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Is Survival Horror Dead?
Resident Evil is a series that dominated the video game
market in the late 1990s. Alongside with other brands like Silent Hill, Clocktower, and Alone in the Dark, Resident Evil won the hearts and minds
of gamers by delivering suspenseful and intricately designed worlds for players
to explore. The survival horror formula consisted of a protagonist fending for themselves
in a demented environment inhabited by overwhelming enemies with limited
supplies. Players were forced to navigate through dimly lit labyrinths and medicously search for clues whilst also managing a constraint inventory. The first and second mainline
installments in the Resident Evil
series were considered landmarks in the video game industry, but gamers and
critics alike felt the franchise was becoming stagnant with each subsequent
release.
Capcom attempted to revitalize the series with a complete
re-design of the first Resident Evil,
which was released for the Nintendo Game Cube in 2002. The title was well-received by critics who praised the detailed
graphics and revamped level-design, but the game itself was a commercial failure and
only sold well among hardened Resident
Evil fans. Capcom knew that pure survival horror games would no longer
appeal to mainstream video game players with titles like Halo, Killzone, and
Call of Duty on the market.
“Survival horror as a genre is never going to be on the same level, financially, as shooters and much more popular, mainstream games. At the same time, I think we need to have confidence to put money behind these projects, and it doesn’t mean we can’t focus on what we need to do as a survival horror game to meet fan’s needs." - Masachika Kawata (CapCom Producer)
The age of survival horror had been brought to near-extinction
by fans who wanted high-octane and visceral action. Capcom went back to the
drawing board and hedged their bets on Resident
Evil 4. As the Resident Evil
brand held its breath, gamers immediately fell in love Resident Evil 4's marriage of horror and action. The game not only
shattered both critical and fan expectations, but went on to become one of the
greatest and most influential games of all time. Capcom's gamble lived up to fruition and the Resident Evil video game series could
continue to exist with a AAA budget.
Unfortunately, neither Resident Evil 5 nor 6 could live up
to the expectations of Resident Evil 4. Capcom faced market pressure to make
the games even more action-driven and included co-operative features that made
the games viable on a multi-player market. While both titles were well-polished and
refined as expected for a AAA title, they lacked the innovation and eloquence
delivered by Resident Evil 4. The
titles were not deplorable by any means but felt tedious and repetitive over time.
These games disenfranchised many long-time Resident Evil fans, who yearned for a
return back to the glory days of survival horror. Resident Evil 7 is a throwback to 1990s-era of survival horror
games. Resident Evil 7 borrows the gameplay mechanics from contemporary titles
like Outlast and Amnesia,
and marries this with aesthetics that resemble a low-fi horror film (a la Texas Chainsaw Massacre or Hills Have Eyes).
Capcom has taken a fresh take on a series and designated Resident Evil 7 as a
partial reboot to the series, though it's safe to speculate that there will be
a tie-in to the older games.
