release of Laplace no Ma, another hybrid of survival horror and RPG, though with more traditional RPG elements such as turn-based combat. It was mostly set in a mansion infested with undead
Undead
Undead is a collective name for fictional, mythological, or legendary beings that are deceased and yet behave as if alive. Undead may be incorporeal, such as ghosts, or corporeal, such as vampires and zombies...
creatures, and the player controlled a party of several characters with different professions, including a scientist who constructs tools and a journalist who takes pictures. In 1988, War of the Dead Part 2 for the MSX2 and PC-88 abandoned the RPG elements of its predecessor, such as random encounter
Random encounter
A random encounter is a feature commonly used in various role-playing games whereby encounters with non-player character enemies or other dangers occur sporadically and at random...
s, and instead adopted action-adventure elements from Metal Gear
Metal Gear (video game)
is an overhead military action-adventure video game originally released in by Konami for the MSX2 computer standard in Japan and parts of Europe. Considered to be the progenitor of the stealth game genre, it was also the first video game designed by Hideo Kojima, who also directed many of the...
while retaining the horror atmosphere of its predecessor.
Sweet Home (video game)
is a survival horror role-playing video game that was released for the Famicom in 1989. It features several elements of console role-playing games. Sweet Home was developed and published by Capcom and the game was never released outside Japan...
, for the Nintendo Entertainment System
Nintendo Entertainment System
The Nintendo Entertainment System is an 8-bit video game console that was released by Nintendo in North America during 1985, in Europe during 1986 and Australia in 1987...
. The gameplay focused on solving a variety of puzzles using items stored in a limited inventory, while battling or escaping from horrifying creatures, which could lead to permanent death for any of the characters, thus creating tension and an emphasis on survival. It was also the first attempt at creating a scary and frightening storyline within a game, mainly told through scattered diary entries left behind fifty years before the events of the game. Developed by Capcom
Capcom
is a Japanese developer and publisher of video games, known for creating multi-million-selling franchises such as Devil May Cry, Chaos Legion, Street Fighter, Mega Man and Resident Evil. Capcom developed and published Bionic Commando, Lost Planet and Dark Void too, but they are less known. Its...
, the game would become the main inspiration behind their later release Resident Evil, which also borrowed various other elements from the game, such as its mansion setting, "opening door" load screen, death animations, multiple endings
Multiple endings
Multiple endings refer to a case in entertainment where the story could end in different ways, described as an alternate ending.-Literature:...
depending on which characters survive, dual character paths, individual character skills, limited item management, story told through diary entries and frescos, emphasis on atmosphere, and brutal horrific imagery. The latter prevented its release in the Western world, though its influence would be felt through Resident Evil, which was originally intended to be a remake of the game. Some thus consider Sweet Home to be the first true survival horror game. That distinction, however, is disputed: Kevin Gifford (of GamePro and 1UP) and John Szczepaniak (of Retro Gamer and The Escapist) consider the 1987 title War of the Dead to be the first true survival horror, while Travis Fahs of IGN
IGN
IGN is an entertainment website that focuses on video games, films, music and other media. IGN's main website comprises several specialty sites or "channels", each occupying a subdomain and covering a specific area of entertainment...
claims Sweet Home is more an RPG despite its influence and that Project Firestart (released in the same year as Sweet Home) more closely embodied genre conventions despite its lack of influence.
In 1989, Electronic Arts published Project Firestart
Project Firestart
Project Firestart is a cinematic action/adventure game for the Commodore 64 computer system. It was designed by Jeff Tunnell and Damon Slye and published by Electronic Arts in 1989...
, developed by Dynamix
Dynamix
Dynamix, Inc. was an American developer of computer games from 1984 to 2001, best known for their flight simulator, Red Baron, the Front Page Sports series, Betrayal at Krondor, and their online multiplayer game, Tribes.-History:...
. Unlike most other early games in the genre, it featured a science fiction setting inspired by the movie Alien
Alien (film)
Alien is a 1979 science fiction horror film directed by Ridley Scott and starring Tom Skerritt, Sigourney Weaver, Veronica Cartwright, Harry Dean Stanton, John Hurt, Ian Holm and Yaphet Kotto. The film's title refers to its primary antagonist: a highly aggressive extraterrestrial creature which...
