Survival Horror/Horror games in general discussion

Irelandcool

My aim here is to make a thread that is similar to the JRPG discussion thread but with much more focus on horror and survival horror games in general. Like what survival horror games are you playing at the moment or any game that is typically not a horror game but has survival horror like moment in the game. (Like the Redeads from ocarina of time).

SeantheMan

I bought the remastered Resi recently , but got annoyed after 2 or 3 hours with it's inventory system and looking for storage etc. I've not gone back to it

Also got the Dead Space series, but then got sidetracked with another game.

I installed that Outlast too recently, but it just didn't grip me really.

I think I was more into Survival/Horror when it first arrived on the scene with the likes of Resi / Silent Hill etc. As I've gotten older I can't get into them, I do try...but it's not like it used to be.

I still want to get and play Alien Isolation though

CiDeRmAn

Dead Space just went from horror with shooter elements to a straight out scifi shooter by the third game, very disappointing.
The Wii game Dead Space Extraction was pretty brilliant though.

Resident Evil has not dated well, the visuals look spanking but the inventory system harms it, as does the save system. I would say the controls too but you do get accustomed to it.

Alien Resurrection is possibly an indication of the waning appeal of the genre in the west, with stellar work gone into the game and few people buying it, ultimately.

Fatal Frame on the WiiU looks like a good one though, and it's coming to the west.

derm0j073

I enjoyed ZombiU , it has an old school vibe and can be quite tense. Shame it wont get a sequel .

Zero-Cool

The best horror experience this gen was P.T, no AAA game has grabbed me at all. Alien really scared me as in i thought it would bore me to death. Found it more an annoyance stealthing around than an actually horror experience.

I honestly think the only thing to revive the horror genre back to full glory will be the Oculus, Rift, VR, etc.

Links234

I got The Evil Within during the Steam sale, and I seriously like it.

Skerries

I see Dreadout in the sale today, is it any good?

Retr0gamer

Links234 wrote: »

I got The Evil Within during the Steam sale, and I seriously like it.

I tried to get into it but I think it's just awful. So disappointing from Shinji Mikami.

murphyebass

Silent hill and resident evil back in the day were great fun.

Somone mentioned outlast.

I forgot I even bought that a few months back. Haven't even started it.

I bought Zombie U last month and it's still in its wrapper.

Dead Space 1 and 2 also in their wrappers for 360.

I find I play shooters mostly these days due to their pick up and playness.

Destiny and more recently Splatoon being my current games of choice.

I went through a Mario Kart phase recently also.

Horror games for me anyway demand and deserve a dark room and 3 or 4 hour gaming sessions to get really immersed in the world surrounding you. That's when their at their very best.

Sadly I don't have that kind of time anymore in one sitting.

Captain Chaos

In Res Evil the inventory and save system is what makes it survival horror. You have a set amount of space for gear and you deal with it. Save system is the same as all games were years ago. Not like today where you can save wherever you want, it removes so much of the risk and tension involved.

Like people who bashed Dead Rising for the same sort of save system. I actually like it as it forces you to think and plan your strategy.

kunst nugget

CiDeRmAn wrote: »

Dead Space just went from horror with shooter elements to a straight out scifi shooter by the third game, very disappointing.
The Wii game Dead Space Extraction was pretty brilliant though.

Resident Evil has not dated well, the visuals look spanking but the inventory system harms it, as does the save system. I would say the controls too but you do get accustomed to it.

Alien Resurrection is possibly an indication of the waning appeal of the genre in the west, with stellar work gone into the game and few people buying it, ultimately.

Fatal Frame on the WiiU looks like a good one though, and it's coming to the west.

I picked up Dead Space Extraction on the PS3 for a couple of euro in a sale there recently. I had the Move controller hanging around from getting the Potter game for one of the kids. I've only played an hour or two of it but it seems like a decent on the rails shooter.

I have played Dead Space 1 and 2 and really enjoyed them and I don't really have any issue with the dynamic of the game changing for 3 - after all the Alien series in film went from the tense horror of Alien to the balls to the walls action of Aliens - but there seems to other issues with it being slightly flabby and overlong that have put me off getting stuck into it. Playing through Wolfenstein at the moment so I might get stuck into it after that. I bought some of the other Dead Space DLC when I bought Extraction (Severed, Awakened) so I want to play through them as well.

I picked up Resident Evil Revelations cheaply enough there recently and it was a nicely paced game but I doubt you could really call it survival horror.

