The most survivable genre: Enter the world of survival horror

Courtesy of Capcom

Amongst the many genres which make up the electronic elements of horror, inevitably some slip in and out of the spotlight more than others. Like a rotten corpse floating in a murky swamp, the genres and sub-genres of horror games at times float within easy view, while at other times they lurk as a vague silhouette until the most unexpected moment to strike. For the past few years, the Survival Horror genre has steadily been emerging from the depths like a vast behemoth, sending ripples throughout the ocean (it’s not a lake, it’s an ocean!) of horror. With Zach Cregger of Weapons fame poised to bring a new movie adaptation of the original survival horror series, Resident Evil, which has many fans ravenous, and the latest adaptation of another premier Survival Horror classic series reaching Hulu, Survival Horror is running strong.

Survival Horror has been pushing players to their absolute limits (of terror, gore, and, frequently, camp) for over thirty years, but with its tendrils spreading for so long, horror fans might not recognize it when it lunges out of the darkness some cold, stormy night. Countless games have zombies, puzzles, inventory management, and isolated locales, but are not examples of Survival Horror. In recent years, RPGs, Psychological Horror, Extraction Shooter, and Visual Novels all include elements which appear in Survival Horror. Even entries in Survival Horror staple-series such as Silent Hill or Dead Space might not actually be Survival Horror games. So how do we parse the different strains to find those uniquely infectious specimens?

Courtesy of EA

To begin, we need to look at how the World of Survival Horror was created, as perhaps more so than any other genre, Survival Horror remains rooted in its foundations, specifically in the very series which coined the term “the World of Survival Horror,” Resident Evil. In the mid-90s, Japanese developer Capcom quietly began an unprecedented outbreak with the 1996 release of Resident Evil for the PlayStation. Beginning as a proposed remake of the 1989 Funcom game Sweet Home, Director Shinji Mikami and his team saw the terrifying possibilities of the more advanced technology available and used it to craft an at-the-time stunningly scary experience. While it is best remembered today for its delightfully bad English dub, Resident Evil proved to be a massive hit, which led to sequels following almost immediately after. 1998’s Resident Evil 2 took the concepts and formula initially exposed in its predecessor and improved on it, making the series even more virulent. A third game and several spin-offs further refined and explored the game, with the original trilogy establishing the basis for the genre, and the iconic, if often misattributed line: “You have once again entered the world of Survival Horror.”

Resident Evil formed the basis of Survival Horror, and while later entries (many of which are called “RE-clones”) would refine and push the boundaries, occasionally going a bridge too far, the basics of the genre remain unchanged. Players take on the role of a hapless hero of varying competence trapped in a deadly, isolated locale filled with dreadful monsters and deadly traps. Their goal is to survive and escape, which will require not only thorough exploration and creative puzzle-solving, but caution and inventory management. Supplies are scarce in Survival Horror, and inventory space limited, forcing players to make tense decisions regarding what they carry and whether or not they can afford to engage in combat as they move back and forth throughout the locale. Story is revealed as much through documents found throughout the locale as through cutscenes, and danger lurks around every corner.

Courtesy of Capcom

The basic gameplay loop will be players finding their path blocked by various obstacles, forcing them to look for the items needed to bypass the obstacle or defeat an enemy, which will unlock new areas and obstacles. In traditional Survival Horror, players will constantly need to backtrack to previous obstacles. Because of this, enemies add a further nuance to their strategy. A zombie in a hallway becomes a choice: use precious ammunition and healing items to eliminate the zombie now so that the hallway is safe for backtracking, or risk the foe getting the drop on them later when they might be even lower on supplies. Many of the more classic entries in the genre often had fixed camera angles and “tank controls” to further complicate matters.

These elements form the basics of Survival Horror, but later examples of the genre and changes in gaming tastes have caused changes in the formula. Various mutations, variations, and occasional vaccinations have sprung up over the more recent decades. Successors such as Konami’s Silent Hill brought a more psychological horror vibe in 1999, with maddened heroes confronting their demons, both internal and external, while leaving the core gameplay relatively unchanged. Others, such as Square Enix (then known only as “Square”) took greater liberties with the formula with the 1998 Parasite Eve. Based on a Japanese horror novel with semi-sentient mitochondria as the principal source of horror, Parasite Eve used the combat system of a JRPG (Japanese Role-Playing Game). With the advent of the 2000s and partially inspired by the more heavily-action-focused Resident Evil films, Survival Horror games began to drift away from the classic formula, often with the result of diluting the actual horror. While many solid entries, such as the 2008 Dead Space by Motive Industries, remain passable gems of the genre, the classic formular began to fade from the spotlight. However, like any truly terrifying horror, Survival Horror lay not dead but dreaming.

Courtesy of EA

Eventually, a resurgence of the original style which began with indie developers helped to bring back the original elements. RE Clones went back to the roots, and successes such as the 2021 Tormented Souls from PQube have reestablished the original vibes. While the boundaries are still pushed, the classic elements of Survival Horror have survived even three decades after its debut. With both a resurgence of the classic formula amongst AAA-titles such as Resident Evil: Requiem and the recently announced Resident Evil: Veronica and a continuing outbreak of indie RE Clones, Survival Horror can be found easily, once one knows what symptoms to look for.