Resident Evil 6 Should the RE series return to horror roots
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Wake up Ne0
BSAA Mercenary
Well they already did 'try' to bring some horror elements...Thinking about Leon's campaign, the early stages of it with some tension building, but to be honest, it could have been a lot more brutal, and frightening. More sections where the partners are split up? may have helped, frantically trying to get back together, instead of side by side the whole time, as a lone character walking through a wasteland gives me more of an 'apocalyptic' feel. And i wish Re could stray towards this more.
There are glimmers of hope, from using zombies again. these could be a lot scarier. I dont think they should swing weapons or fire guns. More hordes of zombies, shambling towards and doing more damage, when they do hit.
A few highlights, leons cathedral fight, first time i saw the beeman with Chris campaign, fighting with Carla, the chasing carla through the neo umbrella complex was good. Also Adas campaign was pretty good with some tense moments.
i also feel the AI and enemies need some major upgrading. Theres certain Javos and mutated enemies that just stand around until you go near them. In fact, i was surprised how easy the game was during my first playthrough( On veteran difficulty, solo, with little ammo and learning skills) in some sections i could simply run tto a door and hit B, far too easy, the enemies are much more in numbers and need to work more as a team, if there is 30 enemies in a section and only one of me, why do half of them stand around like they don't care
There are glimmers of hope, from using zombies again. these could be a lot scarier. I dont think they should swing weapons or fire guns. More hordes of zombies, shambling towards and doing more damage, when they do hit.
A few highlights, leons cathedral fight, first time i saw the beeman with Chris campaign, fighting with Carla, the chasing carla through the neo umbrella complex was good. Also Adas campaign was pretty good with some tense moments.
i also feel the AI and enemies need some major upgrading. Theres certain Javos and mutated enemies that just stand around until you go near them. In fact, i was surprised how easy the game was during my first playthrough( On veteran difficulty, solo, with little ammo and learning skills) in some sections i could simply run tto a door and hit B, far too easy, the enemies are much more in numbers and need to work more as a team, if there is 30 enemies in a section and only one of me, why do half of them stand around like they don't care
Hel
Goddess of the Dead
The Carla boss fight was creepy, indeed... but that's about it.
To me, it seems like Capcom just can't do it anymore. Before the game's release, Leon's campaign was supposed to go back to the roots while the other two, especially Chris's, were going to focus more on action... which is ironic, considering that Chris is the one who started the horror franchise while it was Leon who brought the action in.
And what did we get? The first half of Leon's first chapter is somewhat scary (although artificially so, if you ask me), but then it turns into a shooter just like all the others. In Tall Oaks alone, there are five or six points, if not more, where your objective is to kill a certain amount of enemies or stay alive for a certain period of time before you can proceed. This doesn't sound like stuff from a horror game. Add to that the enormous amount of cutscene action (for example Leon and Helena running from explosions, jumping out of moving vehicles, trying not to fall out of a flying plane, etc.) and you get a campaign which in fact has more action than Chris's, the only difference being that zombies (usually) don't shoot back.
In the end, Leon is still the action figure we got to know in RE4, but Chris is not the good old RE1's horror survivor anymore, and so, except for a few little scenes, there's no more horror in the game at all. I'm not saying that this is a bad thing, it's just different. But before I can say whether or not I want the old-school horror back (which I do, although certain changes would have to be made), I'd like to know if our friends at Capcom are still able to deliver it.
To me, it seems like Capcom just can't do it anymore. Before the game's release, Leon's campaign was supposed to go back to the roots while the other two, especially Chris's, were going to focus more on action... which is ironic, considering that Chris is the one who started the horror franchise while it was Leon who brought the action in.
And what did we get? The first half of Leon's first chapter is somewhat scary (although artificially so, if you ask me), but then it turns into a shooter just like all the others. In Tall Oaks alone, there are five or six points, if not more, where your objective is to kill a certain amount of enemies or stay alive for a certain period of time before you can proceed. This doesn't sound like stuff from a horror game. Add to that the enormous amount of cutscene action (for example Leon and Helena running from explosions, jumping out of moving vehicles, trying not to fall out of a flying plane, etc.) and you get a campaign which in fact has more action than Chris's, the only difference being that zombies (usually) don't shoot back.
In the end, Leon is still the action figure we got to know in RE4, but Chris is not the good old RE1's horror survivor anymore, and so, except for a few little scenes, there's no more horror in the game at all. I'm not saying that this is a bad thing, it's just different. But before I can say whether or not I want the old-school horror back (which I do, although certain changes would have to be made), I'd like to know if our friends at Capcom are still able to deliver it.
