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ARC Raiders' open beta is slowly drawing to a close. The game's less than two weeks away from release, and fans are eager to hop into the full experience. However, eagle-eyed players have noticed something different about the game: the graphics are worse than they used to be, by a lot According to a keen-eyed player who shared their findings on ARC Raiders' official subreddit, the game seems to have significantly downgraded its graphics since the last technical test. While before it had luscious and realistic foliage and strong, atmospheric volumetrics to boot, this current iteration of the title seems to be lacking in both. Comparison images show that, during the second technical test, ARC Raiders' foliage had a lot more texture, depth, and realism to it, whereas now it appears more jagged and game-y. Likewise, the prior instance has heavy volumetric fog, which significantly improves the atmosphere of a swampy marshland, but the current version has next to none of it. [Hidden Content] Graphical downgrades are nothing new in video games and are done all the time, but it appeared that Embark Studios had no particular reason for doing so, given how well the game performs and how much the devs have spent on optimization overall. And it might just be that this wasn't intended. OssenJ, Embark's community lead, commented on another report that ARC Raiders appears to have been downgraded, chiefly regarding its shading and lighting. "The team will look into this, thanks for letting us know," she wrote. Visibility might have also been a reason for the devs to reduce foliage density and fog, ARC Raiders being a PVP shooter and all. However, the poorly-rendered, jagged, and shimmering foliage does tell me things weren't done for the sake of improved PVP, as it's an overall eyesore and takes a lot away from the experience. Having less realistic and rarer foliage, as well as removing volumetrics almost entirely, can and will improve fps on less capable machines like consoles. ARC Raiders is already a well-polished, highly optimized game, so it doesn't make much sense to see devs sacrifice graphical fidelity and compromise the style they've worked so hard to establish just so they could squeeze out a few frames per seconds more on average. Whether intended or not, the fact remains that ARC Raiders' current version isn't its prettiest, and I certainly hope the devs officially address player concerns, as the game is, in more ways than one, one of the most promising titles of this year. Like our content? Set Destructoid as a Preferred Source on Google in just one step to ensure you see us more frequently in your Google searches! The post ‘I swore something was off’: ARC Raiders players beg devs to revert graphics downgrade appeared first on Destructoid. View the full article

Whenever Portal was announced as the sole "server browser" option in BF6, I was skeptical. Now, however, witnessing what players are making, I'm quite impressed. And, on that topic, a player has now made literal CoD zombies in BF6, and it even has pack-a-punch machines. YouTuber Phiality has shared what they've managed to create using Portal's dev kit in Battlefield 6: a full-blown Zombies mode, complete with ray guns (or, rather, an AOE-damage revolver) and pack-a-punch machines. Taking obvious inspiration from the Call of Duty phenomenon of the same name, Phiality has taken Portal to the extreme, making a new custom mode while also expanding maps and adding new weapons to spice things up. [Hidden Content] Now, the mode doesn't have actual zombies, at least not yet. Instead, they're bots who walk slowly or run unarmed towards the player, stopping only at chokepoints that would usually be windows or barricades in Call of Duty. You can mow them down using whatever gun you like, and Phiality has made sure you've got more than a few options to choose from, adding extra weapons on top of the game's base arsenal. The aesthetics are far removed from horror, too, likely due to limitations to Portal, but it's the gameplay that matters. The mode, much like its inspiration, unfolds in a sequence of waves or rounds, with the Zombies becoming more relentless and dangerous as time goes by. Killing them grants points, which can be used to upgrade weapons or access new parts of maps. And, because Portal is a fully streamlined experience, you can easily access this mode by going over to your Experience Browser and using the code "2z1e" to immediately hop on. No long and arduous downloads should be necessary to get into the mode, because Portal is just good like that. Portal is, as the name implies, is a door to a world of community-made servers and experiences in BF6, which range from customized official modes with slight tweaks to wholly new modes like the one above. It's a great way to provide players with something that isn't just the regular ******, but not a replacement for a true, dedicated server browser that is still missing from the game. Like our content? Set Destructoid as a Preferred Source on Google in just one step to ensure you see us more frequently in your Google searches! The post Zombies in Battlefield 6? Yes—thanks to the Portal, complete with pack-a-punch and ray guns appeared first on Destructoid. View the full article

Painkiller could be the ultimate destination for hardcore FPS lovers in the season of Halloween, as the shooter will be released worldwide on PC and consoles. Painkiller's 2025 version will be a reimagination of the cult classic that became popular among players due to its gore and endless action. With new features and better graphics, it should be a must-pick for those who love FPS. This guide will help you stay on track with the upcoming launch. Table of contentsPainkiller release countdownWhat to expect from PainkillerPainkiller release countdown Pinkiller will be going live on Oct. 21 on both PC and consoles. The release date has been known for quite some time now. The following countdown will help you keep track of the exact time when the game goes live on the date mentioned above. [hurrytimer id="1130950"] The countdown is based on the following timings. 6am PST8am CST9am EST1pm UTC2pm BST3pm CEST There's no regional midnight launch for Painkiller. Whether you're on PC or console, you start playing at the same time. Having a regional launch would have allowed Xbox players to get a few hours of extra gameplay, but that's not possible in the case of Painkiller. Additionally, there's no early access or advanced access, which means you can start playing on Oct. 21 at the earliest. You can choose to spend extra and get the Deluxe Edition, which gets you the Season Pass. What to expect from Painkiller In Painkiller, you're stuck in Purgatory with its many enemies and three children of Azazel, and your task is to stop them from unleashing hell on Earth. Expect to enjoy the same brand for endless action, but with new tools in your bag. Painkiller will also feature enhanced graphics and the option to play in co-op with your buddies. There's an essence of character-building as well, as you can pick between Ink, Void, Sol, and Roch. All four characters have unique perks with key advantages that will be essential to surviving and outlasting the enemies. Like our content? Set Destructoid as a Preferred Source on Google in just one step to ensure you see us more frequently in your Google searches! The post Painkiller release countdown: Exact date and time appeared first on Destructoid. View the full article

