I play a lot of different games, like many other people who are invested in this hobby. One of my favorite genres is the horror game. I played the original Silent Hill by complete accident when I was entirely too young to be playing it, and had nightmares for a week as a result. I only managed to make it to the diner before I gave up on the game because I was too scared, and that’s an experience I won’t forget any time soon.
My next major experience with a horror game was the original F.E.A.R. While I still wasn’t very old when I played it, I was old enough to get through the entire game without giving up. That game is still a shining example of great gunplay and horrifying atmosphere to this day. My most vivid memory of the game is seeing Alma Wade crawling into the ground just outside of my flashlights peripheral vision. I’m not gonna lie; I totally screamed when that happened. It got me good, and that scare helped cement my love for horror games. But we were entering the dark ages of horror games; Silent Hills releases weren’t being well received, Dead Space moves to an action co-op game, and Resident Evil continued its trend towards action blockbuster titles.
In these dark years, Outlast was a shining example of a novel idea done well. Running from crazy humans in an insane asylum in a found-footage style was revolutionary for horror games at the time. We felt helpless again, like we all did in the original survival horror games. While the sequel to Outlast would ultimately be disappointing in my opinion, it paved the way for horror games to get back on track.
Then it happened; P.T. was released and it took everybody by surprise. The looping hallway mechanic was done disturbingly well; every subsequent loop unnerved you. The atmosphere of the game was excellent, instead of simply relying on jump scares. Instead of fighting Lisa we were on the edge of our seats, completely terrified of when our next run-in with her would be. The game was unique, and it breathed life into the stagnating horror genre. Since then, many games have attempted to replicate what P.T. did, with varying degrees of success.
In 2017, Resident Evil 7 was released and brought that series back to its roots. Much like P.T. did, RE7 brought Triple-A horror games back into the limelight. However, P.T. had the most influence on indie horror developers. So many of them were trying to replicate what P.T. had done without really realizing what it was about the game that made it work. It wasn’t about looping through a hallway with spooky stuff happening; it was about looping in a hallway with subtle changes and following the small trail of breadcrumbs the game left for you to try and figure out what was going on. The game had scares, but they were never the focus; like all the best horror movie monsters, P.T. made you scared of what could be awaiting you rather than what you saw ahead of you.
It’s a delicate balance to strike, and one that not everyone can manage. That’s perfectly fine; I don’t want to stifle genuine attempts at creativity. But I think it’s long past time for the smaller horror game studios who keep trying to replicate it to realize that P.T. came out six years ago, and it’s time for them to do their own thing. I love survival horror like Resident Evil, but we need more Alien:Isolations and Outlasts out there as well. The only way that style of game is going to move on is if more indie developers forget about P.T. and try to change the genre up again.
Talkin’ About Media 