The legend ofResident Evil 4is known to all gamers, and although it’s one of the most re-released installments in the franchise, players may find the graphics and gameplay dated.Since theResident Evil 2 Remakein 2019blew fans' expectations out of the water, the question was, when will Capcom make aResident Evil 4 Remake?
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Fast-forward to 2023 and gamers are only a few short weeks away from release and in that time between players have had a slew of excellentsurvival horrors. Here are some of thebest to play before or after theResident Evil 4 Remake.
10Resident Evil 2 Remake
Resident Evil 2 Remakeis the start of Leon S. Kennedy’s journey through hell in Raccoon City. It’s also the start of the franchise’s remakes. So what better game to understand the history ofResident Evil 4 Remakethan to delve into this title.It’s Leon Kennedy’s first day on the job as a police officer, which also happens to be the day there’s a zombie outbreak plaguing the whole city. Discover the secrets of Umbrella Corp. whilst having a really rough first day.
Raccoon Police Department is an astonishing house of horror to experience for any survival horror fans. The claustrophobic and winding hallways, the complex yet intricate layout of the building, and of course the lurking Mr. X who’s an undefeatable towering figure of doom that stalks players. An excellent modernResident Eviltitle.
9Alien: Isolation
As sleek as the Xenomoprh’s cranium in design and execution,Alien: Isolationis the one game for the franchise that truly has fans' excitement bursting from the chest… Definitely the excitement. Play as Amanda Ripley looking for mom Ellen Ripley after a distress signal from the Nostromo reveals the possible whereabouts. This may be the most passive survival horror on this list, due to the stalking Xenomorph being indestructible.
However, the cat-and-mouse players have to engage with the Xenomorph’s AI is intoxicating. No game will thrust players into an established world quite likeAlien: Isolation. Where it fails in combat, makes up in spades with atmosphere and dread that won’t be shaken till the credits.
8The Evil Within
Shinji Mikami directed the originalResident EvilandResident Evil 4, but Mikami’s survival horror efforts were dormant for almost 10 years untilThe Evil Within. It’s unfair to compare this game with one of the greatest to ever do it, but it definitely lives in the shadow, despite being a return to form for Mikami. Though, if players dare to lurk, a visceral, cerebral, and sometimes cheesy game awaits.
The gameplay leans into the old-school roots, but it’s part of the charm. Detective Sebastian Castanallos is called to the scene of a mass murder case at Beacon Mental Hospital, only to be transported to another world in the process. Sebastian has to fight inside the mind of a serial killer to escape the clutches and solve the case. Blistering difficulties, memorable bosses and disturbing imagery makes this survival horror timepiece well worth a playthrough.
7Saturnalia
Saturnaliais an unsettling new entry in the survival horror genre becausethe core mechanic is that it’s a roguelite. Players follow four different characters who have either come back or are still in Sardinia despite having a bad relationship with the place. Players meet the characters on the night of the Saturnalia festival, being set up for sacrifice. Escaping Sardinia is only half the journey, however.
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Players discover clues and items about the history ofSaturnalia, unraveling a web of mystery tied to the locals, the festival, and the creature. The roguelite twist is, if players get game over, the whole map changes. This means every key area, items, and even safe spaces are never where it used to be. It’s the true horror of the game and a unique experience overall. If that wasn’t bad enough, there is also a creature that hunts players down relentlessly, so there’s never a moment of calm.
A painstaking recreation of a modern classic,Dead Space Remakeis the new definitive way to experience the game. Overhauled visuals, enhancements made to the story, and tweaks seen in the sequels make theDead Space Remakeoutstanding. Players control Isaac Clarke, an engineer who’s on a search and rescue mission on a mining ship, only to find dead crew members reanimated into necromorphs from the power of a malicious entity known as The Marker.
Isaac Clarke is a more active participant aboard the USG Ishimura, with dialogue and believable motives to be tearing the necromorphs limb from limb. Immersive sound design and awe-inspiring lighting breathe new life (and death) into the gamemaking it a contender as the best remake of a survival horror game.
5Resident Evil 7: Biohazard
The clue is in the title,Biohazardis the original Japanese title forResident Evil, andResident Evil 7is the return to form for the series. An argument could be made thatthis game is the reason fanshave now seen three remakes and a sequelto this entry. Players will meet Ethan Winters whose looking for his long-lost wife in an abandoned plantation where the Baker family resides, who are infected by a strange mold.
Although the first-person perspective is new to the franchise, as well as a whole new cast of characters.RE7: Biohazardwent back to its roots more than ever. Slow, methodical pacing building tension. A skin-crawling family, with each member tapping into a different variant of fear. This is undoubtedly the scariest in the franchise and a real treat for survival horror fans.
Dead by Daylightis not a conventional pick for survival horrors,as it is a 1v4 asymmetrical horror multiplayer. But there is something special about the game that could be overlooked. From the survivor’s perspective, this is a nightmarish trial to escape a player-controlled killer with a unique set of skills to kill. Players have to fix five generators before unlocking the escape gate, all the while evading the killer.
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It’s this aspect that brings players the closest to personally surviving a horror. And with twoResident Evilchapters now in the game, with Nemesis and Wesker as killers and Leon, Jill, Ada, and Rebecca as survivors (with further characters as skins in the game). Players can have a wholly new and terrifying experience with the RE franchise.
3Outlast 2
Secluded village? Check. Mysterious and frightening cult? Check. Roundhouse kicks? Sadly not. However,Outlast 2and the series, in general, have a reputation for being some of the scariest games. Players control Blake Langerrmann, a journalist investigating the mysterious death of a pregnant woman only known as Jane Doe. Blake flies to a desert in Arizona for this case, only to mysteriously crash-land, fighting to survive.
Blake is only equipped with a camcorder, which also acts as the only source of visual aid. The camcorder’s night vision consumes a finite amount of battery life. Often players will be fumbling in the dark avoiding cult members, whilst trying to look for batteries for the camcorder, and the first-person perspective makes the fear of what’s outside the peripheries harrowing. A perfect tightrope of managing resources and staying alive.
2Darkwood
Darkwoodis a fascinating premise for survival horror. Set in a forest in the Polish People’s Republic, players control an aloof protagonist from a top-down perspective. The game requires players to scavenge supplies and gather equipment before the chaos of the night begins. During the night players will have to fend off intruders trying to invade the hideout until the day starts anew.
The day/night cycle mixed with an ever-changing semi-open world means players have no help. NPCs are not to be trusted, and dialogue choices affect the outcome of the story. Ultimately it’s the player’s choices that mold the story. The use of lighting is perfectly atmospheric, a captivating survival mechanic that doesn’t spoonfeed the players, and a foreboding art style makes it a truly exciting survival horror.
1Signalis
Signalishas such a creative and vivid pixel art style drawing inspiration fromanime epics likeBlame!andGhost in the Shell. An esoteric exercise in losing loved ones and finding autonomy in self. Players control Elster, a Replicka unit android whose looking for the human counterpart on a crashed ship.
What transpires is a perfect blend of old-school survival horror with item management, scarce ammo, and labyrinthian puzzles likeResident Evil. But deep and thought-provoking messaging and themes reminiscent ofSilent Hill 2. The story is purely up to interpretation, but the highbrow subtle denotations and bold art design make it one of the best survival horrors to date.