Flipqy42
Nevermore
They probably can return to horror, but with the popularity of shooter games, it might be awhile. Besides, they cannot do what they did with the originals, because that's not scary enough anymore. Nowadays, everyone is desensitized to horror and violence, so if RE what's to be horror-filled, it's going to have to very intense.
JujuLodestar
Lurking is my jam.
I wouldn't mind but i don't think they should
While there are fans who love the original nowadays everyone wants action which will most likely overshadow RE's Horror Vibe
While there are fans who love the original nowadays everyone wants action which will most likely overshadow RE's Horror Vibe
Wake up Ne0
BSAA Mercenary
Lol thats a little extreme but I think they could learn stuff from other games like dead island and left 4 dead. Not that their horror, but if they want to do co-op action style game, I like the explorative element in games dead island, fallout..possibly for next gen something bigger and more open, apocalyptic style with zombies and up the difficulty level a lot. For a game to be scary it needs to be much harder and more frustrating imo !
Nashtalia
B.S.A.A. Agent
as some one on a RE5 thread posted and said "as the characters get more experienced, they get more prepared and less nervous" (not exactly their quote but something like this) with this being said, RE to me has become less "horror" (or lack of) and more "Action-Survival". but i will say on my "very" first play through of Leon's Campain (specifically the first few chapters) i will admit it had that "Horror-Survival" going on, so i will give Capcom that.
013
Well-Known Member
I would say that the action started in Code Veronica.(Possibly earlier) RE4 had horror elements to me. RE5 I think is where the action dominated the horror.
To answer the question to this topic. Yes, I believe that RE should have more horror. Horror is the genre that it was born into, it should stay that way. With that said, I thought Leon's campaign was nice and creepy up untill the last chapter. Definitely not as scary as RE2 or 3 but better than the zero amount of horror we had in 5.
To answer the question to this topic. Yes, I believe that RE should have more horror. Horror is the genre that it was born into, it should stay that way. With that said, I thought Leon's campaign was nice and creepy up untill the last chapter. Definitely not as scary as RE2 or 3 but better than the zero amount of horror we had in 5.
Flipqy42
Nevermore
If you ask me, I'd say the action started in RE3, with all the explosions, dodging mechanic, and the constantly being pursued.
And I wouldn't say there was zero horror in RE5, just small amounts of it. The reapers, to me at least, were terrifying and the idea of Uroboros is kind of frightening if you think about it. It's a writing mass of tentacles that consume all living things it touches. Imaging if Wesker succeeded and it hit an area with tons of biodiversity, such as the Amazon Rain forest.
PiersNivansRealHero
Well-Known Member
Personally i really liked the game. I have played all the others in the story. I feel like nowadays it would be very hard to make a scary game because nothing really gives us fear. i mean they could add a little eerie feelings to future games but i think capcom is doing okay by turning it into action based. A scary game would make us walk and im sure many of us would get bored and annoyed like the first chapter in leon's campaign. Action isn't such a bad thing. it's just something new.
013
Well-Known Member
That's why I said possibly earlier, I knew something was slipping my mind and I have not played 3 in forever.
Shame on me. I agree there was scary pieces here and there, but the bad thing is that I can't recall any off of the top of my head like I can with all of the other games. So for me the horror in 5 was too small to consider.
I agree with a lot of that, but I think they can make modern RE scary if they work on it, Leon's campaign gave me faith in that, and Ustanak. I think a lot of the people that dismiss Leon's campaign or say that it's not scary at all are just bent on writing the game off as bad as a whole. (Note that I said a lot, not all.)
I mean, some people seem to be mad no matter what, many of the things that made the beginning of Leon's campaign scary is the same horror elements used in the classics. Jump scares, loud noises, darkness, creepy atmosphere, ect.
I am all for a series keeping its roots and traditions but I can forgive some action in the Resident Evil series because it makes sense. All of the mascots, Leon, Chris, Jill, Claire have had some kind of experience and/or combat backround. I think it's safe to say that most of us don't want them to go anywhere so after all those years it is only natural for those characters to be prepared but still have their natural human instinct of fear. (Like Leon freaking out over the thunder.)
With that said, I don't want too much action and no horror. It is one of the reasons I favor 4 over 5. I think 4 was a perfect mix of the two.
blivvy
Master of unlocking...