Alien Isolation really suffers from being overlong imo. There's a point about 2/3 to 3/4 of the way through the game where I felt it could have ended and it would have wrapped it up nicely enough but the last couple of hours felt like a bit of a drag and the pure fear that you feel at the beginning of the game turns into frustration as you just want to finish the game.

A game I loved but is probably an acquired taste is Siren: Blood Curse. Very unsettling and downright strange at times - not entirely sure what it was all about if I'm honest - but I really enjoyed it.

Zero-Cool

Siren was brilliant, so creepy. I still haven't played the evil within. I'd go to buy it and change my mind at the last minute. Something about it always put me off.

Cravez

As in Forbidden Siren? That game was scary as hell. The idea that you are hiding from a Japanese zombie as it searches for you and you can look through its eyes as it edges closer to where you are hiding was brilliant IMO.

Retr0gamer

The first Siren game was rough. Could have been a classic but the structure of the game was maddening. Basically you'd be in a loop playing the same levels over and over unless you managed to complete a secret objective in a level that was very obscure. Basically if you weren't using gamefaqs you were fooked. Siren 2 was much better. Not played Blood Curse but heard it's great. Would love to see a new one but the team is currently making a Gravity Rush port/maybe a new game for PS4.

Links234

Retr0gamer wrote: »

I tried to get into it but I think it's just awful. So disappointing from Shinji Mikami.

It does seem a love it or hate it kinda game. I'm seriously liking it, the stealth elements are a very welcome change, the gameplay once I got used to it is seriously enjoyable, I found myself sneaking around and if I got spotted I'd make a run for it and try and lure the zombies into traps. Running away seems to be the best tactic, and I'm loving the game for that experience. It has it's flaws, I can see where a lot of people found it frustrating, and so far it's been worse than Dark Souls I've died so horribly so often.

I've also heard great things about the DLC, so I'm really looking forward to that once I've finished the main story.

Generic Dreadhead

Doom 3 is scary, pay no attention to the nah-sayers.

Put it on a decent difficulty, lights off maybe, some head phones..... will keep you on the edge of your seat....

May also cause heart-issues

Metro 2033 with headphones / light's off

Generic Dreadhead

M!Ck^ wrote: »

Metro 2033 with headphones / light's off

I picked that up there at christmas for a steal on PS4 (both re-mastered games I think)... didn't know they were horror-like, thought they were more like Shadow of Chernobyl or something.

Maybe Headphones on/Lights off should be in the OP as a requirement for all games in the thread now :pac:

sweetie

bloodborne was pretty feckin scary at times!

Cormac...

Cormac... wrote: »

I picked that up there at christmas for a steal on PS4 (both re-mastered games I think)... didn't know they were horror-like, thought they were more like Shadow of Chernobyl or something.

Maybe Headphones on/Lights off should be in the OP as a requirement for all games in the thread now :pac:

I agree! takes big cojones to play Survival horror games with headphone / lights out combo

On Metro:
Honestly it has a really unsettling atmosphere and the game varies from a military style underground shooter to all out survival horror and the balance is perfect.
Peg in a few jump scares to boot
Only recently played through the Redux of both games, brilliant stuff.

Here's an example of a more unsettling moment...

Baron McBoomBoom

Outlast, Amnesia: The Dark Descent, Penumbra. first 3 games that pop into my mind when I think pants shredding terror

SeantheMan

There is some new game out by the makers of Amnesia...
Seen it on twitch last night

http://somagame.com/

SOMA is a sci-fi horror game from Frictional Games, the creators of Amnesia: The Dark Descent. It is an unsettling story about identity, consciousness, and what it means to be human.

The radio is dead, food is running out, and the machines have started to think they are people. Underwater facility PATHOS-II has suffered an intolerable isolation and we’re going to have to make some tough decisions. What can be done? What makes sense? What is left to fight for?

Enter the world of SOMA and face horrors buried deep beneath the ocean waves. Delve through locked terminals and secret documents to uncover the truth behind the chaos. Seek out the last remaining inhabitants and take part in the events that will ultimately shape the fate of the station. But be careful, danger lurks in every corner: corrupted humans, twisted creatures, insane robots, and even an inscrutable omnipresent A.I.
You will need to figure out how to deal with each one of them. Just remember there’s no fighting back, either you outsmart your enemies or you get ready to run

Spunge

Skerries wrote: »

I see Dreadout in the sale today, is it any good?

it actually spooked the crap out of me i had to stop playing, but its pretty much the same as fatal frame i think ? (havent actually played fatal frame though). Graphics are better at least

Mal-Adjusted

Cormac... wrote: »

didn't know they were horror-like, thought they were more like Shadow of Chernobyl or something.

