Survival: It’s What’s for Dinner!

Cutting it Close

“That was too close… you were almost a Jill sandwich.”

Where would we be without the absolute terror, adrenaline, and on occasion, hilarity of survival horror games? Watching a scary movie is often an experience which leaves the viewer saying: “I can’t believe I just blew $15 on that piece of crap!” Think carefully, how many films have you really seen that genuinely scared you? Odds are, there have been few—if any—films that have genuinely frightened you without resorting to cheap, loud noise tactics to get the job done. Today’s horror movies are cheese-tastic roller coaster rides with titles such as Final Destination, Scream, and Spy Kids 4D. Thankfully, however, survival horror video game fans refuse to spend their hard earned cash on this brand of Justin Bieber-esque horror bubble gum. Survival horror in the video game world can be, thankfully, pee-your-pants terrifying.

OK the whole Nurse thing... no longer a fantasy...

Did you ever complete the original Silent Hill for Playstation? It didn’t matter that the graphics were choppy or that the environment was covered in fog to cleverly improve game performance. This game was a nightmare in the most beautiful sense. It was incredibly stressful to play because it was so scary, but you just could not put down the controller. The story was so damn interesting, and you genuinely cared about the character you were controlling. This is the critical element of what makes survival horror games so much better than horror films. You’re not watching a horror film, you are in the horror film. You must actively participate in the terror and guide the hero to what you pray will be some sort of happy ending. The Silent Hill series has done an incredible job of scaring the pants off of its players. It’s reasons such as this that Silent Hill has so many loyal fans.

Whether you love it or hate it, the original Resident Evil was groundbreaking to the survival horror genre. In fact, I will be so bold as to acknowledge it as the game that truly defined the genre (don’t say it was Alone in the Dark… that game blows!). Despite Resident Evil‘s notoriously cheesy voice acting, it was a jaw-droppingly amazing game to behold when it was released in 1996. It was one of those games people would watch their brave friends play because they were too frightened to do so themselves!

Bio Hazard to Japan, Resident Evil to the US, effing scary to everyone!

Zombies are awesome, but every so often you get tired of hearing about people’s plans for the zombie apocalypse, the Left 4 Dead hype, and the endless barrage of Dead Island trailers. Sometimes you want something truly horrifying that is unlike anything else out there. Times like these call for… Fatal Frame! Fatal Frame 2 in particular is by far my favorite survival horror game in existence. Instead of facing zombies, you must face ghosts—psychotic ghosts—and without the aid of a Ghostbusters brand particle accelerator strapped to your back. Instead, you are armed merely with a special camera which has the curious ability to exorcize evil spirits. This is especially scary because  it forces the player to get way up close with the ghosts and wait for the perfect time to strike (the difference between a critical attack and an attack that does nothing to your enemy is often a split second reaction time on the camera button). Oh, and when a ghost grabs you… it’s basically the most horrible feeling on Earth. You truly seem to feel pain and genuine shock when these evil spirits get ahold of you; often sneaking up from within a wall or from beneath the floor. It’s absolutely brilliantly executed. This game also has one of the most chilling, yet captivatingly twisted stories I have ever experienced in any form of media. Also, the audio just gives you the creeps. It’s cold, bizarre, and just fills you with a million questions such as, “what the hell is in this room with me!?” It does horror the way it should be done. Tragically this also means it is extremely stressful… to the point that none of my friends can complete it! It is an absolute masterpiece, and I truly hope you will give it a try, largely because I would love to have someone to reminisce with!

Japan does scary like nobody else...

One of my newer horror favorites is Alan Wake. While this game does not declare psychological warfare on the player like the superb Eternal Darkness, nor does it torment the player like Fatal Frame, it does do suspense and storytelling exceptionally well. With all the shooters out there on store shelves today, this game does combat in an interesting way. When evil approaches Alan Wake, he must strip the undead of their darkness by using whatever light source is available (often a flashlight), and then finish the job with a a more standard weapon such as a pistol. What makes this game especially unique is it’s emphasis on story-telling. Specifically, Alan Wake is an author whose writings fill in a lot of holes/give creepy hints of what potentially lies ahead. The game relies less on gore, and more on putting the player into an absolutely gorgeous state of story-driven “zero time” hypnosis. This game is a rare treat in gaming, and you should most definitely give it a try. One last thing—crank up the volume, as the sound design is brilliant.

Story and Suspense Done Right

After you experience anything horrifying, it’s custom to break the tension up with something light. On that note, I leave you with the best voice acting in a horror game ever, Resident Evil 1: