Death Of The Survival/Horror Genre: Who Is Responsible?

Ten year previous, playing a survival/horror game would leave your heart panting and muscles vibrating. You would sweat to complete a mission and scream when you see zombies appearing on your screen in an unthinkable manner

[kosovo]

the genre is dead and has been buried

[ALFAxD_CENTAURO]

Barely, this genre is alive, and Amensia the Dark Descent proves that.

Also, there are coming like 5 Survival horror or Psychological horror games next year.

Silent Hill 8
Night of the Sacrifice
The Asylum game
Dead Space 2
Lucius

And there is a title with screenshots in game, it have a dark atmosphere using a flashlight, but I don't know if that is a survival horror or action game.

I have high hopes for Silent Hill 8 to take the crown for the Survival Horror genre.

So far, Amensia: The Dark descent is the best survival horror you can find. And I hope SH8 exceeds expectations, more than Amnesia.

It's a shame Developers with high budgets to make games are not pushing this Genre.

Independent and not so famous Developers with limited budget are the only ones making Survival horror games for PC and can't sell well the game because of the piracy, and they can't develop in Consoles because they have limited resources, and it's a shame they are making crap like this:
http://www.youtube.com/watc...

Frictional Games are independent developers with limited resources making masterpieces of survival horror games on PC, these guys should be making games for Consoles with a contract with some publisher like EA, THQ, Activision etc etc.

[Marcus Fenix]

I think we can't just blame 1 side on this, survival horror games in general aren't in the same caliber as they were, on the other hand alot of ppl this gen don't buy games without multiplayer, they either rent or pirate them, I wish I have a source 4 this but I've heard that the number of ppl who played Dead Space is more than double the number of ppl who bought the game, alot of ppl focus more on longevity rather than quality, it should be a balance between both, Dead Space wasn't a short game, it offered 12 missions with each taking about an hour 2 complete, add the new game+ and the extra difficulty level u unlock and the game has great value, but still some ppl prefer 2 be cheap.

[Arup02]

Dead Space isn't a survival horror, sorry.

[Lord_Doggington]

settings for video games greatly reflect what is popular in culture at the time. the lack of great horror films in the recent decade reflect what people want in their movies. w/ a resurgence of material to draw from in movies from foreign countries will hopefully draw in more creativity for a rebirth of the genre

[Lord_Doggington]

amnesia dark descent is insane: http://www.youtube.com/watc...

[Megaton]

The genre is in decline, not dead, but that's nothing new. It has never been a mega genre like FPS or RPG. I also agree with pretty much everything ALFAxD_CENTAURO said. Amnesia is poop-your-pants caliber survival horror.

Fatal Frame needs to leave the Wii and drop Japan-exclusivity. Resident Evil is hopeless. I don't even know what to do about Silent Hill. I was one of the people who actually enjoyed Homecoming, but when Akira Yamaoka left Konami I knew the ride was coming to an end. I doubt the next Silent Hill will even be in the same ballpark as the old ones. Even the bad old ones.

I think indie devs will be the kings of this genre in the foreseeable future, at least when it comes to quality.

[Kleptic]

I would say dead space most definitely is survival horror...its just that it uses more modern mechanics and gameplay to stay relevant...which overall is what this article seems to be pointing at...just because your character isn't completely useless offensively...doesn't mean its a different genre of gaming...

a dev can do the opposite; use dated mechanics that make the game feel like nothing more than a throwback (read: RE5)...and still easily say its a 'survival horror' game...but I don't think tactics like that are going to last much longer...

[guzman]

Dead Space is garbage.

[BYE]

I played Penumbra is Amnesia anything like that game? Or maybe even better?

[kramun]

Yes it is Ceekay. Similar in gameplay but much improved. The only thing that spoilt it a bit was the ending, but that's a small niggle really as the rest of the game is excellent. One of the scariest games I've played in recent years.

[piroh]

Who Is Responsible? CAPCOM

[CrzyFooL]

why u gotta h8 so hard. If it wasn't for Resident Evil the genre would never have gotten so big.

[Masamori Sumimura]

Yeah capcom is responsible for onther companies not doing SUrvival horror games? what kind of sore loser logic is that? think people. Please.

[NarooN]

Stop being fanboys. Capcom decided to take their flagship survival horror franchise and turn it into some action game with RE4. Was RE4 a good game? Hell yes. Was it a great survival horror game? Sorta. It still had a few elements such as being greatly outnumbered by much more nimble enemies, but you had enough firepower to fight back and a lot of space to move around in, which diminished much of the fear that came from games like the early RE titles or Silent Hill.

RE5 expanded on this concept by not being scary at all. Go look at some videos of alpha/beta versions of RE4, which was MUCH more horror-based than its final version. You want real horror, make sure the player doesn't have 50 billion pounds of firepower and health items, and make the story not suck. Leon was a badass in RE4 but the story was a joke, just like in RE5.

