Games That Redefined the Survival Horror Genre

There are not a whole lot of quality horror games out there since, developers and publishers feel that, the market for horror games is pretty limited, as compared to other genres. But the fact remains, that even though the fan following is pretty limited. It is loyal. Over the years, we have seen a lot of horror games come and go, but there were some, that have been able to leave their mark on our psyche. And not only that, these games have truly established themselves as milestones in the gaming industry.

Resident Evil

The franchise is one of the oldest games in the survival horror genre and was the first of its kind to attract gamers. The whole concept was fresh, original and gave the players a chance to explore a somewhat post-apocalyptic scenario, which had been overrun by the living dead. The whole idea behind the series was to give the player a chilling experience in a world with few allies and formidable enemies. The franchise has gone through a lot of facelifts, since its inception in the 90's, but hasn't lost its charm nonetheless.

The developers of the game,'Capcom' have recently made it clear, that they want to revive the game, and make it more action-oriented than survival horror. The reason behind this statement seems to be the same, as discussed in the beginning of the article. But whatever the reasons, one thing is for sure, and that is the franchise, in my opinion is not going to lose its luster anytime soon. And gamers all over the world are still eagerly awaiting the next installment in the series from the developers, which is already under production.

Silent Hill

The Silent Hill series, truly gave the survival horror genre a new innovative approach. And unlike Resident Evil, the Silent Hill franchise actually tapped into the gamers psyche, and introduced them to a world of true horror. Developed by 'Konami', the first title in the series came out in the year 1999 for the PlayStation, and established itself as a tough competitor. Silent Hill was not your typical run-of-the-mill horror game, the game's amazing use of narrative, character progression and the-never-seen-before monsters were enough to give anyone, sleepless nights. Even today, the game has massive fan following, and the latest game in the series titled 'Silent Hill Downpour' has a rating of 7.5 on a leading online gaming magazine, which is pretty good according to game rating standards.

Alan Wake

This game is truly a gem and to be really frank, is one of the only games of its kind. 'Remedy' has nailed the coffin with this title and everyone who has played this game, including me, will undoubtedly be vouching for it, "As a potential game of the year". Alan Wake is basically a psychological thriller, and every aspect of the game is topnotch. Although, this particular game took a whole lot of time to be released. The title was worth the wait.

The stunning visuals, amazing storyline, character progression and the chilling atmosphere is enough to engross the player and will actually make them feel, as if they are in 'Bright Falls' (The place where the story takes place). Alan Wake is all about exploration, and fighting dark forces, which seem to have overtaken the otherwise sleepy town. The game was originally meant to be released only for the Xbox 360. But, was later rolled out for the PC as well, which is pretty neat, as PC gamers would have otherwise missed out on one of the most epic games in the survival horror genre.

Although, there are a whole lot of other games that have redefined this genre of gameplay. I believe that these three games deserve to be here, not only because they are amazing, but because they had something new to offer... Something fresh, inspiring and creative, which I am sure, will offer inspiration to a whole new breed of game designers and developers in the near future.

The author of this article Ankan Bose is a freelance editor/copywriter and is the co-owner of a humor blog [http://www.crazyweedia.com]. He is an avid gamer and provides freelance writing services for websites and blogs.

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