Deep End Games confirm that their new horror game Perception will be coming to PlayStation 4, providing a fresh take on the genre.
Like many of you, I love horror games. They bring out a primal instinct of survival, prey on our fears and manipulate our actions in ways many other games simply can't. Truly, they are among my favorite genres. However, this also means I'm bound to be fairly critical about them. In this examination, I'm going
Successfully using the feeling of isolation is a staple of the modern horror genre with games like Amnesia, Alien: Isolation, Outlast and even the new Resident Evil using this dynamic to its full effect. All of these games go out of their way to make you make you feel truly alone, and with this feeling naturally comes fear. Humans as social animals seek comfort in others for support and guidance. Exposure to prolonged isolation can make us uncomfortable, and a good horror game capitalises on this by putting the player in potentially dangerous and creepy surroundings.
Great article and great choices to show that horrors can be just as scary with people than a lone protagonist. Another game that should be mentioned and can even be rebooted was The Thing for Xbox and Playstation 2. Even though some parts was scripted, having to not only keep the sanity of your team but preventing from being infected was an awesome game mechanic that was ahead of its time. It's biggest flaw was the weird control scheme and the story which was great at first but becomes very predictable after the 1st half........
My personal experience with The Thing wasn't a good one, unfortunately. I was extremely interested in the trust mechanic, and being unsure if your teammates had been infected while you were absent. This was the one big thing that made me want to play the game. But at one point early on in the game I did the blood test on my two companions just before entering a corridor, and they came up clean. I took literally just a few steps into the corridor and BOOM, a scripted scene hit and they both turned into monsters. That single moment completely obliterated my immersion and pretty much ruined the entire game for me. From then on I would just coerce everyone and shoot them when I was annoyed or bored as I didn't even trust the blood tests. I gave up on the game pretty quickly after that. (And like you said, the controls sucked)
I can pretty much guess the area where it happened because that event occured twice on my playthrough. The game does garner alot of well deserved cons so I am never surprised when someone said their experience wasn't a good one.
Isolation is a staple part of horror games, so I don't think that will ever be a reason for the genre becoming stale. When playing a horror game, no one ever thinks to themselves, "Wow, another horror game where I'm alone." What people do notice is stale game play mechanics. Prior to RE7, there were too many FPS horror games on the market that relied heavily on hide and seek game play. Hopefully we've moved past that. Another important aspect is the environment. RE7 featured one of the most realistic settings I've ever seen in a horror game. The attention to detail was phenomenal. But most important of all is the scares. This is where I feel most horror games have become unoriginal and unimaginative. The occasional jump scare is to be expected, but I miss that feeling of dread that only a handful of horror games have been able to deliver (the P.T. demo is a great example). The only part in RE7 that made me feel extremely uncomfortable was the first Kid's Room.
That all being said, I do agree that there's plenty of room for the genre to grow. I'd love to see a Friday the 13th (or some other '80s slasher license) game in the style of Until Dawn.
Um, isolation is the foundation of horror. We are our most vulnerable when we are alone. Much like "horror" games being over-reliant on guns and jump scares, being with a large group of people will kill the atmosphere. There is strength in numbers. Until Dawn did a wonderful job of having a group of people in a horror setting and still getting you freaked out but then again Until Dawn as fun as it is, is nowhere as scary as Resident Evil 7, Fatal Frame, or Amnesia.
Love horror games? The award winning Sylvio makes its console debut. Join The Gamers Lounge and see if the scares of this game are are worth it in this review.
I wish I could handle scary games better
I really look forward to trying this game out because of the echolocation approach. So much of horror is tied to what is unknown, and never being able to directly see what is after you will keep things rooted in the unknown longer.
Such an interesting concept. I really hope it pans out.