Horror Games of 2014

[Wrathborne]

It's always nice to hear from the bearded titan. Hope all is well.

[MiLØ]

I'm looking forward to Stasis on PC. Space horror is my thing.
A kickstarter funded game. Classic isometric adventure style. Great looking pre-rendered backgrounds, alone-in-space atmosphere, music by Mark Morgan (Fallout and Wasteland 2 recently). Opening cinematic oozes Alien movie feel to it.

http://www.stasisgame.com/
http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/...adventure-game

[aris13]

The very definition of Survival Horror (which was coined by Mikami) is that you have means to defend yourself, albeit limited. That eliminates any "run and hide" game, such as Penumbra, Amnesia and Outlast.

Exactly. Mikami has talked about this recently while promoting the evil within. He stated that survival horror is not just about scares but also about overcoming your fear.

[Branden_Lucero]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Daylight_(video_game) - No weapons? Sign me up.

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If you have excitement for a game where you are completely defenseless, i have no idea what to tell you. In this day in age, if you are incapable of picking up a weapon to defend yourself from someone or something that only plans to kill you, then you might as well let yourself die in stupidity. i hate that defenseless weak protagonist shit.

[Branden_Lucero]

Horror games where run and hide all game are to me more stealth games than survival horror. All the best survival horror games give you the means to defend yourself with combat but just puts heavy limits on it in regards to supplies and combat ability.

Survival Horror is all about action, with fictional horror elements to differentiate itself. Survival Horror is no more about defending yourself in limitation, as to no more than playing L4D or Dead Island with hordes of enemies that come after you, allowing you to pick up whatever you want in defense. weapon, ammo, and health limitation is mostly a thing of the past for Survival Horror - the genre itself has changed where limitation is almost non-existent. Resident Evil 4 and Dead Space have already proven that Survival Horror as a genre, has finally come to its self acceptance - its a sub-genre of the action genre.

[Dracarys]

Resident Evil 4 and Dead Space have already proven that Survival Horror as a genre, has finally come to its self acceptance - its a sub-genre of the action genre.

Two action games prove nothing about survival horror. SH games are not 'all about action', that is an action game. SH games have a big focus on exploration, puzzle solving and resource management with limited resources. The combat is then based around those things.

The genre has not changed, it is just that SH games aren't being made much anymore and the title thrown about where it doesn't belong. They have much more in common with adventure games than action games anyway, if they're a sub-genre of anything.

[Branden_Lucero]

series like Silent Hill and Fatal Frame are hot Survival Horror games, those are Psychological Horror - there is a difference. those are entirely ones that focus less on the action, and focus more on the character development, story, etc. Survival Horror is a genre that was bred and born from the Action genre. without Action, Survival Horror would simply not exist. Survival Horror, is about as scary as a finding a snake in your own bathtub - has almost no effect anymore. People think that because Resident Evil was the first ever game to be labeled "survival horror", actually think that its a full on horror game from start to finish. Resident Evil even from back then has about as much horror as the "of the Dead" film saga. Both, while having their balance of horror yes, but are still dependent on action to drive the everything forward. Gamers, who complain that Resident Evil has taken a turn for the worse because of the amount of action implemented, are going to tell me that the series itself hasnt done this from the very start? decapitations, body parts blown away, customized weapons in RE2, being able to make your own gun powered in #3, the amount of weapons you can pick up, flame throwers, grenade launchers, 44. magnums - and gamers are going to say that old school resident evil was mostly horror? bio terrorism, nuking an entire city, counter terrorism, these "bio" weapons of mass destruction, about as effective as walking time bombs on Earth, and gamers are going to complain that RE has now become an action series? blows my mind. sure, you can say that the amount of weapons present, and customization and what not are added for the point in surviving the hordes of monsters you come across, but then again, i can do the same exact thing in The Ultimate DOOM, and that has action galore from start to finish.

[Dracarys]

You're trying to mix film horror genres and game genres.

Survival horror is a game genre. Psychological horror is not.

A survival horror game can use psychological horror within itself, or other types of horror. It stays a survival horror game.

[Branden_Lucero]

Psychological Horror is a sub-category to Survival Horror. Survival Horror may be a sub-genre within itself, but that doesnt mean it has to stop there. you can differentiate any type of genre into categories. Music is extremely useful for this instead of just calling hip-hop or rap, when you have Gangsta Rap artists like Ice Cube and Eazy-E that are completely different in lyrics and sound compared to other hip-hop/ rap artists like Eminem.

This is why, if anything, Survival Horror should be just be eliminated as a genre name, and just be simply called "Horror" if people want things to be simple. Otherwise, you have graphic-adventures that can be horror, puzzle games that can be horror, things that have absolutely nothing to do with the term "Survival" yet are still considered Horror in their own right.

[Dracarys]

Psychological Horror is a sub-category to Survival Horror. Survival Horror may be a sub-genre within itself, but that doesnt mean it has to stop there. you can differentiate any type of genre into categories. Music is extremely useful for this instead of just calling hip-hop or rap, when you have Gangsta Rap artists like Ice Cube and Eazy-E that are completely different in lyrics and sound compared to other hip-hop/ rap artists like Eminem.

Psychological horror is a sub-genre of just 'horror'. Not survival horror. All 'psychological' applies to is the horror type, it has no bearing on gameplay at all, the reason being it is not a gameplay genre.

...and no, bringing in music genres into a discussion about gameplay genres, when you've already confused it with movie and literary horror genres does not make a good example.

The old Resident Evil games all played up to different horror genres, they all monster horrors, RE1 was gothic horror also, RE2 apocalyptic horror as well as body horror, RE3 was apocalypic and slasher horror, but those are all just horror subgenres like psychological is, none of them change the gameplay genre, which was survival horror.

[Branden_Lucero]

its still part of the action genre, that is all.

[Carnivol]

RE1 was gothic horror also, RE2 apocalyptic horror as well as body horror, RE3 was apocalypic and slasher horror

Do we really need Namco-like genre labeling?

"RPG to Know the Strength to Protect" (Tales of Graces)
"RPG to Enforce 'Justice'" (Tales of Vesperia)
"RPG of Unwavering Convictions" (Tales of Xillia)

[Dracarys]

Do we really need Namco-like genre labeling?

No, that was my point.

[Code_R]

I'm also confused why movie terms are being used. Psychological horror defines the genre of the story (Jacob's Ladder) and body horror defines the events (Society). Both might be used as elements of game or be direct influences but it's still either an action game or a survival horror game because everything has to take a back seat to the player controls. Are there actually any survival horror games due this year?

[Darkmoon]

I dunno why you folks are focusing on types of horror, since I just want scary...all types of scary welcome. I'm no snob.

But yes, defenceless horror games appeal to me. I have plenty of games where I can cut through a problem with a gattling lazer. Frankly, in a game, if you can defend yourself you can almost always win. It's scarier to deal with a monster you can't over power, hence why we tend to remember Nemesis more than most bosses.

Plus, Daylight's about trying to find your way out an abandoned and haunted hospital. So you can pick up as many weapons as you like, but it's gonna do sweet fuck all against Casper the Face Fucking ghost.