, but had gameplay that closely resembled later survival horror games in many ways. Travis Fahs of IGN considers it the first to achieve "the kind of fully formed vision of survival horror as we know it today," citing its balance of action and adventure, limited ammunition, weak weaponry, vulnerable main character, feeling of isolation, storytelling through journals, graphic violence, and use of dynamically triggered music—all of which were characteristic elements of later games in the survival horror genre. Despite this, it is not likely a direct influence on later games in the genre and the similarities are largely coincidental.
Infogrames
Infogrames Entertainment SA was an international French holding company headquartered in Paris, France. It was the owner of Atari, Inc., headquartered in New York City, U.S. and Atari Europe. It was founded in 1983 by Bruno Bonnell and Christophe Sapet using the proceeds from an introductory...
released Alone in the Dark
Alone in the Dark (video game)
Alone in the Dark is a 1992 survival horror video game developed by Infogrames. The game has spawned several sequels as part of the Alone in the Dark series , and was one of the first survival horror games, after the 1989 Capcom game, Sweet Home...
, which has been considered a forefather of the genre. The game featured a lone protagonist against hordes of monsters, and made use of traditional adventure game
Adventure game
An adventure game is a video game in which the player assumes the role of protagonist in an interactive story driven by exploration and puzzle-solving instead of physical challenge. The genre's focus on story allows it to draw heavily from other narrative-based media such as literature and film,...
challenges such as puzzle-solving and finding hidden keys to new areas. Graphically, Alone in the Dark utilized static prerendered camera views that were cinematic in nature. Although players had the ability to fight monsters as in action game
Action game
Action game is a video game genre that emphasizes physical challenges, including hand–eye coordination and reaction-time. The genre includes diverse subgenres such as fighting games, shooter games, and platform games, which are widely considered the most important action games, though some...
s, players also had the option to evade or block them. Many monsters could not be killed, and thus could only be dealt with using problem-solving abilities. The game also used the mechanism of notes and books as expository devices. Many of these elements were used in later survival horror games, and thus the game is credited with making the survival horror genre possible.
In 1994, Riverhillsoft released the first fully 3D
3D computer graphics
3D computer graphics are graphics that use a three-dimensional representation of geometric data that is stored in the computer for the purposes of performing calculations and rendering 2D images...
survival horror game, Doctor Hauzer, for the 3DO
3DO Interactive Multiplayer
The 3DO Interactive Multiplayer is a video game console originally produced by Panasonic in 1993. Further renditions of the hardware were released in 1994 by Sanyo and Goldstar. The consoles were manufactured according to specifications created by The 3DO Company, and were originally designed by...
. Both the player character
Player character
A player character or playable character is a character in a video game or role playing game who is controlled or controllable by a player, and is typically a protagonist of the story told in the course of the game. A player character is a persona of the player who controls it. Player characters...
and the environment were rendered entirely in polygons
Polygon (computer graphics)
Polygons are used in computer graphics to compose images that are three-dimensional in appearance. Usually triangular, polygons arise when an object's surface is modeled, vertices are selected, and the object is rendered in a wire frame model. This is quicker to display than a shaded model; thus...
, while allowing the player to switch the view between three different perspectives: third-person, first-person
First person (video games)
In video games, first person refers to a graphical perspective rendered from the viewpoint of the player character. In many cases, this may be the viewpoint from the cockpit of a vehicle. Many different genres have made use of first-person perspectives, ranging from adventure games to flight...
, and overhead view. In a departure from most other survival horror games before and after it, Doctor Hauzer also lacked any enemies, but the main threat was instead the sentient
Sentience
Sentience is the ability to feel, perceive or be conscious, or to have subjective experiences. Eighteenth century philosophers used the concept to distinguish the ability to think from the ability to feel . In modern western philosophy, sentience is the ability to have sensations or experiences...
house that the game takes place in, with the player having to survive the house's traps and solve puzzles. It also made effective use of sound, including background music that heightens tension and changes depending on the situation, and the sound of the player character's echoing footsteps that can change depending on the surface; these would later be used more effectively in Resident Evil. The game is today considered a formative step in the creation of the survival horror genre, improving on Alone in the Dark while paving the way for Resident Evil.