IIRC, it actually was two of the original Stalker developers who left to make the Metro games.

Iv'e recently played through F.E.A.R. and thought that the horror aspects were (if subdued) really well done, especially at the start where it combines with sections of quiet, uneventful gameplay.

Alan Wake is another great horror game. You constantly feel like you're being watched and toyed with. When you can see and hear that screaming fog rolling through the forest towards you it's unbelievable tense.

wayne040576

SeantheMan wrote: »

There is some new game out by the makers of Amnesia...
Seen it on twitch last night

http://somagame.com/

I had this preordered. Was looking forward to it. Will have a play of it over the weekend. It's been a few years since Amnesia and I think their style of horror has been ruined by all of the bad cheap games on Steam greenlight. They seem to have taken a slightly different direction with Soma and I'm interested in how it turned out.

sweetie

The condemned games on xbox were very scary too.

_davidsmith_

I know this point has been made already, and i think the 25yo plus generation get it a lot more than the younger generation. Survival horror is 100% about not being able to carry everything you need at once, not being able to save instantly, or having way to frequent checkpoints, and having hairpulling puzzles mixed with "what the f*ck is that" moments.

IMO newer games while brilliant are shooter horror or survival shooter or (in the case of the evil within) utter b*ll****.

Resident evil 2 was my first step into the genre. 2 disks, simultanious but different storylines that were coupled with very well made cutscenes, and the enivatable boss fight at the end. Then i tried my hand at the daddy (again in my opinion) RE1. less shooting more running the hell away, looking for a random item to use as a key to get the untimate boss killer "the magnum".

While the RE franchise lost its way after RE4 i think games like dead rising started again for the new generation, that uncomfortable feeling of dread, not having enough ammo ect ect. Those tall guys in the coats in the first one freaked me out!

Silent hill was a different beast all together, utter f*cked up horror that would stay with you long after playing, with an incredible soundtrack. This franchise was almost rebooted with the very good but ultimately awkward controling and over-stretching Alan Wake.

I welcome new horror games and love playing them, my most recent was Alien isolation, very good top notch scary, insanely frustrating but ultimately falls down for me as having zero replay wanting.

I downloaded the remastered resident evil 1 game originally launched on the gamecube(something iv always wanted) and it was a masterpiece. Brought me right back to my Playstation 1 in my folks house all those years ago, except not im "grown up" (my girlfriend arguies that one) in my apartment on the third generation microsoft xbox.

The remake of RE2 is on its way and my god i cannot wait, i think a badly remade RE2 would be far better than any new nonsense resident evil the corporate boardroom driven development teams would greenlight.

These again are only my opinions guys, thanks for reading

Retr0gamer

It's not that we get it more the problem is game budgets. Publishers need to hit the biggest demographic they can and if a player is anyway challenged it will put them off and it means a lost sale. So now games are piss easy with friendly checkpoints and regenerating health. Survival horror is all about planning and using limited resources and some people are just afraid of playing a game where they can play badly enough they can put themselves into a corner and can't complete the game (even though with most survival horror that is an illusion, you'd have to be very cack handed at a game to do that).

It's not fair to say that 25 year olds plus only get it, the recent success of the rerelease of the resi remake will attest to that it's just that REmake would never hit the sales numbers of watered down shooters masquerading as survival horror like Dead Space (bubble bursting time, it's a poor mans resident evil 4... at best).

_davidsmith_

I didnt mean to generalise and isolate the younger generation, im 29, I just think if you grew up with memory cards and health packs, pre call of duty modern warfare (revelutionary in its own right) that there is a different appreciation of how a game holds your attention.

This may not be the rule for everyone, which is why I had made it clear that was just my opinion.

And i would argue that dead space was superior to RE4 in several ways, mostly RE4s teething issues with new free aiming style and pushing the limits of the platform it was launched on. But hey thats only my opinion.

