More_Badass
Member
Or platformers. Originally reserved for single screen arcade games where your character is moving between platforms (ie Donkey Kong), now the general name for a genre involving running or jumping, be it 2D, 3D, etc.
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Wait, where are all the survival horror games for 2016?
- Thread starter Caipirinha
- Start date
I do not agree with the "managing resources" part. Unless we are not counting RE3 as sh, for example.
But I do agree the player having an option to defend himself being part of what makes a survival horror game.
More_Badass
Member
In development since 2011. Impressive. I didn't realize it had permadeath and randomly-generated elements though
Its a horror game where you have to survive. Ammo or not.
Shadowhaxor
Member
Kona releases soon, it's survival horror, to an extent.
There's also Syndrome, a mixture of Dead Space and Alien Isolation, I'm definitely looking forward to Syndrome. In fact, PC gamer just found out about it, i've been following it for a year now.
http://syndrome.camel101.com/
https://youtu.be/AZkQMNdpUr4
There's also Syndrome, a mixture of Dead Space and Alien Isolation, I'm definitely looking forward to Syndrome. In fact, PC gamer just found out about it, i've been following it for a year now.
http://syndrome.camel101.com/
https://youtu.be/AZkQMNdpUr4
I'd say that survival horror is more defined by those situations where you can't go on the offensive. You include that somewhat with the "needing to manage ammo" bit, but it also includes things like the more occasional unstoppable enemy, of course. The combat-less horror games that are the disputed parties here just amplify the 'needing to manage ammo' side of things to the extreme of not giving you any.
Either way, I think it's a genre more dictated by style and theming rather than gameplay, really.
More_Badass
Member
Just learned about it last weekend, looks great
Dusk Golem
A 21st Century Rockefeller
Here's a few horror games to look out for in 2016:
NightCry
Spiritual successor to Clock Tower made by the director of Clock Tower 1, creature design by Masahiro Ito of Silent hill fame (who most famously made Pyramid Head's design), the composer of several Final Fantasy and Metal Gear games is on the musical score, the creator of the Ju-On/Grudge series is also helping. This game has been severely underlooked for ages, barely squeezed through crowd-funding, and is coming to PC and phone devices later this year.
Outlast 2
I'm going to ignore the survival-horror debates, as a horror fan it irks me when people refer to all games as survival-horror too, but I get most people just mean horror games when they say it. And Outlast 2 I think holds promise, found footage horror in the religious south. Hope they bring some big new things to pacing and design of the game.
Layers of Fear
This is in Early access on Steam currently, but hitting PS4 and coming out of Early Access next month. I've held off playing it since I decided I wanted to wait for the fully version (both it the moment it came out though, of course). But it's supposed to be a good P.T.-esque exploration horror game with events slowly happening, and some light puzzles, to my understanding. I have tried to remain unspoiled, mostly know people are raving about it and it's theme is an artist going through a psychological landscape or something.
Forgotten Memories
This game came out on phone platforms last year, but a director's cut version is being done and releasing on PC, PS4, and WiiU. It's a game that mixed fixed camera-angles and behind-the-shoulder aiming, limited supplies, and notably has the voice actors Guy Cihi (James Sunerland of SH2) playing a role. Got rave reviews and even awards for sound design and best mobile game last year I know.
We Happy Few
Set in a cartoony world, everyone in the city you're in is acting strange, donning weird white mask and watching you as you go by. They seem to work by some weird mob mentality, as at sudden's notice they can turn violent, or just watch you spaciously. An odd game, but one that holds some interesting promise.
Kodoku
Top-down Japanese horror game that delves into many Japanese Ghost stories and mythological tales. Twisted yet colorful visuals follow someone investigating a dark scenario. Looks stylistic, at the very least.
What Remains of Edith Finch
An episodic horror game where each episode you play as a member of the Finn family who gets involved in some sort of dark plague to the family. Created by the people who made Unfinished Swan.
The Hum: Abductions
Alien Invasion: As told through a horror video game.
Dollhouse
This game's been in development for a while. The idea kind of is that it's Siren as a rogue-like, you have enemies you can see through the eyes of and must evade or defeat to move on through generated levels. I also know the game will have a co-op multiplayer mode as you must help each other to escape stages and progress, and a versus mode where it's four humans and four dolls.
