Summary
Horror games continued their evolution (which truly began back on the PS1) on Sony’sthird foray into the console business. As developers and players alike began to seek more realism in their games, the graphical fidelity of the PlayStation 3 was starting to be able to oblige.
As reliable as the third-person perspective was for most of the PS2’s horror catalog, the PS3 allowed for varied views of their more horrifically meticulous models and environments. That attention to detail, of course, extended to the genre’s staple blood and gore. Regardless of how traumatizing even the earliest PS3 horror games ended up being, some of them have still been forgotten.
InVampire Rain: Altered Species, vampires havecovertly invaded the United States, and it’s up to John Lloyd and his team of secret agents to stop them from taking over. Through stealth gameplay, the player must make their way through the streets of Los Angeles, wading through a sea of deadly monsters that can tear Lloyd apart in no time.
The game was originally released for the Xbox 360 in 2006 before being ported to the PS3 the following year. However, the extra year seemed to do nothing for what critics saw as boring stealth gameplay that had been done leagues better in games likeMetal Gear Solid. Couple the poor reception with the merging of the studio that made it, Artoon, with AQ Interactive,and what’s leftis a series that has no hope of a second chance.
The final game in theSirenseries,Siren: Blood Curseis not a sequel, but more of aredo of the first game. It keeps the setting of the original but adds detail and more robust gameplay that probably couldn’t have been done on the previous console generation. Like the first game, play as multiple characters working to escape the village of Hanuda while attempting to overcome its curse that’s keeping them in a time loop.
Siren: Blood Cursewas a critical success for many of the same reasons that the first game in the series was, being truly frightening in part because of its impeccable sound design. This would be the last time the franchise has been heard from, however, as the team behind it would move on to the arguably more recognizableGravity Rushseries.
Visual Novels are something of a niche genre in the West, and for that reason,Imabikisōwas never brought over from Japan. However, it was well received there, having been co-produced by Taka Ichise who also produced horror movie classics likeRinguandJu-On: The Grudge.With a powerhouse Ichise on board, it made for a story that resonated incredibly well with fans who managed to get their hands on it.
The story revolves around some college students investigating the correlation between a hot new drug and several mysterious deaths happening in their town. While the game was released on iOS in 2012, it wasnever serialized in the States. The developer, Chunsoft, would go on to merge with Spike and make the rather popularDanganronpaseries, making the return toImabikisōeven less likely.
Video games and book authors have a long history of crossovers. Clive Barker was no stranger to the idea by 2007, being a prolific author who also worked on game adaptations of his films,Nightbreed, as well asUndying.Clive Barker’sJerichois an FPS that tells the story of an abomination created by God, and The Department of Occult Warfare’s fight to keep it from being unleashed on the world.
Players are given control of the Jericho Squad and can switch between them whenever needed as they all have particular playstyles that work in different situations. The game received middling reviews overall, with many saying that the gameplay, and in particular the enemy and squad AI, were not up to par with what was a generally interesting story. Since its release, the game has been taken down from Steam, making the prospect of anotherJerichogame all the more unlikely.
5Condemned 2: Bloodshot
Release Year: 2008
Condemned 2: Bloodshotis a sequel to the pretty well-receivedCondemned: Criminal Origins,which was released on the Xbox 360 a few years prior. Ethan Thomas is recruited to search for a missing friend who was featured prominently in the previous game but ends up stumbling into a dangerous plot to take over the masses and make them more violent.
It’s a survival horror game with an emphasis on melee combat, having the playerbrawl their way through enemies, while also periodically stopping to conduct forensic investigations.Condemned 2is the last in the series, as the studio started making games in the DC andLord of the Ringsuniverses, likeGotham City Impostersand the excellentMiddle-earth:Shadow of Mordor.
