>used to play survival horror games (RE, FF, etc) and loved them
>from last gen think they suck and aren't scary at all
>at first think it's just because I'm older
>emulate Silent Hill 2 and start playing today
>it's fucking terrifying
So why do survival horror games suck dick now? Is it because of the lack of "tank controls" in modern games that allow for scarier angles? Is it because most survival horror games that are made now are made by western developers and Japanese are just naturally better at making horror games? Is it due to a lack of good ambient soundtracks (I literally can't remember one scary track from TLOU)
Can the Survival Horror genre be saved?
>>321855429
No, the genre is dead. Only RE4 clones for posterity.
>>321856302
Which is rather unfortunate. RE4 was a fun game at the time but I really hate that everything is essentially RE4 "lite" now. I'll admit that I played Dead Space on release and was scared at first, but once I realized the game was literally "If there's a vent there's a monster!" and that the starting pistol/plasma cutter was insanely OP it lost all tension.
>>321856516
It lost tension for me immediately when I realised how easy it is to melee the enemies to death. Except that invincible one that chases you around with easily exploited pathfinding.
I still can't believe people told me that game is scary.
Anyone play the Evil Within? I never picked it up but thought it looked kind of cool. Was it scary?
>>321856516
I really didnt play SH for the scary factor and I love the series, even have Book of memories. What made them special for me was the art direction, the atmosphere and the story. OnlyBloodbornehas given me hope for something with that density in its world and level design.
>>321856907
It's basically "horror tropes: the game."
It's real middling. Like a muddled RE4 retread.
>>321856907
I thought it was alright action-wise, but I don't recall too many genuine scares.
There were some invisible enemies that made me jump when they were introduced.
>>321855429
>it because most survival horror games that are made now are made by western developers and Japanese are just naturally better at making horror games? Is it due to a lack of good ambient soundtracks
sort of these two, but not directly. if you learn about people like takayoshi sato and others who worked in team silent you'll see how they thought of everything. every element they put into the game was put in for a specific artistic reason, every element was considered on "deeper level" in one way or another. that doesn't mean the game is without its problems, because of course their implementations couldn't be perfect in every way. but still there is a consistent and strong artistic vector pointing the direction for everything. most games just lack that and design (of anything) is considered from a really simplistic emotional level. like "it's addicting to collect things" "if the player goes off the path a bit let's reward them for 'exploring'" "the character needs to be scary, so let's make them look angry". that's probably a bit simpler than it is, but it seems design elements in many games are only considered on a pretty superficial level.
read sato's article here on characters just to see how he considers them:
http://www.gamasutra.com/view/feature/4283/the_dust_of_everyday_life_the_art_.php?print=1
>>321856907
it's not really scary. pretty fun though, i think, with some good tense moments.
>SH2
>scary
>let alone 'terrifying'
>>321857792
Looks like an interesting read, thanks! I wish konami would sell their IPs to someone who actually wants to make vidya now.
>>321858129
What would you consider a scary game then friend? Please tell me FNAF so we can all laugh at you.
has anyone played dreadout? its an asian horror game but i havent tried it yet.
>>321858294
SH1 and 3
>>321858294
I agree with him
SH2 is more of a depressive story. SH1 or SH4 have more horror.
>>321858549
i played a demo long ago. pretty spooky.
actually i'll probably just buy it now, it's only like 4 bucks on steam at the moment.
>>321858294
SH1 and 3 are more scary then SH2. SH2 is more depressing and atmospheric then downright loud scary like 1 and 3.
Dead space1 was the last great horror game. Don't even try to be a contrarian fag
>>321859349
Dead Space was a mediocre action game with a horror aesthetic.
How can you be scared when you're a brute in a robot suit who can stomp every enemy to pieces with ease?
>>321859349
DS is not scary. It's basically an action game with jump scares.
>>321858595
>>321858829
I think SH3 was weaker story-wise, but the hospital section had some of the scariest bits in the whole series. Stanley had me on the edge of my seat.
Friday night at freddys or amnesia is way better yoou weeb.
>>321855429
>emulate silent hill 2
What the hell are you doing? The SH2 PC port is flawless.
>>321862816
i had big audio problems last time i played the silent hill 2 pc version myself.
>>321863358
Ah yeah, that's a problem with multicore CPUs. You can fix that by limiting the game to one core.
>>321856907
It's fun, like most of re4 clones, but not scary>>321856974
>finding games scary
grow up
at best they can give you a jump scare
>>321858829
I thought SH2 was beyond scary right at the beginning. There are a lot of spooky monsters making all sorts of strange noises and scuttling around like cockroaches but they're not actually out to get you, which is the scariest part. Then you have to explore the hotel in almost pitch black conditions before you get the flashlight. But after that it's not very spooky and even gets really dumb/goofy when they start flinging monsters at you over the side of the road.