Perception
You are a blind woman who can only maneuver through echovision (which you for some reason have). send a signal to get light visual of the environment around you that makes noise. But obviously, you are not alone.
Asylum
A horror point'n'click by the creators of Scratches: Director's Cut. I have been in the alpha for this, I'll be interested what people think of it when it's all complete and out. Idea is you're investigating, you guessed it, an asylum with some sort of dark secret.
Narcosis
You are abandoned at the bottom of the deep sea. Now you must make your way somehow to escape to the surface, retain oxygen, survive the creatures of the deep abyss, and deal with loosening sanity.
DreadOut: Keepers of the Dark
The actually quite good classic-esque DreadOut gets a spin-off in Keepers of the Dark, a stand-alone game set in an open world in the world of the first DreadOut with new exploration and mission junctions, lots of new ghosts, locations, and telling the story of Linda's time in the mirror world.
---
I could go on, but a lot more. And a lot of games won't be revealed until literally right before they come out, or a few weeks prior too. It's been like that the last couple of years in the indie horror scene, the downside to all of this being that there is so many good horror games people easily miss out on or get no word of mouth what-so-ever.
NightCry
Spiritual successor to Clock Tower made by the director of Clock Tower 1, creature design by Masahiro Ito of Silent hill fame (who most famously made Pyramid Head's design), the composer of several Final Fantasy and Metal Gear games is on the musical score, the creator of the Ju-On/Grudge series is also helping. This game has been severely underlooked for ages, barely squeezed through crowd-funding, and is coming to PC and phone devices later this year.
Outlast 2
I'm going to ignore the survival-horror debates, as a horror fan it irks me when people refer to all games as survival-horror too, but I get most people just mean horror games when they say it. And Outlast 2 I think holds promise, found footage horror in the religious south. Hope they bring some big new things to pacing and design of the game.
Layers of Fear
This is in Early access on Steam currently, but hitting PS4 and coming out of Early Access next month. I've held off playing it since I decided I wanted to wait for the fully version (both it the moment it came out though, of course). But it's supposed to be a good P.T.-esque exploration horror game with events slowly happening, and some light puzzles, to my understanding. I have tried to remain unspoiled, mostly know people are raving about it and it's theme is an artist going through a psychological landscape or something.
Forgotten Memories
This game came out on phone platforms last year, but a director's cut version is being done and releasing on PC, PS4, and WiiU. It's a game that mixed fixed camera-angles and behind-the-shoulder aiming, limited supplies, and notably has the voice actors Guy Cihi (James Sunerland of SH2) playing a role. Got rave reviews and even awards for sound design and best mobile game last year I know.
We Happy Few
Set in a cartoony world, everyone in the city you're in is acting strange, donning weird white mask and watching you as you go by. They seem to work by some weird mob mentality, as at sudden's notice they can turn violent, or just watch you spaciously. An odd game, but one that holds some interesting promise.
Kodoku
Top-down Japanese horror game that delves into many Japanese Ghost stories and mythological tales. Twisted yet colorful visuals follow someone investigating a dark scenario. Looks stylistic, at the very least.
What Remains of Edith Finch
An episodic horror game where each episode you play as a member of the Finn family who gets involved in some sort of dark plague to the family. Created by the people who made Unfinished Swan.
The Hum: Abductions
Alien Invasion: As told through a horror video game.
Dollhouse
This game's been in development for a while. The idea kind of is that it's Siren as a rogue-like, you have enemies you can see through the eyes of and must evade or defeat to move on through generated levels. I also know the game will have a co-op multiplayer mode as you must help each other to escape stages and progress, and a versus mode where it's four humans and four dolls.
Perception
You are a blind woman who can only maneuver through echovision (which you for some reason have). send a signal to get light visual of the environment around you that makes noise. But obviously, you are not alone.
Asylum
A horror point'n'click by the creators of Scratches: Director's Cut. I have been in the alpha for this, I'll be interested what people think of it when it's all complete and out. Idea is you're investigating, you guessed it, an asylum with some sort of dark secret.
Narcosis
You are abandoned at the bottom of the deep sea. Now you must make your way somehow to escape to the surface, retain oxygen, survive the creatures of the deep abyss, and deal with loosening sanity.
DreadOut: Keepers of the Dark
The actually quite good classic-esque DreadOut gets a spin-off in Keepers of the Dark, a stand-alone game set in an open world in the world of the first DreadOut with new exploration and mission junctions, lots of new ghosts, locations, and telling the story of Linda's time in the mirror world.