Speaking of RE, what happened to the other characters? I wanna see more of Billy Coen and Rebecca, and what happened to Barry? Why the hell did Wesker, who previously didn't care about supreme power, suddenly decide to become some stereotypical "new god of the universe"?

Capcom has been sucking balls lately.

[AmazingBrian]

People didn't want to play scary games, I loved the genre but people don't want to go near them but IMO, it was the best genre. I still want RE6, I actually liked re5 although, I wouldn't consider it a survival horror game. Also, DigitalPh33r hurt RE5.

[FACTUAL evidence]

Theres still hope for the survival horror genre to survive.....and 1 developer has the change to save all of gaming's humanity from the survival horror drought......that developer is.....NAUGHTY DOG! Please do a survival horror game!!

[tripprowe13579]

i actually comepletly agree with that, I think naughty dog could honestly make any genre of game brilliantly. you never know, could happen.

[JsonHenry]

Silent Hill on the Wii was the closest in recent times for a real survival horror. At least that I have played.

[specialguest]

I blame it on the high cost of developement of this gen. Genras that don't sell well either fade away, or are forced to evolve into something different.

[FlintGREY]

I guess you haven't played Siren: Blood Curse...

[ULTIMATE_REVENGE]

Thanks to this gen.

[BYE]

Thanks to the users this gen who pass on games that doesn't have rocket launchers and multiplayer.

It's not the industry's fault - at all. That's why comments blaming Capcom are stupid and make no sense. They're just trying to survive.

[tripprowe13579]

didnt meant to disagree, what you said makes alot of sense

[ULTIMATE_REVENGE]

Thanks to this gen with all the devs making bad decisions trying to appease to idiotic fanboys.

[morganfell]

That's factual to a degree. But it wasn't their true fans which they were attempting to appease but rather they were operating off of the idea that their must be a way to make the game appealing to a wider audience (while thoughts of revenue danced in their heads).

Instead of exposing a wider audience to the genre, they altered the genre. They removed the very elements that had made it so unique in the beginning and in doing so sacrificed the games on the alter of expediency. And all for naught.

The fact is had they simply refined matters such as controls, graphics, sound, etc and left the gameplay in tact, then time and advertisement would have brought them that greater fan base.

[ULTIMATE_REVENGE]

I meant fanboys of this gen, because the original fans of any game are no longer being heard.

[ALFAxD_CENTAURO]

It's a shame famous Developers with high budget are not pushing this genre.

[I HARLEM I]

MY COLLECTION IS MISSING A GOOD ZOMBIE SINGLEPLAYER GAME!!!!!!!!!! COME ON CAPCOM...... LISTEN TOO WOULD BE CUSTOMERS........

[TheNocturnus]

UHHH, Dead Rising 1 and 2 say hi.

[GodofSackboy]

Damn you to hell! Off topic but all you do is go around trolling LBP videos!! How dare you, it is the most fun and innovative game ever, I looked through your history and you've done it like 30 times, in between comments about how the PS3 is crap and the outdated xbox will win, just leave LBP alone and enjoy your 3 xbox games...yawn

Gears
Halo
Fable

meh

[TheNocturnus]

@SolidSackboyDrake
Sorry man, I didn't mean to upset you like that. Do you need a blankie, I can make one real quick out of a beanbag, rainbow and googly eyes for you. GTFO, PS3 sucks and you know it.

[SnakeMustDie]

The genre is dead because the ones who made them are trying to appeal to the lowest common denominator of gamers who jizz their pants when the game is very scary. And also they try to make their games as "westernize" and action heavy as possible neglecting the horror part.

[Arup02]

There are some good scary games out there. Specially the creepy japanese games.

[Horny Melon]

share holders. Anything requiring a modicum of thought or effort is dumbed down for a wider audience.

[soundslike]

Anywho, people forget to mention DEMON'S SOULS. That game is totally a survival horror in the truest sense of the words

Survival- There is no luxury allowed.

Horror- nasty looking creatures, surprise attacks, traps, seemingly impossible boss, feeling helpless and alone, scary sound design, etc

I think developers will definitely ride the wake of Demon's Souls to bring back some intelligent and scary horror games that can actually weave a sense of being powerless again instead of having a sniper rifle and rocket launcher

[Rybakov]

dead space 2 next year
silent hill 8 sometime in near to distant future
inSANE 2013

not dead yet but ill blame activision cause they are the devil of video games

[megalonagyix]

Dead Space is horror for kids... its more action than horror.

[guzman]

Dead Space is a snoozefest.

[R_aVe_N]

The genre is not dead yet. True it has declined this gen due to company's kind of messing up what made the genre great. They tried to appeal to a wider consumer base which in the end kind of lowered it because they were lacking substance that made the genre what it was. A lot of games that are called Horror now are just Action games with creepy music lol. I am hoping next year will get them back on track to what make a horror games so great.

[Xfanboy]

not on PC!
http://www.youtube.com/watc...
but we really do need more!!

[evildeli]

I think if you really wanna pin it, blame it on the sucky movies based on the games. But Insane proves that the genre isn't dead.