In 1995, Human Entertainment
Human Entertainment
Human Entertainment was a Japanese computer and video game developer and publisher. The company produced games for a number of platforms, including Dreamcast, Game Boy, Nintendo 64, TurboGrafx-16, PC , PlayStation, Saturn, Sega CD, Super NES, TurboGrafx-CD, and WonderSwan...
's Clock Tower: The First Fear was a survival horror game that employed point-and-click
Point-and-click
Point-and-click is the action of a computer user moving a cursor to a certain location on a screen and then pressing a mouse button, usually the left button , or other pointing device...
graphic adventure gameplay and added a unique twist of its own: a deadly stalker known as Scissorman that chased players throughout the game. The game also introduced stealth game elements, and was unique for its lack of combat, with the player only able to run away or outsmart Scissorman in order to survive for as long as possible, and it featured up to nine different possible endings. The same year, WARP's horror adventure game D
D (video game)
is a survival horror puzzle-oriented adventure game released in 1995 by WARP. The first entry in the D series and one of the first games released by the company, it dealt with taboo content such as violence and cannibalism, featured 3D CGI full-motion video and a first-person perspective, and...
featured a first-person
First person (video games)
In video games, first person refers to a graphical perspective rendered from the viewpoint of the player character. In many cases, this may be the viewpoint from the cockpit of a vehicle. Many different genres have made use of first-person perspectives, ranging from adventure games to flight...
perspective, CGI full-motion video, gameplay that consisted entirely of puzzle-solving, and taboo content such as violence and cannibalism
Cannibalism
Cannibalism is the act or practice of humans eating the flesh of other human beings. It is also called anthropophagy...
.
The term "survival horror" was first used by Capcom to market their 1996 release, Resident Evil
Resident Evil (video game)
Resident Evil, known as in Japan, is a survival horror video game by Capcom. The first installment in the Resident Evil series, it was originally released in 1996 for the PlayStation and was subsequently ported to the Sega Saturn and PC. In 2002, a remake of the game was released for the Nintendo...
. The game was mainly inspired by Capcom's 1989 title Sweet Home
Sweet Home (video game)
is a survival horror role-playing video game that was released for the Famicom in 1989. It features several elements of console role-playing games. Sweet Home was developed and published by Capcom and the game was never released outside Japan...
, which it was originally intended to be a remake of. Resident Evil also adopted several features seen in Alone in the Dark, including its fixed cinematic camera angles and some of its puzzle-solving challenges, as well as Doctor Hauzer, such as its echoing footstep sounds and dynamic background music. The control scheme in Resident Evil also became a staple of the genre, and future titles would imitate its challenge of rationing highly limited resources and items. The game's commercial success is credited with helping the PlayStation
PlayStation
The is a 32-bit fifth-generation video game console first released by Sony Computer Entertainment in Japan on December 3, .The PlayStation was the first of the PlayStation series of consoles and handheld game devices. The PlayStation 2 was the console's successor in 2000...
become the dominant game console, and also led to a series of Resident Evil films. Many games have tried to replicate the successful formula seen in Resident Evil, and every subsequent survival horror game has arguably taken a stance in relation to it.
Golden age
The success of Resident Evil in 1996 was responsible for its template being used as the basis for a wave of successful survival horror games, many of which were referred to as "Resident Evil clones". The golden age of survival horror started by Resident Evil would eventually reach its peak around the turn of the millennium with Silent Hill, followed by a general decline a few years later. Among the Resident Evil clones at the time, there were several survival horror titles that stood out, such as Clock Tower 2Clock Tower 2
Clock Tower 2, known in the US as Clock Tower, is a survival horror game for the PlayStation. It is a sequel to Clock Tower for the SNES ....