---
I could go on, but a lot more. And a lot of games won't be revealed until literally right before they come out, or a few weeks prior too. It's been like that the last couple of years in the indie horror scene, the downside to all of this being that there is so many good horror games people easily miss out on or get no word of mouth what-so-ever.
Many titles are being listed in this thread, such as the excellent post above, but still. So many of the titles are more 1st-person runners or narrative experiences, instead of actual deep and complex games with strong gameplay mechanics. I would really, really appreciate another game that doesn't just look creepy, but has combat and inventory management and actually forces you to think instead of wandering through hallways picking up notes and running through scripted chase sequences. I really miss the more Japanese approach of 3rd person survival horror like Siren, Clock Tower (at least there's NightCry), Silent Hill and classic Resident Evil (RE7 maybe?). Note that I need to catch up on Fatal Frame 5. DreadOut was also pretty good.
plagiarize
Banned
VR horror is going to be too much for some people that currently enjoy regular horror games. For people that like to be terrified though (like myself)... it's awesome.
It was interesting seeing how many people skipped over Ravenholme in VR when HL2 added support.
Positional tracking lets you 'pull away' but then you have things like Affected (basically think of it like a walkthrough haunted house simulator) that do things where they literally attach the thing to your face, so as you recoil away, it stays inches away from you.
Having your personal space invaded by horrendous shit is something your body will react to, way more than something going 'boo' on a screen. Whether that's recoiling in horror, your heart pounding, shaking, fight or flight, it's going to happen to a stronger degree.
I've told this story a couple of times, but on one occasion playing something scary in VR I got heart palpitations. I'm pretty healthy cardiovascularly, so I didn't worry about it too much, but honestly horror games will be able to reach extremes of scariness they never have before.
If Allison Road is half as scary as P.T., its going to be something else entirely in VR.
It certainly fits the bill for me. As it's Oculus funded, I don't think it's going to be particularly extreme or jump scare heavy. Being third person will also help keep the horror levels down... but it sure looks like a survival horror to me. Insomniac haven't done much horror stuff before, but there were parts of Resistance that used some of those notes. I'm really intrigued to see what they can do here, and it's nice to see a bonafide AAA team making a VR exclusive title.
Agreed one of the most nothing horror games that somehow has a massive following
BLUElightCory
Member
For those going by this definition:
"Survival horror refers to a subgenre of horror video games.[5][6] The player character is vulnerable and under-armed,[7] which puts emphasis on puzzle-solving and evasion, rather than violence.[8] Games commonly challenge the player to manage their inventory[9] and ration scarce resources such as ammunition.[7][8]"
Other than inventory management this is pretty much an exact description of Outlast. You can't fight back, resources (such as batteries) are scarce, gameplay consists of evasion and clearing obstacles so you can progress.
"Survival horror refers to a subgenre of horror video games.[5][6] The player character is vulnerable and under-armed,[7] which puts emphasis on puzzle-solving and evasion, rather than violence.[8] Games commonly challenge the player to manage their inventory[9] and ration scarce resources such as ammunition.[7][8]"
Other than inventory management this is pretty much an exact description of Outlast. You can't fight back, resources (such as batteries) are scarce, gameplay consists of evasion and clearing obstacles so you can progress.
Dusk Golem
A 21st Century Rockefeller
The biggest reason for this is because horror is one of the few genres that is indie-dominated. and has been for at least the last six-seven years. But as a result, little to no budget in turn means animations are a costly cut thing that can be eased on by first-person perspective, plus many prefer games that way. Me, I'm a person who personally prefers a third-person camera, but I understand why at the very least, and there's actually more diversity than I think people realize... Just not iin the classic-horror way many people want it to be.
However, I can say last year was a fantastic year for horror. I want to go on a tangent of how many good and overlooked horror games there were, but I have done so a few times. The problem is a LOT of games are releasing, so many are destined to get swept away, and on face value, some of these games may not look like what people want... But there's some solid efforts going around. Everything from Coma to Lakeview Cabin Collection, Wick to Homesick, Nightmare on Azathoth to Stairs, Doorways to Sylvio.A number of the titles I named may not be what people want on face value, but are much better than one might expect, and are overlooked at this time unfortunately.
plagiarize
Banned
It's almost as if what is and isn't scary is completely subjective and varies greatly from one person to the next. I don't find Silent Hill 2 remotely scary. Outlast really got to me. Amnesia didn't scare me at all, but the Justine DLC for it did.