I wish it would. I agree that they tried bringing back some horror elements in RE 6 but the action won out overall. Here's hoping that Capcom will reboot the series or at least make a sequel that is actually survival horror. Prob won't happen cause Capcom are obviously more interested in sales at this stage.
Spikeyroxas
Pencil Artist
I think it's hard to do because let's face it. People are a lot harder to scare these days.
Jump scares are criticised now, and everything else is expected.
Moments which make you feel helpless and insta kill enemies are things that scare me the most in this game and re5.
So in re5 lost in nightmares where you lose your weapons, kept me on edge.
Re6 had some moments but due to the enemy types at those moments didnt make me freak, I was just worried about getting seen since I had hardly any defence (start of jake chapter 3 as sherry) and beginning of chapter 5.
On chapter 5 they should have stretched out the time where you didn't have any weapons to force you to run from the raskapanje's that would be a bit more scary as you may find yourself being pursued by a few more than 2 when you finally get your weapons back
Jump scares are criticised now, and everything else is expected.
Moments which make you feel helpless and insta kill enemies are things that scare me the most in this game and re5.
So in re5 lost in nightmares where you lose your weapons, kept me on edge.
Re6 had some moments but due to the enemy types at those moments didnt make me freak, I was just worried about getting seen since I had hardly any defence (start of jake chapter 3 as sherry) and beginning of chapter 5.
On chapter 5 they should have stretched out the time where you didn't have any weapons to force you to run from the raskapanje's that would be a bit more scary as you may find yourself being pursued by a few more than 2 when you finally get your weapons back
Hel
Goddess of the Dead
In Odin's name, I hope not!
The word "reboot" always rings alarm bells in my head since there's always the chance that the developers will change the story and characters completely. Resident Evil without the T-virus, Chris, Claire and the others? No thanks. Resident Evil without horror sounds better to me.However, you also mentioned a scary sequel in the same universe, and I think I like that idea. That would probably exclude my favourite characters too, but oh well... At least I'd know they still exist.
Exactly, that's why I think the beginning of Leon's RE6 story is artificially scary. Darkness, lightnings... duh! How old is that? Then there's this big invisible snake in Chris's campaign... It's like Capcom begging their fans: "Please find this scary, please find this scary!" ... It just doesn't work. The only thing that's scary in RE6 is some of the German voice acting.
TheVacantThrone
He's a mental giant, TECH N9NE!
As far as i was aware, it's still a horror game? It's hardly walks in the park and going fishing is it? It's about Bio-Terrorism and zombies, mutatation, creatures that could and will end the world.
If you don't think that's horror, i feel sorry for you.
If you don't think that's horror, i feel sorry for you.
Spyder
La Vita Nuova
I think my favourite "horror" part of re6 is seeing the shadows of the zombies coming around the corner in the subway (leon). It reminded me of 28 Days Later. And I'll admit I found the first part pretty stressful on my first playthrough. RE2 I was scared to pieces the first time I played it, but even long ago gave up that fear. RE3 I freaked out when the Nemesis came crashing in, and RE4 I was on the edge of my seat right from the beginning because of the view change, the first zombie in the hut, and the horde that you're thrown into straight away while tryin to get your bearings on the new system. And chainsaw guys. Who I found particularly freaky until they made them look too surreal in RE6.
Also I think the "survival" aspect got lost when you started gettin points for killing things. RE3 introduced mercenaries, RE4 started dropping you items and ammo when you killed zombies, and made you kill a certain number before you moved on to the next part. I couldn't get through the first playthrough of RE2 if I tried to kill everything, and the flight or fight decisions and running around them just narrowly dodging an attack added to that feel. I felt like I had "saved ammo" by running past them, but now low ammo means meleeing for kills to get more, while tryin to kill as much as possible for a better score.
I think there needs to be new material for scare factor because people become more desensitized with every game. But look at Dead Space. That game scared the **** out of me. 1 and 2 equally. But now they've added co op for DS3 (which I and a lot of people think takes away from the scare factor) because of "popular consumer demand". Which goes to show that even though the survival horror fans will always be the biggest advocates of the games, and have the greatest understanding of why they are the way they are, there is a much larger majority of action fans making comments that companies will try to cater to for sales. It's unfortunate, but all they hear is "we want co op!" or "why can't you move while you shoot?!", and then after the game they hear all the die hard fans yellin "what did ya do that for? ya ruined it!" lol. It's gotta be a pretty tough call.
I would love to see a game in the style of Walking Dead. I love that show and I think it has a good mix of drama and scare factor. But no one has taken the ambience into the game world yet....