(1996) and Clock Tower Ghost Head
Clock Tower Ghost Head
Clock Tower Ghost Head, known in the US as Clock Tower II: The Struggle Within, is a survival horror created by Human Entertainment, published by Agetec, and released for the PlayStation in 1998...
(1998) for the PlayStation. These Clock Tower games
Clock Tower (series)
Clock Tower is a stealth-based survival horror adventure video game series, created by Human Entertainment and continued by Sunsoft. The series plays like a horror film and unlike some of the other survival horror games, the Clock Tower series does not focus on shooting creatures or using violence,...
proved to be hits, capitalizing on the success of Resident Evil while staying true to the graphic-adventure gameplay of the original Clock Tower rather than following the Resident Evil formula. Riverhillsoft's Overblood
Overblood
Overblood is a science fiction video game developed by Riverhillsoft and published by Electronic Arts for the PlayStation. It is considered one of the first survival horror games to make use of a fully three-dimensional virtual environment, second only to Riverhillsoft's own Doctor Hauzer, a fully...
, released in 1996, is considered one of the first survival horror games to make use of a fully three-dimensional
3D computer graphics
3D computer graphics are graphics that use a three-dimensional representation of geometric data that is stored in the computer for the purposes of performing calculations and rendering 2D images...
virtual environment, second only to Riverhillsoft's own Doctor Hauzer in 1994. The Note in 1997 and Hellnight in 1998 experimented with using a real-time 3D first-person
First person (video games)
In video games, first person refers to a graphical perspective rendered from the viewpoint of the player character. In many cases, this may be the viewpoint from the cockpit of a vehicle. Many different genres have made use of first-person perspectives, ranging from adventure games to flight...
perspective rather than pre-rendered backgrounds like Resident Evil.
In 1998, Capcom released the successful sequel Resident Evil 2
Resident Evil 2
Resident Evil 2, known as in Japan, is a survival horror video game originally released for the PlayStation in 1998. Developed by Capcom as the second installment in the Resident Evil series, its story takes place two months after the events of the first game, Resident Evil...
, which series creator Shinji Mikami
Shinji Mikami
is a Japanese video game designer best known for creating the seminal survival horror series Resident Evil. He also contributed to some of Capcom's most popular post-32-bit era franchises, including Viewtiful Joe, Devil May Cry, and Ace Attorney, where he served as an executive producer...
intended to tap into the classic notion of horror as "the ordinary made strange," thus rather than setting the game in a creepy mansion no one would visit, he wanted to use familiar urban settings transformed by the chaos of a viral outbreak. The game sold over five million copies, proving the popularity of survival horror. That same year saw the release of Square
Square (company)
was a Japanese video game company founded in September 1983 by Masafumi Miyamoto. It merged with Enix in 2003 and became part of Square Enix...
's Parasite Eve
Parasite Eve (video game)
is a horror action role-playing game developed by SquareSoft . The game is a sequel to the novel Parasite Eve, written by Hideaki Sena. It is the first game in the Parasite Eve series.-Gameplay:...
, which combined elements from Resident Evil with the RPG gameplay of Final Fantasy
Final Fantasy
is a media franchise created by Hironobu Sakaguchi, and is developed and owned by Square Enix . The franchise centers on a series of fantasy and science-fantasy role-playing video games , but includes motion pictures, anime, printed media, and other merchandise...
. It was followed by a more action-based sequel, Parasite Eve II
Parasite Eve II
is a horror action role-playing game for the PlayStation. The game was developed by SquareSoft and published in Japan in 1999 and in both North America and, unlike the previous game, in PAL regions in 2000...