Etc etc.
More_Badass
Member
Unfortunately the Kickstarter for Sylvio 2 failed. It was expanding on the first game's mechanics in interesting ways
Dusk Golem
A 21st Century Rockefeller
I know, and I'm incredibly sad about the news. Sylvio was a slow game and held back in some regards, but it was also a very fresh take on a horror game and I found it a very enjoyable experience. But, like many of the games that came out last year in the horror genre, woefully underlooked, and the sequel sounded incredibly promising. I hope it still manifests somehow. Sylvio is one of those games that definitely wouldn't hold mass appeal, but the slow mystery and communicating with ghosts and modifying audio while exploring a (very red) amusement park was interesting. The flooded take and improved mechanics held a lot of promise, I felt.
Plague Doctor
Member
afternoon delight
Member
Speaking my language, didn't know about Narcosis or the fact that DreadOut's getting a sequel.
NightCry has some supreme potential though, I cannot wait to play it.
Dusk Golem
A 21st Century Rockefeller
Narcosis I am excited about as someone intrigued by Deep Sea Horror. SOMA didn't quite scratch that itch, it made me wanting more horror of the sort actually. But It has been in development for a while, comes out in March on Steam I know. Looking forward to it.
DreadOut's tale is a bit interesting; it's not a full-on sequel (though the team has expressed they want to make DreadOut into a franchise). This was something they have planned since they put DreadOut up on crowd-funding years ago, but it sort of grew. It originally was supposed to be a piece of DLC for DreadOut featuring an open-world version of the game... And it kind of still is that. But it's become a stand-alone spin-off game (owners of the original game get a discount on Keepers of the Dark, though), it takes place during the course of the main game when Linda gets pulled into the mirror. She enters a mirror world, and this is a story set during that time. The basic idea is that all the locations from DreadOut are in the game, but include new explorable areas and rooms, plus there's two all-new locations. All the ghosts from DreadOut return, some in new ways, but there's also 13 new ghosts, 9 of which I believe were constructed from backers of the Indiegogo campaign with the DreadOut team to figure out their design, encounter style, etc. The game features open-world design, but there's objectives to complete and ghost stories and myths to investigate, to my understanding, with a lot of side-quests, and the ultimate goal to discover the way to escape the mirror world.
And of course, NightCry holds a lot of promise. It looks like it'll be low-budget, but that doesn't bother me as other areas continue to attract my interest to the title (and since the game is funded through the creator's own pockets plus a barely-passing fan funding campaign, it is what it is I guess). But having a Clock Tower-esque game to look forward to again, let alone from the original series creator and with several talented people behind it, has me incredibly excited.
ninjablade
Banned
they need to make an evil with in 2 with a more refined engine and solid 30fps. i thought the game was amazing. my first game on ps4. going back to it now, holy shit do i notice how bad the framerate and graphics are.
More_Badass
Member
Dusk, you read horror novels too? You might like this horror novel. Picked it up on my Nook last month
The Deep - Nick Cutter
It doesnt have the sci-fi angle or PKD inspiration, but it does have a claustrophobic research station on the oppressively dark ocean floor where horrible horrible things are happening and an apocalyptic fate that the scientists are trying to avert. The author does a really good job at capturing that isolation and tension and the dangerous pressure.
The Deep - Nick Cutter
It doesnt have the sci-fi angle or PKD inspiration, but it does have a claustrophobic research station on the oppressively dark ocean floor where horrible horrible things are happening and an apocalyptic fate that the scientists are trying to avert. The author does a really good job at capturing that isolation and tension and the dangerous pressure.
Dusk Golem
A 21st Century Rockefeller
Good news, Tango hired last year for people in expertise of Unreal Engine stuff. Tango said before Evil Within released that they wanted to turn Evil Within into a franchise if possible, not a one-off game. The end of Evil Within and some of the clues in the DLC point at things to come. Evil Within sold pretty decently, it reportedly sold over 1 million copies in its first month. During last E3, Bethesda featured Evil Within as one of their big IPs, and as an IP that would get future support for modding stuff on consoles, which is a good sign.
