Because we people like killing things my fellow girls and bros! We always had fantasies of what it feels like to finally kill the unknown, like rather than running around, we can tell these ghost and supernatural b*tches "F**K YOU AND YOUR SCARY THINGS!" *SMASH FACES* WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!
In my humblest opinion however, i do agree with why most people's definition of Survival horror is basically dead... because we like playing as a protagonist or characters who are strong, super powerful, armed with weapons, l33t fighting skills and the ability to do some glorious glory kills, basically protagonists who aren't us. We do want to feel EXTRA STRONK and Extra sexy at the same time (Like the Doomguy, but not counting the Marine from Doom 3, no no no no no...) One of the key elements i feel in a survival horror game is the fact that in games like these, the protagonist is outclassed compared to the enemies/monsters while having to deal with purposely made lackluster face-to-face combat skills. Kinda like something i feel in Silent Hill where killing even a zombie is a chore because you aren't playing as some super strong and super sexy super soldier, but as a regular citizen. There is a feeling of dread that you don't want to fight enemies because you are lacking the means in efficiently killing them.
Its funny how the golden age of Survival Horror was from 1996 to 2004, and 2005 with the spearheading of Resident Evil 4, was the transformation that some of you are ranting about.
Doom 3 and F.E.A.R (the first game) come in mind when it comes to "SCARY GAMES WITH GUNNNNNNNNSSSSSSSSSSS!" and then I'd like to mention Slender for some reason even though this game was more of a meme in its time.
Doom 3.. what can i say about this. Doom 3 marked a change in Doom when idsoftware decided that in order to revitalize the franchise, they needed to make it a "Scary" game with shooting elements. Unlike the rest of the series (Classic Doom, and DOOM 2016) Doom 3 exchanged the run-n-gun action of the series into something that resembles "First Person Resident Evil + Aliens" where you're character doesn't feel very powerful and your enemies, save for some zombies, heavily outclass you in terms of speed and power, very akin to that of "classic survival horror" where there is that feeling of dread that you don't want to be killing enemies unless you are prepared. Some people have even mentioned that Doom 3 didn't feel like a Doom game but was more of a "1st Person Dead Space". While everyone has their opinions, Doom 3 had a special charm in it... that it made people playing it feel "DOOMED". But really, the big complaint about the game is that the game was too dark, which meant that the darkness was basically the cheap padding to enhance the fear, not to mention the very powerful enemies. I would like to honorably mention the other great part of Doom 3 and why it was really scary for a time.. Its Sound Design. Yes. Playing Doom 3 with headphones on and at Max volume was the key in getting really immersed on it. The game's sound design is what really made the game what it was.
And then we have F.E.A.R. First Encounter Assault Recon. When i first played F.E.A.R years ago, i thought it was going to be some sort of Urban Warfare tactical shooter which i didn;t mind playing. But as soon as I realized why the game was called "F.E.A.R" other than it being the acronym of the protagonist's squad, i saw why... THIS GAME IS F**KIN scary in a sense that it doesn't rely on some cheap western horror cliches or "RUNNING AROUND WITH A FLASHLIGHT CRAP" like the other game i mentioned here. What makes F.E.A.R really scary (especially for its time) was its use of Japanese/Asian style horror where it doesn't really just rely on cheap jumpscares but it relying on some psychological horror where ticks you off while building tension. Sure its hard to feel afraid when you are playing as a super powerful soldier (The Pointman) and most of the enemies that you kill in the game are basically soldiers and stuff, but the fact that the main antagonist (Alma Wade) is basically the "unkillable entity" who spends much of her time trolling you with scary moments and sh*t, it really builds on the scare factor. You can't kill her, but she can definitely kill you. When i played F.E.A.R, years ago, it did scare me. I was traumatized. F.E.A.R 1 is basically one of the best examples that I can cite as a game that has the fast-paced direct combat in your typical action game but has the scare-factor that's rarely found. The mix is incredible. Its hard these days for any game to out-do F.E.A.R's glorious mix. Even its own sequels weren't able to outdo the original game.
And then there's Slender.. well what can i say about it. This game was a meme during its time and what made it scary really wasn't the fact that its a game starring the Slenderman and there's nothing that anyone can do to kill him, but i mentioned how sound design is such an important factor in a scary game, and Slender's sound design is really strong here. The incredibly quiet atmosphere along with those ear-blasting moments really does make the squeamish of people scream or at least jump.
Honorable mention for this thread... MANHUNT! Yes MANHUNT! because survival horror doesn't just have to rely on scary monsters and icky looking zombies. Manhunt is a survival horror game on its own charm! its just involving people, but very bad people. Heck, you are playing as a deathrow inmate who's taken against their will by some fetishist film director. Its stealth based psychological horror but unlike other "Scary games" Manhunt is all about the MURDER! and its not really the kind of glorified murder that we are used to. Its literally murdering goons with some incredibly violent stealth kills that the ordinary person can literally do, hence that was the part of the controversy. Manhunt wasn't something that relied on face-to-face fighting and firearms, although they do exist those elements are purposely made lackluster as a form of negative reinforcement since Manhunt was all about the stealth murder. Its really funny how Manhunt can be scarier than all of the other games I've mentioned because it involves regular people. And in reality, regular people turned into murderous gangsters or mobsters are far more scary than any SUPERNATURAL monster there is. And the best part really is that... we can be like them, or we can kill these gansters or mobsters ourselves thus making us into vigilante murderers.. i dunno what the f**k I'm talking about but Manhunt definitely deserves a spot.
And to end my post/semi-rant and how we just have to accept the harsh reality... I think I've found a way to finally overcome my fear of playing F.E.A.R.. basically i just have to pretend I'm Corwin of SpicyWaffle, and rely on the power of manly screaming like the lunatic that I am. "COME AT ME B**CHES! I AINT AFRAID OF NO GHOST GIRL B**CH! I'm GUNNA JAM MY MURDERC*CK INSIDE OF YOU ALMA WADE!" (and if that totally sounds gross.. well it does literally happen in F.E.A.R 2 xP. Feel free to google that for your ghost-girl fetishes ladies and dudes)
Melly said we need more Survival horror games? Well we need MORE GAMES LIKE MANHUNT Because in all honestly, its more fun killing zombies and demons as a super powerful super sexy super soldier. But survival horror that actually involves regular bad people and playing as a regular person? We need more of that. As I've mentioned earlier, regular people turned into crooks and murderous gangsters are far scarier than some demons or zombies and psychological horror involving regular people are far from capitalized :V