, the following year. The same year, Galerians
Galerians
is a PlayStation video game developed by Polygon Magic. It was originally published in Japan by Enterbrain, and published by Crave Entertainment for North America. Galerians is a psychic survival horror game with a dark setting. It follows a boy named Rion who discovers he has psychic powers...
discarded the use of guns in favour of psychic powers that make it difficult to fight more than one enemy at a time. The same year, Blue Stinger
Blue Stinger
is an action survival horror game released in 1999 for the Dreamcast game console. It was localized in North America, Europe and Australia by Activision...
was a fully 3D survival horror for the Dreamcast incorporating action elements from beat 'em up
Beat 'em up
Beat 'em up is a video game genre featuring melee combat between the protagonist and a large number of underpowered antagonists. These games typically take place in urban settings and feature crime-fighting and revenge-based plots, though some games may employ historical or fantasy themes...
and shooter game
Shooter game
Shooter games are a sub-genre of action game, which often test the player's speed and reaction time. It includes many subgenres that have the commonality of focusing "on the actions of the avatar using some sort of weapon. Usually this weapon is a gun, or some other long-range weapon". A common...
s.
Konami
is a Japanese leading developer and publisher of numerous popular and strong-selling toys, trading cards, anime, tokusatsu, slot machines, arcade cabinets and video games...
's Silent Hill
Silent Hill (video game)
Silent Hill is a survival horror video game for the PlayStation and the first installment in the Silent Hill series. Published by Konami and developed by Team Silent, a Konami Computer Entertainment Tokyo group, the game was released in North America in January 1999, and in Japan and Europe later...
, released in 1999, drew heavily from Resident Evil while using realtime 3D environments in contrast to Resident Evils pre-rendered graphics. Silent Hill in particular was praised for moving away from B movie
B movie
A B movie is a low-budget commercial motion picture that is not definitively an arthouse or pornographic film. In its original usage, during the Golden Age of Hollywood, the term more precisely identified a film intended for distribution as the less-publicized, bottom half of a double feature....
horror elements to the psychological style
Psychological horror
Psychological horror is a subgenre of horror fiction that relies on character fears, guilt, beliefs, eerie sound effects, relevant music and emotional instability to build tension and further the plot...
seen in art house
Art film
An art film is the result of filmmaking which is typically a serious, independent film aimed at a niche market rather than a mass market audience...
or Japanese horror
J-Horror
Japanese horror, or J-Horror, is Japanese horror fiction in popular culture, noted for its unique thematic and conventional treatment of the horror genre in light of western treatments...
films, due to the game's emphasis on a disturbing atmosphere rather than visceral horror. The game also featured stealth elements, making use of the fog to dodge enemies or turning off the flashlight to avoid detection, which helps preserve ammo as well as health
Health (gaming)
Health is a game mechanic used in role-playing, computer and video games to give value to characters, enemies, NPCs, and related objects. This value can either be numerical, semi-numerical as in hit/health points, or arbitrary as in a life bar....
. The original Silent Hill is considered one of the scariest games of all time, and the strong narrative from Silent Hill 2
Silent Hill 2
Silent Hill 2 is a survival horror video game published by Konami for the PlayStation 2 and developed by Team Silent, a production group within Konami Computer Entertainment Tokyo...
in 2001 has made the Silent Hill series
Silent Hill
is a survival horror video game series consisting of seven installments published by Konami and its subsidiary Konami Digital Entertainment. The first four games in the series, Silent Hill, Silent Hill 2, 3 and 4, have been developed by an internal factor, Team Silent...
one of the most influential in the genre. According to IGN, the "golden age of survival horror came to a crescendo" with the release of Silent Hill.
Fatal Frame
Fatal Frame (video game)
Fatal Frame, known in Japan as and in Europe as Project Zero, is a survival horror video game for the PlayStation 2 and Xbox consoles. It is the first game in the Fatal Frame series, and the only one to be rated T in North America....
from 2001 was a unique entry into the genre, as the player explores a mansion and takes photographs of ghosts in order to defeat them. The Fatal Frame
Fatal Frame
Fatal Frame, known as Project Zero in the PAL region, and Zero Zero in Japan, is a survival horror video game series consisting of four installments and a spin-off. The first and second games in the series were released for the PlayStation 2 and the Xbox, the third has been released for the...
series has since gained a reputation as one of the most distinctive in the genre, with the first game in the series credited as one of the best-written survival horror games ever made, by UGO Networks. Meanwhile, Capcom incorporated shooter elements into several survival horror titles, such as 2000's Resident Evil Survivor which used both light gun shooter
Light gun shooter
Light gun shooter, also called light gun game or simply gun game, is a shooter video game genre in which the primary design element is aiming and shooting with a gun-shaped controller. Light gun shooters revolve around the protagonist shooting targets, either antagonists or inanimate objects...
