Resident Evil: Survival Horror's Parent
/Almost everyone knows about the Resident Evil series. This series spans several years and just about as many storylines; following sometimes larger-than-life characters in their treks to either stop or survive the main evil. Maybe even doing both, in the case of at least one character. When people are asked to name a horror game, a Resident Evil title may be on the list.
Have you ever wondered just how Resident Evil became such a mainstay in the horror genre of video games? The series is older than I am; potentially just as old as some of you (if not a year or two older). Games in recent days either catapult to the top or fade away soon after publishing, but Resident Evil stays strong. How is that?
The answer may lie in part of the series’ development over time. Starting with the first Resident Evil game being called a survival horror—one of the first in a new genre—and being successful enough to garner two sequels, it was off to a strong start. After several years, many games and an overarching storyline building, the producer Masachika Kawata decided to return lost focus on to horror and suspense, shaking off some of the action in a bid to put more money behind survival horror stories. To quote Kawata:
“Survival horror as a genre is never going to be on the same level, financially, as shooters and much more popular, mainstream games. At the same time, I think we need to have the confidence to put money behind these projects, and it doesn’t mean we can’t focus on what we need to do as a survival horror game to meet fan’s needs.”
The cover image for Resident Evil: Biohazard, the 22nd game of the Resident Evil franchise. c. IGN
This focus on the horror aspect of survival HORROR started a noticeable shift in their games and stories. Resident Evil 7: Biohazard started a new storyline based off superhuman-strength inducing fungi and a country cannibal family, with the player taking control of an ordinary man. Resident Evil Village, released in 2021, featured the same man attacking an entire village with the end goal of getting his daughter back safely; stuck using only his smarts, sheer luck and whatever weapons he could get his hands on or afford. The cannibal country family was a horrific threat all their own, the village “people” and their backstories being added only made the poor guy’s life worse. The new engine rendering all of this seems to have proven that Kawata has put the money where his mouth is.
This decision to focus on the horror genre evidently stuck Resident Evil as a staple of the survival horror genre’s history in video games. Resident Evil is probably one of the oldest horror-based game series still going strong today. While its characters may be utterly forgettable or overly cheesy to some, others still hold them close to their heart; and almost all play their games mostly for the horror if not for the story still spinning.
Kate Bell is an avid fan of horror, trying to take in as much as they can without getting grossed out by gore. They are also a bit of a history buff, picking apart elements of animation history and the two world wars to garner as much knowledge as possible (good or bad). The history of video games has often been fascinating to them and they hope to learn as much as they can right along with you, the reader.
Kate lives in the country on a hobby farm, having daily battles with shitty wifi and shittier patience. Their sanity anchor? Hope…And loud music.
A render of fictional corperation umbrella’s logo. c. steam community workshop
