Many are horror games and survival, but few are able to provide the experience perfectly. From Silent Hill to Layers of Fear, this is my opinion about horror games and what you need to offer a strong experience for us as players.
The late 1990s was an important stage in the history of horror games, in which we witnessed the emergence of the Resident Evil and Silent Hill series, two different stories, each with its dramatic fascination and mysterious events that led to its survival for many years to come (at least for one). ? Maybe better? Or did the developers spoil the experience?
For the Resident Evil series, the first parts were certainly the most terrifying, thanks to the first-of-its-kind gameplay, not to mention the story that was written well, but somehow lost the elements of terror and survival that we used with parts such as Operation Raccoon City, Resident Evil 6 And Umbrella Corps ... where it became somewhat just a third-person shot and shoot game on the living dead, but fortunately, the development team was able to return to the roots of the series with Resident Evil 7 through the first person perspective, and this is the first point you might want in any The game of horror and survival, a simple thing but greatly affects the method of play, it first puts you in The atmosphere of the game fully forces you to turn right and left every time you hear a sudden movement or movement, as it helps build moments of sudden anticipation that you might not expect with a third person perspective.
But hey, Silent Hill did not depend on the first person's perspective, so how could they deliver that horror experience? Well, we will compare Silent Hill with a somewhat similar game, The Evil Within, the story is somewhat similar despite a very different level of evolution of events and the direction each chain takes in general, but both depend on the perspective of the third person. Silent Hill has relied heavily on the environment around you to make you commit all the time, depending on large amounts of fog, low light, here is what is known today as psychological horror games, as you do not expect what may happen around you at any moment, The Evil Within, especially The Evil Within 2, has some levels that already include this technique, which makes you feel that you are not lonely even though you can not see anything.
Resident Evil 7 has returned to the first person's perspective, and even though the environment in which the story takes place is somewhat similar to any other horror game, it gives a feeling that something will attack you by surprise, and the game does not depend on fog or dark places. The seventh part of this series relied heavily on voices to frighten you. As ridiculous as it may seem, only voices can manipulate our brains and reactions. Many moments have made me jump out of place because of a sudden sound, It may not necessarily be an alarm, but every sound you hear in R esident Evil 7 plays an important role in the process of your fears.
Let's talk a bit about modern horror games, especially those that rely on psychological terror such as Layers of Fear. The story of the game is reflected in a psychologically troubled painter, who lives his worst nightmares in a huge Victorian palace, filled with many paintings of course. Layers of Fear is a game of stories in the first place, that is, you discover more of the events and why they occur at every level you play. The only element of horror here is in the moments of sudden jump, a natural thing in any horror game, but under the story and the environment in which it takes place, The game of horror ... I do not promise it is the best, but even with the jump moments you can expect shortly after the game started, but it is worth the experience of its ideas and strange scenarios confusing.
Outlast and Outlast 2 One of the other games that say what we're talking about, even though it is probably the most exciting and nerve-wracking horror game, it will take some time before you live an exciting moment to be chased in. But all you will do is explore a semi-deserted, Sometimes it is full of light sometimes, it does not matter, everything you see is natural, natural sounds ... until you stop expecting anything, when strange things start to happen, you'll want to hide or run away.
Outlast 2 may be the best example of horror games that do not need much to scare you, the story is simplified and does not need much of you to understand it, or is this what the game wants you to believe in? Mind manipulation is what Oultast offers, and the obvious endings are elusive here, but until then, you will live your worst moments, the horror stands directly in front of you, no need to jump here very often, and this makes me better this series than the rest of the modern horror games at least
To sum up, horror games need three elements to provide the best possible experience, a carefully designed environment that is frightening to start exploring, long moments of roaming before something happens, and most importantly, an original story. The game perspective may not be as important here as the developer's ability to achieve those points in an ideal way, but from my personal perspective the first person is much better for the reasons I mentioned Above.