SH3 wasn't scary at all to me because even killing a good chunk of the monsters my pockets were always overflowing with bullets. And the weird industrial sound playing was just like a monster alarm, even if you couldn't see them you could just keep swinging away until the noise stops and you realize you're 100% safe again.
Oh, and it's not recent but recently I was playing Echo Night Beyond and would recommend it. It's so spooky wandering through this long abandoned space station with only the ambient sound of creaking machinery and your own heartbeat. You rely on using security cameras to plot out a course that lets you stealth past ghosts in upcoming areas and even then things tend to go poorly because they're ghosts and can sneak up on you even when you think you're safe. Part of the neat thing is that most of the ghosts are actually friendly and will help you along if you can help them, but there's this mysterious fog that makes them incredibly violent. Early on it turns out that you can make areas safe by opening vents to channel it elsewhere but as you go deeper into the facility all the fog you've been sending down there starts to add up making those places extra dangerous.
>>321863919
>It's fun, like most of re4 clones
How is TEW a RE4 clone when it was literally made by the man who made RE4?FEAR showed that some people just aren't scared of scary things if you give them high powered weaponry.
Would a survival horror RPG like sweet home work again? It sounds fun
>>321855429
It's the atmosphere senpai. The SH games are top notch at this.
>>321859349
I liked the DS seriesEven 3,somewhat
But, the main game was predictable jump scares.
This could lead to some tense situations, but not really horror.
The closest to horror DS gets is the implications of the markerhead death cult, which kinda gets shit on in the sequels, with the whole mind-controlling machine of eldrich evil.And then 3 makes Space Ry'leh absolutely boring...
>>321864663
Because it has most of the same enemy types, the upgrade system is the same, and weapons work pretty much the same way as RE4. The big differences are no inventory and "infinte" grenades. You could almost think of it like RE4.5
>>321864663
Scary things generally aren't scary when you can kill them.
Especially when you can do it quickly from a reasonable distance.
>>321865069
>Scary things generally aren't scary when you can kill them.
I'd argue Fear: Perseus Mandate was scary despite the fact you're a walking supersoldier with the ability to slow time. It's about presentation. An FPS game set in the Silent Hill universe would be scary, but not in the sense Silent Hill fans want their games to be scary. Scary because popping light bulbs and jump scares, not because "hammer button to weakly flail metal pole".
Dark Souls can be a pretty scary game at times
>>321866410
souls fags
pls...
I got this game in a $2 bin at a pawn shop years ago. Played it for maybe an hour and got bored. Is it worth actually playing?
>>321858595
>>321858829
I cant believe I managed to beat silent hill back when it was released.I was maybe 10 years old and I played it in the dark because I was recommended to.
The game had a real impact in my life,I'm forever nostalgic at foggy small soulless town scenery.
>>321866472
I'm serious. First time encountering the basiliks in the sewer was pretty unnerving
>>321855429
Survival horror unfortunately is a dead genre. It's a vicious cycle, where no games are being made, so the genre is stuck in a rut in terms of ideas, but whenever a new game is made, it doesn't sell for shit. It's stagnant b/c it's dead basically.
Outcast
Amnesia
Amnesia II (not as good but decent)
100 oculus rift clones of walking simulators, several with perfect atmosphere
Alien isolation
Among the sleep
The evil within (re4 clone)
Until Dawn (Kinda disappointing but worth a playthrough)
You are all just elitists. Write your own script for a horror anything and see how lame and cliche everything you come up with is.
>>321866885
To be completely honest, I blame meme Indie games like Amnesia, Slenderman, FN@F etc. The only "survival horror" games now that see a return on profit are the fucking retarded meme horror games like these that are made specifically so people can stream them for their LP youtube channels.
tl;dr Indie faggots and LPers murdered survival horror.
Man, PT silent hill scared the shit outta me. If only that came out...
>>321867117
A similar game will come soon. Do some research on the dude who made it (Hideo something? I can't remember)
>>321862816
PC has inferior lighting, less fog and sometimes shitty Audio. Emulating it (and using upscale texture packs etc) via PCSX2 is objectively better.
>>321867061
>Amnesia, Slenderman, FN@F etc. The only "survival horror" games now that see a return on profit are the fucking retarded meme horror games like these that are made specifically so people can stream them for their LP youtube channels
>Amnesia
>meme game
Maybe retroactively, but when it came out pewdiepoo wasn't even a thing yet. It probably was the one the started the fad though.
>>321867034
>outcast
>amnesia
They're fun in their own way, but they're not strictly survival horror because you have no way to defend yourself. Also zero replay value.
>alien isolation
Similar thing until you get the flamethrower, then it's just "explore and scare the alien away every once in a while" simulator.
>the evil within
Yeah, this one fits the bill more or less.
>until dawn
Hardly.
>>321867282
Show me screenshots where this actually happens. The lighting in the PC version is top notch, there's less fog because there is no need to reduce the number of shown objects when running on PC, and the audio problem I've explained already is tied to multicore CPUs, and is easily fixed.
