Where has the “horror” in Survival-horror gone?

[EA9Sol]

First thing that comes to my mind when I think of ‘survival-horror’ games are: very scary and atmospheric; but, mostly scary. Such games come to mind are Silent Hill, Resident Evil, and Eternal Darkness: Sanity's Requiem. Just to name a few.

But, now a day’s most survival-horror games don’t have the scary atmosphere that they use to. Don’t get me wrong, I was startled when I played Dead Space, but not scared. Hell, I've played Resident Evil 6 and the only time I stared to feel a bit uneasy was in Leon’s campaign and THAT wasn't even scary. None of it was. It was an okay game, just not scary at all.

Games claiming to be ‘survival -horror are just shooter games with some jump scars thrown in just to remind everyone that ‘they are indeed still playing a “survival-horror” game and not Resident Evil 6: Call of Duty or Dead Space 3: Operation Ghost Recon.’

But, if that is the trend of games today; then I lament over the loss of a good sub-genre. Where it story and atmosphere were the key and not mindless shooting. :/

 

[Ruisu]

Well I can't talk about dead space since I never though it was scary, all it had since the beginning was "Boo" moments, and cheap scares don't make a good horror game.

As for Resident Evil, yeah, it's not Survival or Horror anymore, but I always considered that a result of the direction the story took, since by the time you play RE6 the characters are way more experienced and used to outbreaks and infected, so you wouldn't really have the same atmosphere.
Then again, RE seems like a game where the story is written in favor of the gameplay and not otherwise, so you could still say RE could still be a survival horror if capcom wanted it to be.

 

[ZeroLove]

Face it, people... We've outgrown it. What was scary back then doesn't scare people now.

 

[Ruisu]

It's undeniable that mainstream horror games these days lack a lot of atmosphere, even if we've "outgrown" it.

 

[Gorbashou]

I wouldn't say we've "outgrown of it", they've changed the scares completely. If you are an avid mainstream Survival Horror player who only play the latest Survival Horror games (Co-op shooters, amirite? XD), and then turn to a game like Silent Hill 2 you'll be scared, I know you will.

The things that made survival horror isn't present in the modern survival horror games, it's not that we've "outgrown" from it, it isn't there. They can make a scary game, but game companies want as many people as possible to buy their games and they know shooters sells so there's not much you can do.

 

[Angel]

Could a certain degree of desensitization perhaps come into play here? I mean, I'm a big baby when it comes to games like Amnesia and Slender (literally threw the keyboard and mouse away from me when I last played Amnesia, I was that terrified...and it hadn't even really started properly at that stage) but I can't be the only one who is still affected by scary games in the way that the creators intended?

Maybe we are too used to what we see in many titles these days: the "unexpected" shocks that we can predict a mile away, the gory scenes which make us yawn and roll our eyes - even the grainy animations to try and set the atmosphere. Or it could be that in order to bring in a different fanbase or more casual gamers or whatever, devs are more inclined to go for less horror and more action, thinking it's more likely to rake in the cash?

For those of you who are no longer scared by the current horror/survival offerings, what would you put into a game to bring back the fear? Genuine question - it'll be interesting to see what constitutes for some of you as horror

 

[Dante47]

Face it, people... We've outgrown it. What was scary back then doesn't scare people now.

Maybe not, and that's why developers need to find new and innovative ways to incorporate terror and fear into the hearts of gamers in this generation.
Say what you please about the original Resident Evil games and it's fear factor, but you cannot deny that to this day it instills tension. With the tank like controls, limited supplies, and claustrophobic environments, it did get you worried whether or not you would survive that particular endeavor.

Although, there is one specific title of this generation that is scary, for this new league of gamers, and the past players.
Dead Space. The first one, that is.

 

[S.F.W]

Although, there is one specific title of this generation that is scary, for this new league of gamers, and the past players.
Dead Space. The first one, that is.

The first Dead Space had a great atmosphere, which was what it was most acclaimed for (That and its sound). The other 2 toned it down to the point where it was tense.

 

[EA9Sol]

I wouldn't say we outgrown it, but gotten used to what was scary. They just need to find new and innovative ways to incorporate the horror element with out it just relying solely on jump scares.