Retr0gamer

I wouldn't say RE4 had issues with controls. You couldn't move while aiming sure but the game was built around those limitations. Taking aim with a weapon was a risk so you had to plan it. Dead Space might have nad smoother controls but it kind of made it too easy. Also RE4's level design, variety and set pieces were amazing, taking the same basic mechanics of the game and constantly presenting the player with new and inventive set pieces around said mechanics. Dead Space on the other hand had exhausted all that but they 3 stage and other than atrocious gun turret sections offered solid but samey gameplay in uninteresting environments.

_davidsmith_

I didnt say major issues i said teething issues, and i get why YOU dont like dead space but that doesnt mean I have to buy in to your disillutioned opinion of it.

RE4 is better overall as a new experience in an existing franchise than dead space 1, but its not hands down and not in every way.

Retr0gamer

Well I wouldn't go saying it's a disillusioned opinion and I never said they were major issues either. I'm just basing my opinion on how I can return to Resi 4 time and time again and never get bored of it and how mercenaries mode shows how well the mechanics have been implemented. Sure it moved away from the basics of Resident Evil but what we got was one of the best action games of all time and a different approach to horror games.

Dead Space on the other hand I was done with after 4 hours and was only playing it afterwards to get it over with. I'm just baffled that some people can like Dead Space more than Resi 4 but that their opinion. I wouldn't even say it's a better horro game than Resi 4 since it's overly reliant on jump scares.

_davidsmith_

I do love debating on video games (nerd alert ha) but i totally get that and i could probably give RE4 another run through now and think its awesome, but the same for me with dead space, and quite like yourself with replay value is a major factor. When i first got Dead Space i played it through on hard, then immediatly after on easy for the "just one gun" achievment (using only the plasma cutter for the whole game) then played it through on impossible mode.

Recently there hasnt been a game that got me to that level of wanting to play again and again, usually i struggle to finish Alien isolation took me an age to get through as i was sick of that b*tch getting me every time ha.

I never thought id be arguing against Resident Evil as i am a major fanboy, and will religiously play every one i can get my hands on *i do hang my head in shame and say i havnt played zero as i never got a game cube.

I just think Dead Space is very good in its own right and stands out in a sea of diluted titles that have no real substance to them. Again IMO.

Retr0gamer

Well I have to say compared to Resi 5 and 6 I'd pick Dead Space 1 and 2 ahead of them any day of the week. And they aren't bad games either I just wouldn't call them classics like I would Resi 4.

As for Resident Evil Zero, it's getting a HD rerelease soon as well but it's not that great. Worth a play through definitely but don't be expecting REmake levels of greatness.

kunst nugget

_davidsmith_ wrote: »

IMO newer games while brilliant are shooter horror or survival shooter or (in the case of the evil within) utter b*ll****.

I only picked this up a couple of weeks and I'm slowly working my way through this. It's frustrating at times but I wouldn't call it bullshít. It's not scary or frightening at all though despite its horror trappings.

Mind you, I think buying it a year after it came out meant I didn't have to deal with any teething issues it had on launch and the patch was already there meaning I could get rid of the black bars right from the off and play the game at full screen.

da gamer

I usually start playing the horror games coming up to Halloween, makes sense. This year I'm going with the evil within and doom 3.

The best survival horror games I've played in the last few years were dead space, resident evil revelations and alien isolation. I don't think any game has ever made me feel so genuinely tense and nervous as alien isolation did, absolutely great atmosphere in that game.

A couple of notable mentions that get overlooked are haunting ground on the ps2 and rise of nightmares on the 360 for Kinect. Although it didn't get great reviews, rise of nightmares had a good atmosphere and some scary settings and enemies.

Underground

I only picked up The Evil Within recently, I remember seeing the trailers for it a while back and thinking I'd be really into it, but never got round to playing it until now.

Man, is it crap. It just comes off as a brazen attempt by Mikami to recreate Resident Evil 4. Funnily enough I found resi 4 played much better than TEW. The stealth mechanics are crap, ubiquitous upgrade system is boring and trite, it just plays like a mix between resi 4 and The Last of Us, and is all the worse for it. Even screen effects like the letter box and graininess are just head melting, although you can get rid of these so I'm just being nitpicky now.

I've struggled to get as far as chapter 3, I'll fully admit I'm bad at the game, but from what it's offered me so far I'm not bothered going any further with it.