The last Evil Within DLC even teased especially strongly of things to come. I would say it is very, very likely Tango is working on Evil Within 2. I liked the first game a lot, but a few things they can learn from the original certainly. I liked the DLC too, while stealth-based it had stuff in it that was actually scary, far more atmospheric and scarier than the main game, which is promising.
Less often than I play horror games and watch horror movies, but most certainly. Horror enthusiast, I consume it in its many forms, though much less knowledgeable on them compared to movies, or especially games.
But I'm going to take the recommendation, $10 is not bad and you sold me on it, so I'll give it a read.
Plague Doctor
Member
Condemned: Criminal Origins needs to make a return. Maybe not continuing where the plot went towards the second half of the sequel.
Holy shit, this is huge! How did I not know about this? Thanks for the info!
Dusk Golem
A 21st Century Rockefeller
The game in general has been woefully under-reported on and overlooked, just barely squeezed by its Kickstarter goal to make a PC version (it was at $300,000, though). They have been posting updates to Kickstarter people recently, but not much public news, so maybe it'll pick up.
He's doing the creature design for NightCry. At the moment, they've only shown one creature, the Scissorwalker, is what it's called. We know there's other stalkers in the game, but this is the 'main' stalker, and obviously the Clock Tower-inspired one since it has huge scissors. Here's some sketches of it though:
Those above are all done by Ito, These two are done by the main concept artist for the game (Ito is the creature designer):
slavesnyder
Member
I sign this. With blood.
Shadowhaxor
Member
I hope so. I completely enjoyed The Evil Within.The DLC with Julie was fantastic, though I was not a fan of the last DLC release.
burned.
Lady Siara
Member
While it isn't on consoles, Banned Memories looks great. No idea if it's staying as a free game or not as I'm not sure how closely it pulls from its inspiration.
MekaDragon
Member
Yeah, no.
Thanks for this! Bunch of games there I've already forgotten or never even heard about.
What do we know about NightCry in terms of mechanics? I know it is spiritual successor to Clock Tower but does that mean there will be panic/sanity meter? Main gameplay seems to be still run and hide while being unarmed or having only stuff that stuns or slows the stalker down.
Unfortunately not funded on Kickstarter
Man I hate when people post this kind of gifs and never say the source.
In case anyone is wondering the name of the game is Song of Horror.
Messofanego
Banned
MarcoZombieCannon
Member
I'll echo the sentiment of wanting more third person survival horror games.
And yeah, Outlast 2 is this year, but I don't really have high hopes given how predictable and rote the first game got. Predictable event flags out the ass.
And yeah, Outlast 2 is this year, but I don't really have high hopes given how predictable and rote the first game got. Predictable event flags out the ass.
Messofanego
Banned
What was the last successful thirdperson survival horror game that didn't have too much action combat? If they're not financially viable, why would publishers greenlight such expensive productions?
More_Badass
Member
SatoAilDarko
Member
Console makers like having a variety of exclusives. See Nintendo continuing to greenlight Fatal Frame games.
You must be mistaken, there was no sequel.
Muppet of a Man
Member
Thank you. Was going to post the same exact response.
BLUElightCory
Member
Totally agree. A fresh storyline with the same overall vibe would be a great thing. Condemned 2 really well off the rails towards the end.
Caipirinha
Member
Wait whaaaaaat?
Caipirinha
Member
Along with DS2, truly brilliant.
I think this gen is going really well but I am still waiting for a new series with the impact that DS had. I feel like we're running on reboots and sequels right now.
plasmawave
Banned
Outlast is more like a horror stealth game than a survival horror.
JumpCancel
Banned
I've been looking forward to FM since it was announced, but everywhere I look it seems the developers have gone rather quiet. Is there any update after their IOS release? I want it on PC damn it, it looks great.
pettson3816
Member
..and i'm still here crying about Silent Hills. Too good to be true i guess..
I'm not super qualified to comment on it since I just watched a full LP of episode 1, but it seemed really strong especially for iOS. The only thing that seemed off was the combat. It seemed pretty Silent Hilly in that it was just hitting enemies over and over with not much effort needed. Hitboxes were also a little weird on shooting, but that's all I found weird about it. I would think a Director's Cut and releasing on modern consoles would help it out too with the little problems.
They said an official release of the directors cut is said to be announced in the coming weeks and that was back on Dec 24th. I imagine we'll get an announcement before the end of February if we're going with that comment.