Could a certain degree of desensitization perhaps come into play here? I mean, I'm a big baby when it comes to games like Amnesia and Slender (literally threw the keyboard and mouse away from me when I last played Amnesia, I was that terrified...and it hadn't even really started properly at that stage) but I can't be the only one who is still affected by scary games in the way that the creators intended?

Maybe we are too used to what we see in many titles these days: the "unexpected" shocks that we can predict a mile away, the gory scenes which make us yawn and roll our eyes - even the grainy animations to try and set the atmosphere. Or it could be that in order to bring in a different fanbase or more casual gamers or whatever, devs are more inclined to go for less horror and more action, thinking it's more likely to rake in the cash?

For those of you who are no longer scared by the current horror/survival offerings, what would you put into a game to bring back the fear? Genuine question - it'll be interesting to see what constitutes for some of you as horror

Good question. Kinda hard to say really. lol What I like to see in a game survival-horror is a tense feeling of helplessness and claustrophobic environments. Just giving you a sense of dread at the next encounter.

The first Dead Space had a great atmosphere, which was what it was most acclaimed for (That and its sound). The other 2 toned it down to the point where it was tense.

That's what I liked about Dead Space one. A nice Event Horizon kind of feel to it.

 

[Chancey289]

Fear is not a trend. It is an emotion that people carry with them for as long as they live. As long as fear exist, so does horror. I fancy the horror genre myself and it's rather a shame how so many horror games are just succumbing to the assumption that everyone only likes to play action shooters. So survival horror today is strapping guns to flickering lights. Most don't even try and that's the sad thing. Look at the most recent Dead Space 3 which pretty much went the Resident Evil route very quickly thanks to the stupid suits at EA. Honestly it's already a fail when something like co-op is added. Survival horror does not got hand in hand with multiplayer. I think being alone and vulnerable with little hope of any helping hand helps establish a better sense of tension and fear. I miss horror games.

 

[Rayl]

The problem with Dead Space 3 is that it has become very much an action title, even with the fact that they've added in a mode that severely limits your resources to emulate that aspect of survival horror it doesn't change the fact that it only makes it a survival-action game with attempted horror elements.

Amnesia IS a horror title and while i hesitate to call it a survival horror, i would say it's the closest the genre has come to being seen in a long time.

 

[Dark Drakan]

Mentioned this before but horror is all about atmosphere and pacing. If done right the tension & uneasy feeling of something happening can be worse than when something does happen. Instead these days people seem to rely on all out action & in your face moments rather than the old school horror style. Everything these days just seems to think upping the violence and gore = better horror when it doesn't.

 

[DreadnoughtDT]

I think we should less look at the "horror" aspect and more on the "survival" aspect. Of which there is very little, because games like Dead Space 3, even on hard, are pretty damn easy and give you WAY TOO MANY items.

 

[Rayl]

Mentioned this before but horror is all about atmosphere and pacing. If done right the tension & uneasy feeling of something happening can be worse than when something does happen. Instead these days people seem to rely on all out action & in your face moments rather than the old school horror style. Everything these days just seems to think upping the violence and gore = better horror when it doesn't.

Now see that's how i know i'm playing a game with actual horror in it, i simply have no way of dealing with that kind of tension, call me a wimp or whatever but it's just not something i'm able to deal with and even if i fight past that tension and actually get to the payoff, i tend to be in no mental shape to actually put up any sort of of action as a gamer. It's a shame because i see it as my failure as a gamer, i play games like these for their stories alot of the time (Silent Hill 2 for example) and i usually need to be a spectator because i can't do it myself.

Granted a certain somebody i know forced me into playing Silent Hill 2 all the way through and while i thank him for the rewarding effort, he's still a utter bastard *shakes fist*

 

[Gorbashou]

Could a certain degree of desensitization perhaps come into play here? I mean, I'm a big baby when it comes to games like Amnesia and Slender (literally threw the keyboard and mouse away from me when I last played Amnesia, I was that terrified...and it hadn't even really started properly at that stage) but I can't be the only one who is still affected by scary games in the way that the creators intended?

Maybe we are too used to what we see in many titles these days: the "unexpected" shocks that we can predict a mile away, the gory scenes which make us yawn and roll our eyes - even the grainy animations to try and set the atmosphere. Or it could be that in order to bring in a different fanbase or more casual gamers or whatever, devs are more inclined to go for less horror and more action, thinking it's more likely to rake in the cash?