Also I think the "survival" aspect got lost when you started gettin points for killing things. RE3 introduced mercenaries, RE4 started dropping you items and ammo when you killed zombies, and made you kill a certain number before you moved on to the next part. I couldn't get through the first playthrough of RE2 if I tried to kill everything, and the flight or fight decisions and running around them just narrowly dodging an attack added to that feel. I felt like I had "saved ammo" by running past them, but now low ammo means meleeing for kills to get more, while tryin to kill as much as possible for a better score.
I think there needs to be new material for scare factor because people become more desensitized with every game. But look at Dead Space. That game scared the **** out of me. 1 and 2 equally. But now they've added co op for DS3 (which I and a lot of people think takes away from the scare factor) because of "popular consumer demand". Which goes to show that even though the survival horror fans will always be the biggest advocates of the games, and have the greatest understanding of why they are the way they are, there is a much larger majority of action fans making comments that companies will try to cater to for sales. It's unfortunate, but all they hear is "we want co op!" or "why can't you move while you shoot?!", and then after the game they hear all the die hard fans yellin "what did ya do that for? ya ruined it!" lol. It's gotta be a pretty tough call.
I would love to see a game in the style of Walking Dead. I love that show and I think it has a good mix of drama and scare factor. But no one has taken the ambience into the game world yet....
013
Well-Known Member
A theory of mine is that many long time RE fans have become immune to the type of horror that a RE game has to offer. We just don't realize it. Think about it, one plays the crap out of every other RE game for years they already know what to expect to an extent. I can play the old ones and still get a jump in but I think it has a lot to do with the fear I felt as an 8 year old playing it, that fear is still instilled in me.
Don't get me wrong, I still get scared with the new games, it's just not as intense as it used to be. I remember not ever wanting to play the old ones because I was that scared.
Then there's games like slender man, it's new and it is a different type of horror, but you can't use that kind of paranormal mind game in RE without straying from it's story and what it's about.
That's why I loved Ustanak, hiding from him gave me bubbles in my stomach. XD
I only found the chainsaw guy in RE4 to be scary. His design was creepier, that and the instant death attacks. I felt that they took a step back with the censored deaths. A lot of fans get criticized when people say they want the gore back. I don't get why. It's not about being a sadist, I just want to be convinced that this guy is really gonna cut my head off when they actually take the time to animate it. I think the suspense claim is just an excuse, considering I know what's gonna happen. The chainsaw dude in 5 was a joke because he knocks you to the ground untill your health is low. Who the heck does that with a chainsaw in their hands with intent on killing you? Just cut his freakin' head off. It was much more scarier turning a corner then all of a sudden Leon's head is on the floor I don't even know what going on or what just happened.
Don't get me wrong, I still get scared with the new games, it's just not as intense as it used to be. I remember not ever wanting to play the old ones because I was that scared.
Then there's games like slender man, it's new and it is a different type of horror, but you can't use that kind of paranormal mind game in RE without straying from it's story and what it's about.
I agree with this. I love my horror, but I've always been more attached to the characters and story of RE.In Odin's name, I hope not!
That's why I loved Ustanak, hiding from him gave me bubbles in my stomach. XD
Yes, it's sometimes the more simple things that can be more successful. Again, I point out Slender as a good example. Ubstivo, to me wasn't really scary. (That was his name right?)
I only found the chainsaw guy in RE4 to be scary. His design was creepier, that and the instant death attacks. I felt that they took a step back with the censored deaths. A lot of fans get criticized when people say they want the gore back. I don't get why. It's not about being a sadist, I just want to be convinced that this guy is really gonna cut my head off when they actually take the time to animate it. I think the suspense claim is just an excuse, considering I know what's gonna happen.
The chainsaw dude in 5 was a joke because he knocks you to the ground untill your health is low. Who the heck does that with a chainsaw in their hands with intent on killing you? Just cut his freakin' head off. It was much more scarier turning a corner then all of a sudden Leon's head is on the floor I don't even know what going on or what just happened. Agreed, that can be very successful or blow up in their face. Because there are some folks, as I stated before, that have their hearts set on hating anything about the new generation. Anything new is an instant rejection by strict purist.
Preach it! That reminds me, the next God of War is gonna have co-op. It shouldn't bother me but why in 7 hells does a game that has always been single player need multi player? Does everything need to be played with 50 people? What ever happend to just sitting in your room on a raining day and just enjoying the game by oneself???