Retr0gamer

I heard it gets better the further you get but I felt the beginning was pretty crap as well and gave up.

kunst nugget

I finished The Evil Within a week or so ago and I have mixed feelings about it. There were times I just gave up on it and had enough of it, found it horribly frustrating and I'd leave it go for a week but I felt compelled to finish it. I suppose I enjoyed it in the end but it's a hard one to recommend to people I think. The story is absolute muck and the amount of instant deaths in it was really frustrating but for some strange reason I still want to play the DLC and if the season pass goes on sale on the PS Store today I'll pick it up. I enjoyed the atmosphere of the game but is it scary? Not a jot, I felt ten times the tension playing the likes of I am Alive or the Last of Us.

I removed the bars straight away before I started the game and I can't imagine how irritating it would be to play with them on it.

sweetie

The DLC was really good, much more stealthy

Zero-Cool

Speaking of Evil Within, it's part of the Playstation halloween sale at the moment

https://psprices.com/region-ie/discounts?sort=date&page=1&platform=PS4

15 quid if you have ps+

EDIT: Shout out to Kunst for posting this in Playstation Bargains

kunst nugget

Zero-Cool wrote: »

Speaking of Evil Within, it's part of the Playstation halloween sale at the moment

https://psprices.com/region-ie/discounts?sort=date&page=1&platform=PS4

15 quid if you have ps+

Siren Blood Curse is only €5.20 for the PS3 in that sale. If you like horror games and you haven't played that, you really need to sort yourself out.

da gamer

kunst nugget wrote: »

Siren Blood Curse is only €5.20 for the PS3 in that sale. If you like horror games and you haven't played that, you really need to sort yourself out.

Never played it, pity the ps3 games can't be played on ps4

da gamer

da gamer wrote: »

I usually start playing the horror games coming up to Halloween, makes sense. This year I'm going with the evil within and doom 3.

The best survival horror games I've played in the last few years were dead space, resident evil revelations and alien isolation. I don't think any game has ever made me feel so genuinely tense and nervous as alien isolation did, absolutely great atmosphere in that game.

A couple of notable mentions that get overlooked are haunting ground on the ps2 and rise of nightmares on the 360 for Kinect. Although it didn't get great reviews, rise of nightmares had a good atmosphere and some scary settings and enemies.

Forgot to mention Alan Wake. Absolutely loved that game. Not a survival horror game as such but a horror game nonetheless.

SeantheMan

I posted about it a few weeks back when it was first released, but noone really seemed to be playing it...but considering how highly people rate Amnesia etc....is anyone playing SOMA , or gave it a run through at all ?

wayne040576

SeantheMan wrote: »

I posted about it a few weeks back when it was first released, but noone really seemed to be playing it...but considering how highly people rate Amnesia etc....is anyone playing SOMA , or gave it a run through at all ?

I have played about 2 hours of it so far but I stopped because I'm playing a lot of Bloodborne at the moment. So far it's been ok if a little disappointing. It doesn't have the same atmosphere as Amnesia. It's trying to take a different approach. Rather than scaring the player, it tries to disturb you by the actions your character makes. So far it isn't working for me. If a game basically tells me I have to do something bad in order to proceed and really 'gamifies' it, I'm not going to feel bad about it afterwards. I'll play some more of it over the next few weeks. By the way, Bloodborne is the best survival horror game I've played in ages.

da gamer

Started The Evil Within today, really enjoyed the first few chapters. Just finished chapter 4. It's resident evil 5, or 4.5 really. Loving the atmosphere, setting and overall resi feel about it. I can understandwhy people might not like it, from a difficulty level anyway I can see how it could be frustrating. But like resi 4 that's kind of the beauty of it, having f all ammo and seeing 7 or 8 zombie creatures corner you,with one wielding a chainsaw.

Retr0gamer

Wasn't anything to do with the difficulty for me. I just wasn't having any fun with it. I'll go back someday to the PC version since I heard the start is the worst part of it.

da gamer

Retr0gamer wrote: »

Wasn't anything to do with the difficulty for me. I just wasn't having any fun with it. I'll go back someday to the PC version since I heard the start is the worst part of it.

You should go back to it some day. The patches have enabled full screen now too which helps. I think it's a game that you need a lot of patience with though.

spookmaster

Great thread. I play horror games only for the month of October, so far this month I've been playing a lot of indie horror games such as the Penumbra series, Home and Lone Survivor. Going to get stuck into The Evil Within this week too, I got to the fourth chapter and haven't gone back to it since but it deserves a replay. I'd also recommend Alien Isolation, Outlast and Amnesia to anyone looking for a scare.

Underground

I picked up Outlast on the PS store tonight. Its on special offer, €5.70. Can't go wrong.