Slashdot Mirror

← Back to Stories (view on slashdot.org)

Survival-Horror Genre Going Extinct?

Posted by Soulskill on from the scary-proposition dept.

Destructoid is running an opinion piece looking at the state of the survival-horror genre in games, suggesting that the way it has developed over the past several years has been detrimental to its own future. "During the nineties, horror games were all the rage, with Resident Evil and Silent Hill using the negative aspects of other games to an advantage. While fixed camera angles, dodgy controls and clunky combat were seen as problematic in most games, the traditional survival horror took them as a positive boon. A seemingly less demanding public ate up these games with a big spoon, overlooking glaring faults in favor of videogames that could be genuinely terrifying." The Guardian's Games Blog has posted a response downplaying the decline of the genre, looking forward to Ubisoft's upcoming I Am Alive and wondering if independent game developers will pick up where major publishers have left off.

8 of 166 comments (clear)

  1. Actually. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Informative

    wondering if independent game developers will pick up where major publishers have left off.

    Two different roles.

  2. Left4Dead?! by Doches · · Score: 4, Informative

    Umm...What about Left4Dead? I fail to see how the genre can be 'dying' if it includes a wildly popular new release? I mean, I guess you could argue that Left4Dead isn't similar enough to to qualify as a member of the genre -- but it seems like a perfectly valid (and, frankly, awesome) way to evolve the genre. Oh, two more words:

    Dead Space.

    Maybe you've just got a really, really narrow definition of what qualifies as 'survival horror'?

    1. Re:Left4Dead?! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Informative

      In l4d you're really not much better off than any of the many thousands of zombies you have to kill, to say nothing of the special zombies that are stronger than you.

      This is then balanced by the fact that theres 4 of you, and you're hopefully smarter than the zombies so you dont put yourself in a fair fight against them.

      its a stretch to call it survival horror but it does fit, as it is far easier to die than to survive and there are plenty of OH SHIT A STALKER SOMEONE GET HIM OFF ME moments. Forcing it to coop is a great idea since not only does it let you balance it based on the premise of needing teamwork, but you enable a level of combined fear when you and your friends are all one hit away from dying and trying to bait each other and other coop-only situations.

  3. Silent Hill wasn't fixed perspective like RE was by Optic7 · · Score: 3, Informative

    Silent hill wasn't fixed, pre-rendered perspective like resident evil was. That's one of the reasons why I never got into RE, but I loved Silent Hill. SH was also so much creepier and suspenseful than RE.

    Another thing, isn't Left 4 Dead somewhat of a survival horror game as well? It's one of the top games right now yet there's no mention of it.

  4. Have they looked at Left 4 Dead? by schwit1 · · Score: 2, Informative

    Maximum PC reviewed Left 4 Dead and rated it a 10/Kick-Ass. Doesn't sound like the genre is doing that bad.

  5. Re:Same problem as movies. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Informative

    System Shock 2

  6. Re:It's Evolving by Harinezumi · · Score: 2, Informative

    There's still SRPGs. For the PS3, Disgaea 3 and Valkyria Chronicles are both very much worth playing. And speaking of the 1997-2000 boom, they just released a new Fallout game!

  7. Re:Make up your minds by ConanG · · Score: 4, Informative

    Don't forget World of Goo! That's a pretty original game.