and first-person shooter
First-person shooter
First-person shooter is a video game genre that centers the gameplay on gun and projectile weapon-based combat through first-person perspective; i.e., the player experiences the action through the eyes of a protagonist. Generally speaking, the first-person shooter shares common traits with other...
elements, and 2003's Resident Evil: Dead Aim
Resident Evil: Dead Aim
Resident Evil: Dead Aim, known as in Japan, is the fourth release in a series of light gun shooter video games by Capcom. It is also the first in the franchise to feature first-person shooting alongside the third-person movement seen in its predecessors in the Resident Evil series...
which used light gun
Light gun
A light gun is a pointing device for computers and a control device for arcade and video games.Modern screen-based light guns work by building a sensor into the gun itself, and the on-screen target emit light rather than the gun...
and third-person shooter
Third-person shooter
Third-person shooter is a genre of 3D action games in which the player character is visible on-screen, and the gameplay consists primarily of shooting.-Definition:...
elements.
Western developers also began to return to the survival horror formula. The Thing
The Thing (video game)
The Thing is a third person survival horror game. The game was presented as a sequel to John Carpenter's 1982 film The Thing. It was developed by Computer Artworks and published by VU Games. It was released in North America for the PS2 on August 19, 2002, on the PC on August 20, 2002 and on the...
from 2002 has been called a survival horror game, although it is distinct from other titles in the genre due to its emphasis on action, and the challenge of holding a team together. The 2004 title Doom 3
Doom 3
Doom 3 is a science fiction horror video game developed by id Software and published by Activision. An example of the first-person shooter genre, Doom 3 was first released for Microsoft Windows on August 3, 2004. The game was later adapted for Linux, as well as being ported by Aspyr Media for Mac...
is sometimes categorized as survival horror, although it is considered an Americanized take on the genre due to the player's ability to directly confront monsters with weaponry. Thus, it is usually considered a first-person shooter
First-person shooter
First-person shooter is a video game genre that centers the gameplay on gun and projectile weapon-based combat through first-person perspective; i.e., the player experiences the action through the eyes of a protagonist. Generally speaking, the first-person shooter shares common traits with other...
with survival horror elements. Regardless, the genre's increased popularity led Western developers to incorporate horror elements into action games, rather than follow the Japanese survival style.
Overall, the traditional survival horror genre continued to be dominated by Japanese designers and aesthetics. 2002's Clock Tower 3
Clock Tower 3
is a survival horror video game co-developed by Capcom Production Studio 3 and Sunsoft. The fourth installment in the Clock Tower series, it was released in Japan on December 12, 2002, in North America on March 18, 2003 and in Europe on June 25, 2003...
eschewed the graphic adventure game
Graphic adventure game
A graphic adventure game is a form of adventure game. They are distinct from text adventures. Whereas a player must actively observe using commands such as "look" in a text-based adventure, graphic adventures revolutionized gameplay by making use of natural human perception...
formula seen in the original Clock Tower, and embraced full 3D survival horror gameplay. In 2003, Resident Evil Outbreak
Resident Evil Outbreak
Resident Evil Outbreak, known as in Japan, is a single player game with online playability for the PlayStation 2 initially released in 2003. It was developed by Capcom Production Studio 1. This game was the first in the Resident Evil series to feature cooperative gameplay and online multiplayer...
introduced online
Multiplayer online game
A Multiplayer Online Game is a multiplayer video game which can be played via a game server over the internet, with other players around the world...
multiplayer and cooperative gameplay
Cooperative gameplay
Cooperative gameplay is a feature in video games that allows players to work together as teammates. It is distinct from other multiplayer modes, such as competitive multiplayer modes like player versus player or deathmatch...
to the genre. Sony
Sony
, commonly referred to as Sony, is a Japanese multinational conglomerate corporation headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, Japan and the world's fifth largest media conglomerate measured by revenues....
employed Silent Hill director Keiichiro Toyama
Keiichiro Toyama
is a video game designer, best known as the creator of the hit survival horror video game Silent Hill . He directed the game, as well as worked in the animation department as background designer....
to develop Siren
Siren (video game)
, known as Forbidden Siren in Europe and Australasia, is a survival horror video game developed by SCE Japan Studio for the PlayStation 2 in 2003.-Plot:...