[Ponurasky]

For me the only good scary games for last few years were Siren for PS3 and Theriesia: Dear Emile for DS. Rest is a sad joke.

[bikar]

blame pussys

[guzman]

The genre's dead because Shinji Mikami stopped making games in it. Couple that with the complete implosion of the SH franchise.

[TheMutator]

Dead Space kill everyone in the genre

[Vinushka]

Dead Space isn't all that scary.

[palaeomerus]

Sure, and neither was ANY Resident Evil or Silent Hill or Fatal Frame title.

[BYE]

Who's responsible? The People who buy every damn shooter on the market and ignore the good games.

[palaeomerus]

Maybe they just don't like playing what you personally arbitrarily consider to be "good" games.

[Lelouch Vi Britannia]

Shinji Maikami !

Man, when he change the idea of RE from a horror game to more of
an action game in RE4, I really can`t stand the game, and of course it give a lot of new fans the love the game in the new style but for the truly fans, no its not !

My point is, when companies saw whats happen and that give the series more money ans sales, the idea of making or create a horror game not worth it !

Btw, Amnesia is f****** creepy !

[Letros]

Amnesia: The Dark Descent

Best survival horror game I've ever played.

[gillri]

for me REmake is still the pinnacle of the survival horror genre

then Silent hill 2, then Amnesia : TDD

and im tlaking about pure survival horror

[TheHomerPimpson]

REmake for the Gamecube will forever be one of my favorite games of all time. Resident Evil: Director's Cut was one of my first PSX games, and Capcom did it all the justice in the world with that remake. Now all we need is a RE2 remake for PS3...that would reconnect some old fans with the RE franchise.

[artynerd]

I'm surprised no one has mentioned Silent Hill Shattered Memories. In all honesty, probably my second favorite Silent Hill next to number 2. Probably the most underrated/unplayed survival horror game out there.

[palaeomerus]

The death of Survival Horror never happened. Some change and diversification did occur, but nothing has died except in some overly melodramatic sense. People just wanted better controls and more action. And they got them.

See: RE:4/5, Deadspace, Doom 3, Bioshock, Limbo, Condemned, Amnesia, L4D, etc.

[Bromeslice]

Call of Duty

[tripprowe13579]

I know most of you wont agree with me, but its the western gaming culture and xbox 360 that has destroyed survival horror. along with actual good rpgs.....Jrpgs if you want to call them that. americans are for the most part simple minded and just want to kill things as of late no thinking or puzzles or anything like that involved. thats why call of duty almost plays it self...if it were possible I would go back in time and prevent microsoft from ever making xbox. they ruined a golden age of gaming in my eyes.

[TheHomerPimpson]

stereotype much?

[ItsEvan]

Amnesia: The Dark Descent

[reptus]

I agree with you that there is a huge focus on marketing to a casual gamer. I also think having the internet has somewhat desensitised us to the point that no matter what the game tries, we just think its lame and not scary. Whereas 10 years ago imagination was still a key player in our society therefore putting us in an environment we had never been in before. Unfortunately theres only so many horror games you can play before saying to yourself "ive done this before" and like most things in life the first buzz is always the best and no matter how many times you go back it will never be as good. I think a really detailed point and click horror/puzzle game would be awesome. The jack the ripper game was quite creepy with the environments and the element that it was semi based on truth left me unsure as to what was going to happen next and it really let my imagination run wild knowing that jack the ripper was never caught. I could go on 4ever with ideas. But in reality I dont think this genre is dead, it just needs a good kick up the backside by some really hard hitters in the industry.

[SpLinT]

The Genre doesnt sell much

COD sells a lot, Easy Sells, Easy ACTION

Devs want money

Devs make games similar to COD aka Easy 1 hit kill FPS titles to make money. Look at RE5, ACTION. It was an action game and Splinter cell action game with Auto-aim system. SC not a horror game but another example of Devs going for the EASY route

Thus, Survival Horror games are declining due to crappy economy.

[Mikeyy]

The Genre hit it's pinnacle at Silent Hill 2. It still hasnt been beat.

[Hellbound1978]

The genre is dead because theres no way to integrate "screaming obscenities or racial slurs" over a headset. Which devs seem to think every game needs nowadays.... I mean nobody wants to enjoy a game by themselves without being connected to THE NET!?! <<<Sarcasm GRRR!

[Venoxn4g]

not dead space..action.. :)

Fatal Frame 1,2,3,4 (import with eng patch)
haunting ground
silent hill 1,2,3,4,shattered memories (great game)
amnesia
RE 1,0, remake, 2,3,code veronica, 4(action but still), Re5 (*hit) :)

hmm.. about it's future..it's really not bright..but I'll still wait for:

RE2-Make & maybe Re3 or Code veronica..
Silent hill 8
Dead space 2 (not a survival horror, but nice action game with good atmosphere)

I hope devs will create them in a future, because I am not shooter fan and I love good survival horror, and some action horror.. :)