For those of you who are no longer scared by the current horror/survival offerings, what would you put into a game to bring back the fear? Genuine question - it'll be interesting to see what constitutes for some of you as horror

I'd say things in the lines of Amnesia.
The less you see of a monster the more frightened you'll be of it. Creating a good survival horror includes you not getting what you need to survive from everything. It should be a scarce resource, whatever it might be. Ammo for your one gun, oil for your lamp, batteries on your flashlight, etc.Instead of giving you the top gun and letting you bathe in the african sun maybe they could play on human fears instead. Things like claustrophobia, achlouphobia, suspense, psychological build-up to the inevitable encounter, stuff like that.

Also, the more seamless the experience the more frightening it gets. Cutscenes, cutscenes can ruin so much in a horror game.
Where did a cutscene interrupt anything you did in Amnesia?
They may work if you put them in right, like how Silent Hill does it. But if they want you to get immersed in the world they should make the in-game cutscenes be in-game scenes with no transition and while you are still in control. Seeing a beast in another room tearing up other people while you are on the other side, still controlling your character, is far more frightening than a fade to black and then see it in a glorious cutscene.

Some games do these things pretty well, like how Bioshock had the immersion part and the scarce resource hunting. It could give me the creeps at times. But it had things constantly taking away from the horror experience.

But yeah, that. ^^

 

[V]

I think we should less look at the "horror" aspect and more on the "survival" aspect. Of which there is very little, because games like Dead Space 3, even on hard, are pretty damn easy and give you WAY TOO MANY items.

Definitely. Part of the tension in oldschool survival horror was not having enough bullets to waste everything you encounter. Now every enemy is a pinata for money and ammo.

 

[DreadnoughtDT]

Definitely. Part of the tension in oldschool survival horror was not having enough bullets to waste everything you encounter. Now every enemy is a pinata for money and ammo.

Yeah. A survival-horror game isn't very horrific if you're not concentrating on the survival. I've had tenser situations playing Red Faction: Guerrilla than I have playing Resident Evil 6 or Dead Space 3.

 

[Rayl]

As i said there's actually a mode in DS3 that actually caters to you called "Pure Survival Mode"

Now i've not bothered playing the game more then once myself but i believe it's advertised as being more like the survival titles of old by giving you limited resources and enemies don't drop items. I'd check it out if you're after that kind of thing but i make no promises as i've not experienced it myself.

Not that it caters to your horror needs but at least it tries to get something right... right?

 

[Dark Drakan]

Now see that's how i know i'm playing a game with actual horror in it, i simply have no way of dealing with that kind of tension, call me a wimp or whatever but it's just not something i'm able to deal with and even if i fight past that tension and actually get to the payoff, i tend to be in no mental shape to actually put up any sort of of action as a gamer. It's a shame because i see it as my failure as a gamer, i play games like these for their stories alot of the time (Silent Hill 2 for example) and i usually need to be a spectator because i can't do it myself.

Granted a certain somebody i know forced me into playing Silent Hill 2 all the way through and while i thank him for the rewarding effort, he's still a utter ******* *shakes fist*

If something of the horror genre isnt making you feel uneasy or on edge then it isnt doing its job properly. So thats a sign of a good horror game/movie.

 

[Marionette Cherry]

I actually think it's all the little things that most consider outdated that made horror games horror games.

Fixed camera angles made you more cautions

Tank Controls (Sub ject to the- if) were something you had to learn but it also added to the suspense and they really worked well hand in hand with fixed camera angles

Atmosphere is completely lost in modern horror games look at Resident Evil 6 each musical score sounds like it belongs in a hollywood blockbuster, music completely ruins it. We need ambient music that adds alot to the horror game genre

Feeling helpless. Shoot a guy in the head, wait or the QTE to come up and send him flying across the map no sense of Danger at all.

Well, I guess 2 of those things aren't outdated and I derailed my own post, but like you know what I mean I hope. It's the little things that count. Resident Evil 5 and 6 are not horror games they're cover based action games. Remember when they said 6 was going back to its roots? Well adding zombies just doesn't quite cut it. Keep in mind they did say they want the Call of Duty audience and that is never good for a horror game.

I'll playing Silent Hill 3 in the mean time, reminding myself what made these games so good. Fatal Frame II was the last, last gen game to scare me. Did everything I expected a modern day horror game to do right.