. The game was released in 2004, and added unprecedented challenge to the genre by making the player mostly defenseless, thus making it vital to learn the enemy's patrol routes and hide from their field of vision. However, reviewers eventually criticized the traditional Japanese survival horror formula for becoming stagnant. As the console market drifted towards Western-style action games, players became impatient with the limited resources and cumbersome controls seen in Japanese titles such as Resident Evil Code: Veronica
Resident Evil Code: Veronica
Resident Evil Code: Veronica, released in Japan as , is the fourth installment in Capcom's Resident Evil survival horror series, originally released for the Dreamcast in 2000...
and Silent Hill 4: The Room
Silent Hill 4: The Room
Silent Hill 4: The Room is the fourth installment in the Silent Hill survival horror series, published by Konami and developed by Team Silent, a production group within Konami Computer Entertainment Tokyo. The game was released in Japan in June 2004 and in North America and Europe in September of...
.
Transformation
Resident Evil 4
Resident Evil 4, known in Japan as , is a survival horror third-person shooter video game developed by Capcom Production Studio 4 and published by multiple publishers, including Capcom, Ubisoft, Nintendo Australia, Red Ant Enterprises and THQ Asia Pacific...
attempted to redefine the genre by emphasizing reflexes and precision aiming, thus broadening the gameplay of the series with elements from the wider action genre. Its ambitions paid off, earning the title several Game of the Year awards for 2005, and the top rank on IGN's Readers' Picks Top 99 Games list. However, this also led some reviewers to suggest that the Resident Evil series had abandoned the survival horror genre, by demolishing the genre conventions that it had established. Other major survival horror series followed suit by developing their combat systems to feature more action, such as Silent Hill Homecoming, and the 2008 version of Alone in the Dark. These changes were part of an overall trend among console game
Console game
A console game is a form of interactive multimedia used for entertainment. The game consists of manipulable images generated by a video game console, and displayed on a television or similar audio-video system. The game itself is usually controlled and manipulated using a handheld device connected...
s to shift towards visceral action gameplay. These changes in gameplay have led some purists to suggest that the genre has deteriorated into the conventions of other action games. Jim Sterling suggests that the genre lost its core gameplay when it improved the combat interface, thus shifting the gameplay away from hiding and running towards direct combat. Leigh Alexander, the news director of Gamasutra
Gamasutra
Gamasutra is a website founded in 1997 for video game developers. It is owned and operated by UBM TechWeb , a division of United Business Media, and acts as the online sister publication to the print magazine Game Developer...
, argues that this represents a shift towards more Western
Western culture
Western culture, sometimes equated with Western civilization or European civilization, refers to cultures of European origin and is used very broadly to refer to a heritage of social norms, ethical values, traditional customs, religious beliefs, political systems, and specific artifacts and...
horror aesthetics, which emphasize action and gore rather than the psychological experience of Japanese horror.
The original genre has persisted in one form or another. The 2005 release of F.E.A.R. was praised for both its atmospheric tension and fast action, successfully combining Japanese horror with cinematic action, while Dead Space
Dead Space (video game)
Dead Space is a survival horror third-person shooter video game, developed by EA Redwood Shores for Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360. The game was made available on Steam on October 20, 2008...
from 2008 brought the survival horror genre to a science fiction
Science fiction
Science fiction is a genre of fiction dealing with imaginary but more or less plausible content such as future settings, futuristic science and technology, space travel, aliens, and paranormal abilities...
