The Sudden Rebirth of Survival Horror

The next-gen survival horror is creeping in. This article was triggered by the announcement of Silent Hill 2 remake. Then I realized that Alone in the Dark, Resident Evil 4 and Dead Space are also returning. I also would like to mention another game at the end. But first we take a look at some of the returning survival horror games for the PS5, Series X/S, and PC.

Alone in the Dark

Emily Hartwood’s uncle is missing. She enlists the aid of private investigator Edward Carnby. Together they journey to the Derceto Manor, a place for the mentally ill. However both encounter strange residents, and a lurking evil (see what I did there?). They fight for their survival with the supernatural while solving the disappearance of Emily’s uncle.

Alone in the Dark is considered to be the progenitor of 3D survival horror. The (1992) Alone in the Dark’s fixed camera inspired Shinji Mikami’s (1996) Resident Evil. At least we know that there is a survival horror element with a fixed camera. While the latest Alone in the Dark entries were not as mainstream popular, I welcome this new and upcoming reboot of Alone in the Dark. The remake apparently will make use of the over shoulder cam. However the enemies involved in the game will dwell more in the supernatural. The title is due for a fresh start anyway. I wish that the remake will keep us up to speed for Alone in the Dark and capture a new audience.

Dead Space

Isaac Clarke is a systems engineer part of a search and rescue team docking USG Ishimura. He receives a message from his girlfriend, Nicole, before her ship had gone radio silent. After docking, mutated corpse called necromorphs overrun their rescue ship and he must fight with his mining tools to survive.

Dead Space is a dark and visceral survival game set in space. It distinguished itself apart from the gore in Doom 3 or the horror of past third-person survival horror games. Moreover, the horror unleashed was new when Dead Space came out in 2008. Certainly the game set a standard on the survival horror with its gore elements and story. A trilogy followed. Will the remake hold up? Will we see a female protagonist for Dead Space? I’d play the remake as an entry (or a re-entry) to the series.

The Silent Hills… sort of.

Silent Hill f is an entirely new storyline and a prequel to the Silent Hill timeline. The game is set in Japan during the Showa period (hence the prequel). But Nothing specific is mentioned how this will tie in to Silent Hill, Maine – or The Order. The thematic main antagonist in the game is the fear present in beauty. Based on the trailer, the fleeing girl succumbs to the vividly colored flowers and ends up as an empty shell.

Silent Hill: Ascension is a unique pitch for the franchise. The trailer shows text messages about certain danger. These texts – supposedly – will shape how the story will unfold in Ascension. So it sounds like a game with many endings. Or a streaming platform with involving the audience’s participation. The latter sounds bad when left to random people. We’ll have to wait to know more about what makes Ascension Silent Hill. I do remember hearing this pitch about the cancelled Silent Hills would have the game sending you real-time text messages on your phone.

Silent Hill Townfall is a new game with a trailer tease with cryptic messages and images. Frankly I still know nothing much about it and we’ll know more in 2023. The teaser only presents the overarching tone and possible theme of the game.

After P.T., the world wondered about Silent Hill. Konami went quiet. In fact, I started to think that I may never see a new Silent Hill game anymore. Then suddenly we get this influx of Silent Hill titles. Is it too much? It’s silly to complain at this point. Frankly, any upcoming Silent Hill game in the market sounds fine.

Silent Hill 2 Remake

James Sunderland receives a letter from his deceased wife Mary, saying that she waits for him in their “special place” in Silent Hill. James recognizes that the letter was written with Mary’s handwriting, and remembers a promise they made to each other in Silent Hill. Confused about the letter, James goes to Silent Hill to find out who is responsible for writing the letter.

I’m honestly hyped, enough said. The revamped character design, the next-gen atmosphere, the new engine, everything looks updated and worth the playthrough. I know we’re about to be cautious about the gameplay, but that goes for all games anyway. Konami seems fully supporting, marketing, and publishing their new Silent Hill ventures. In addition, there is a planned Maria Statue (Gecco) collectible.

I’m still hung over the possibility of Silent Hills. What a scary game that could have been. Which reminds me, are we going to see a Silent Hill VR game?

Resident Evil 4

Leon Kennedy is tasked to search for Ashley Graham, the US President’s daughter who went missing in Europe. Upon reaching a mysterious village, Leon faces zombies and monstrosities caused by this new Las Plaga virus. Now Leon must stop the Plaga and rescue Ashley before the virus infects the world.

Honestly, Resident Evil 4 needs no introduction. Resident Evil 4 was the next-gen RE on PS2; furthermore it’s the Resident Evil that departed from using the fixed camera. It has influenced every Resident Evil siblings except for Ethan’s storylines! The graphics look great. Both Leon and Ashley look revamped (while staying true to their original). I’m hyped for this remake as I’ve played tons of RE4 before.

Dino Crisis is waving at you

It baffles me why Capcom doesn’t want to resurrect Dino Crisis. For the record, Dino Crisis is worth mentioning. A dino survival horror game is a winner in my books. Despite Dino Crisis 3 being totally lacking, we can argue that it wasn’t a true sequel because Regina (or even Dylan) was missing. Until now my curiosity is searching for a viable Dino Crisis 3 copy.

It doesn’t matter if Dino Crisis is labeled as Resident Evil with dinosaurs. Shinji Mikami conceived both. So of course Resident Evil and Dino Crisis would have their similarities namely the fixed camera and pre-rendered backgrounds. Its overarching theme is still a survival horror game with dinosaurs. Period. Dino Crisis has a clever (yet confusing) story and Regina is still a memorable heroine – worth revisiting. I mean Capcom can give clarity to the story and bring back Regina with a remake. Other games like Instinction, The Isle, and Lost Wild are a few games in the dino-survival genre. But maybe this fan-remake will throw a bucket of cold water to a sleeping Capcom.