Love some survivor horror?
Most gamers are no stranger to survival horror games, but serious survival horror fans know why this genre reigns supreme. Check out the five reasons why we love our survival horror games.
5. The Need to Survive
If put in a life threating situation people will naturally want to survive. Most of us don’t want to schedule running away from an ax murder into our days, so we test our will to live in a fabricated reality.
Survival horror games will task players will completing certain requirements if they want to live. Not only will players participate in the most intense game of hide-and-seek of their lives, but they might also need to fulfill basic survival needs. In games like 7 Days to Die players will need to allocate some time away from zombie killing to collect resources, craft tools, and create a shelter.
Building homes and taking down zombies
Games like Don’t Starve and How to Survive will make players take into account their hunger, thirst, and sanity. While Project Zomboid will have players struggle to keep their characters from falling into depression and additions.
These games give us the perfect outlet to see if we have what it takes to survive.
4. We Love to Get Scared
Horror gamers love a good scare, but it takes a lot to scare a veteran player.
We survival horror fans seek out the scariest thrills. When we turn off the system we know that we are safe from hordes of zombies, space monsters, and other nightmare inducing entities. Survival horror games fill our need for excitement and satisfy our morbid curiosity.
Robbie the Rabbit makes all of our theme park dreams come true
While horror games aren’t for everyone, fans of the genre accept the terror. These gamers are brave people, willing to seek answers and obtain salvations in situations where others would be frozen with fear.
There’s nothing like a good scare.
3. Fun with Friends
Gaming is always better with friends, but horror gaming with friends is something on a whole other level. While party games are plenty fun and can sometimes get intense, horror gaming in a group isn’t to be missed out on.
Whether you and your friends are playing a single player or multiplayer game, it’s going to be a good time for everyone. If playing a single player game like Silent Hill or Dead Space then you and your friends can see who can go the longest without getting terrified and killed. Pass the controller with each death and see who reigns supreme.
The gang’s ready for some slaughter
While playing a multiplayer game like Left 4 Dead or Dead Island you’ll need to rely on your friends like never before. Good teamwork and coordination will yield great results and plenty of zombie deaths.
Now you can see who’s got the most skill and guts in one gaming session.
2. Great Stories
Survival horror games offer some of the most intense and amazing stories in all of gaming. These games have players utterly captivated by darkness, dread, and the unknown.
Gamers are thrown into worlds were rooms are coated with gore, crazy religious cults summon nightmarish entities, disturbed creatures destroy mindlessly, and the player if left to survive amongst the chaos, maybe even uncovering some truths along the way.
You definitely want to know the backstory behind this one
Survival horror games also offer a pretty clear dichotomy of good and evil (unless you’re playing something like Alan Wake). Players know that things like zombies and crazed cults (a la Silent Hill) are baddies, and should be taken down. When the player knows that they are the ones who need to take down the ultimate form of evil, they have the greatest motivation.
What other games can give players such an intense adrenaline rush?
1. Unique Gameplay
Survival horror games offer players some of the most unique gameplay.
Each horror game introduces players to a different playstyle that players must adapt to if they want to survive. In Among the Sleep players take control of a toddler and play with the perspective and imagination of a child. Amnesia: The Dark Descent has a similar type of vulnerability. Players are helpless against the game’s monsters and this game utilizes its detailed environments to tell a story.
He’s so happy to see you
Outlast focuses on fast moment and creates a sensation of urgency in players as the game never lets them feel safe. If we look towards a classic like System Shock 2, we can see how it advanced RPG elements in horror games. The list could go on and on because there are so many great games that offer players a wholly unique and exciting gameplay experience.
Do you agree with the list? If you are a lover of survival horror comment below with what you love the most about these games and check out the following horror articles!
11 Most Terrifying Video Game Monsters
10 Things Every Horror Game Needs to be Good
10 New Horror Games to Scare Your Pants off in 2015