setting. However, critics argue that these titles represent the continuing trend away from pure survival horror and towards general action. The release of Left 4 Dead
Left 4 Dead
Left 4 Dead is a cooperative first-person shooter video game. It was developed by Turtle Rock Studios, which was purchased by Valve Corporation during development. The game uses Valve's proprietary Source engine, and is available for Microsoft Windows, Xbox 360 and Mac OS X...
in 2008 helped popularize cooperative multiplayer
Cooperative gameplay
Cooperative gameplay is a feature in video games that allows players to work together as teammates. It is distinct from other multiplayer modes, such as competitive multiplayer modes like player versus player or deathmatch...
among survival horror games, although it is mostly a shooter game
Shooter game
Shooter games are a sub-genre of action game, which often test the player's speed and reaction time. It includes many subgenres that have the commonality of focusing "on the actions of the avatar using some sort of weapon. Usually this weapon is a gun, or some other long-range weapon". A common...
at its core. Meanwhile, the Fatal Frame series has remained true to the roots of the genre, even as Fatal Frame IV transitioned from the use of fixed cameras to an over-the-shoulder viewpoint. More recently, the 2009 release of Resident Evil 5
Resident Evil 5
Resident Evil 5, known in Japan as , is a survival horror third-person shooter video game developed and published by Capcom. The game is the seventh installment in the Resident Evil survival horror series, and was released on March 5, 2009 in Japan and on March 13, 2009 in North America and Europe...
has been praised despite critics questioning its status as a true survival horror game.. Also in 2009, even Silent Hill made a belated transition to an over-the-shoulder viewpoint in Silent Hill: Shattered Memories
Silent Hill: Shattered Memories
Silent Hill: Shattered Memories is a survival horror video game for the Wii and the seventh installment in the Silent Hill series, being a "reimagining" of the first installment. Published by Konami Digital Entertainment and developed by Climax Studios, the game was released in December 2009, with...
. This Wii effort was, however, considered by most reviewers as a return to form for the series due to several unique developmental decisions taken by Climax Studios. This included the decision to openly break the fourth wall by psychologically profiling the player, and the decision to remove any weapons from the game, forcing the player to run whenever they see an enemy. It is unknown whether these changes will remain in the series.
Examples of independent survival horror games are the Penumbra series
Penumbra (video game series)
Penumbra is the name of an episodic video game series by developer Frictional Games, published by Lexicon Entertainment and Paradox Interactive. The games use the HPL Engine, initially developed as a tech demo...
and Amnesia: The Dark Descent
Amnesia: The Dark Descent
Amnesia: The Dark Descent is a survival horror video game by Frictional Games, who previously developed the Penumbra series. Released for Windows, Mac OS X, and Linux platforms, the game features an unarmed protagonist exploring a dark and foreboding castle, while avoiding monsters and other...
by Frictional Games
Frictional Games
Frictional Games is an independent video game company located in Helsingborg, Sweden. The developer comprises a small core team and is led by Thomas Grip and Jens Nilsson. Certain key roles such as Music and Narrative Design are performed by external staff like Mikko Tarmia and Tom Jubert,...
, both of which were praised for creating a horrific setting and atmosphere without the overuse of violence or gore. In 2010, the cult game Deadly Premonition by Access Games
Access Games
Access Games is a Japanese videogames development studio based in Osaka, Japan. The studio was founded on the 16th of January 2002. Former members of development teams including Kojima Productions and Deep Space who developed Extermination joined shortly after Access Games was founded...
was notable for introducing open world
Open world
An open world is a type of video game level design where a player can roam freely through a virtual world and is given considerable freedom in choosing how to approach objectives...
nonlinear gameplay and a comedy horror
Comedy horror
Comedy horror, also known as horror comedy, is a literary and film genre, combining elements of comedy and horror fiction. The comedy horror genre almost always inevitably crosses over with the black comedy genre; and in some respects could be considered a subset of it.The short story "The Legend...
theme to the genre. Overall, game developers have continued to make and release survival horror games, and the genre continues to grow among independent video game developers
Independent video game development
Independent video game development is the process of creating video games without the financial support of a video game publisher. While large firms can create independent games, they are usually designed by an individual or a small team of as many as ten people, depending on the complexity of the...
.