The Keeper of the Goal evolution is live in FC 26, with the first real chance for you to upgrade a goalkeeper of your choice. You'll have to spend 10,000 coins to unlock the evolution, but the upgrades are pretty cool. Moreover, you can chain the card in future evolutions to improve the card further. Let's look at the best options based on the offered upgrades and requirements. Table of contentsFC 26 Keeper of the Goal evolution requirementsFC 26 Keeper of the Goal evolution upgradesBest players to use in Keeper of the Goal evolutionFC 26 Keeper of the Goal evolution requirements Here are the requirements of the Keeper of the Goal evolution in FC 26. Overall: Max 80PlayStyle: Max 5Not Rarity: World Tour Silver StarsPosition: GKFC 26 Keeper of the Goal evolution upgrades The evolution has two levels of upgrades, and there are certain conditions to fulfill. Level 1 upgrades Overall: +4|84Diving: +15|84Handling: +12|83Kicking: +8|82PlayStyles: Far Reach|5 Level 2 upgrades Overall: +4|84Reflexes: +10|85Positioning: +12|84PlayStyles: Footwork|5Roles: Sweeper Keeper+ Level 1 upgrade requirements Play 2 matches in Squad Battles on min. Semi-Pro difficulty (or Rush/Rivals/Champions/Live Events) using your active EVO Player in game. Level 2 upgrade requirements Win 3 matches in Squad Battles on min. Semi-Pro difficulty (or Rush/Rivals/Champions/Live Events) using your active EVO Player in game.Best players to use in Keeper of the Goal evolution Here are some of my best recommendations for this evolution in terms of the current meta in the game. Thomas StrakoshaKasper SchmeichelVanja Milinkovic-SavicBernd LenoSergio HerreraRobert SanchezTrubinWulker BenitezAndre Onana Ultimately, there are plenty of great choices, so pay attention to the card fitting well into your squad in terms of chemistry. Like our content? Set Destructoid as a Preferred Source on Google in just one step to ensure you see us more frequently in your Google searches! The post Best players for FC 26 Keeper of the Goal evolution appeared first on Destructoid. View the full article

Back in August, Hidden Door, a tech studio at the intersection of machine learning and immersive entertainment, launched its social role-playing platform where roleplay meets fan fiction. And now it is celebrating Halloween with new content that lets you bring horror — or a little mischief — into your favorite worlds. Whether you’re roleplaying gothic romance, a campy monster mash-up, or a full-on zombie apocalypse, find it on Hidden Door. New and upcoming content includes: Dracula – Step into Bram Stoker’s world of gothic horror, set in modern-day Amsterdam. Play as a vampire, a hunter, or an unsuspecting guest, and see what unfolds. You can even earn the ability to bring vampires into your other worlds!Haunted Mansion – See how your characters survive the night in a haunted house with this new plot card. Try it in any world, from Call of Cthulhu to Pride and Prejudice!Zombies – Give any world a post-apocalyptic makeover. Who says your Regency ball can’t turn into a zombie siege?Big Fang (coming October 22) – A pop star romance with bite. Based on Big Fan by Alexandra Romanoff from 831 Stories, experience what happens when your favorite boy band might also be vampires. You can play now on Hidden Door, currently in early access. Created by the technology studio of the same name, players can now be the main character within the lore and setting of iconic fictional universes, starting with Pride and Prejudice, The Wizard of Oz and The Crow from Pressman Film, with more universes launching soon. Hidden Door is where roleplay meets fan fiction, with help from AI. Source: Hidden Door Inspired by the improvisational storytelling of tabletop role-playing games, Hidden Door helps players to create new stories that expand on the original creator’s vision. Guided by an omniscient Narrator, players make characters that they then take on a variety of adventures, responding to prompts to guide the action in any direction. Completing stories unlock cards that players can copy between stories and share with other players, adding a new spin to well-known fictional worlds. On Hidden Door, anyone can become a main character within the lore, story and setting of iconic fictional universes, starting with Pride and Prejudice, The Wizard of Oz and The Crow from Pressman Film. This is possible because of Hidden Door’s unique way of enabling players/fans to interact with their favorite intellectual properties. I think of the fan’s interaction with canon and the AI to be like a “choose your own adventure” story that pushes back at you in the name of creating a better story. More worlds are coming soon, including a collection of romantic fiction from 831 Stories, science fiction from authors Alan Dean Foster and Ramez Naam and additional stories from Pressman Film. Powered by groundbreaking narrative systems technology, Hidden Door is building the future of immersive storytelling, with unlimited ways for fans to explore, expand, and remix their favorite worlds together. Hidden Door is available now on any desktop or mobile web browser at [Hidden Content]. Hidden Door. Source: Hidden Door “Hidden Door is the place for our fans to play within the realms of their favorite fictional worlds,” said Hilary Mason, CEO of Hidden Door, in our interview this summer. “Just as fans bond over new book releases and gather together for movie opening weekend and TV season premieres, we are building a home for fans of books, films and shows to socialize, obsess over and remix their favorite storylines.” “ Mason added, “Hidden Door isn’t just about watching and reading stories – it’s about living them. Our platform gives fans the power to let their imagination and creativity design the story, adventure through the world and even grow the storyverse together – a true home for fans to immerse themselves in their favorite stories.” Inspired by the improvisational storytelling of tabletop role-playing games, Hidden Door helps players to create new stories that expand on the original creator’s vision. Guided by an omniscient narrator, players make characters that they then take on a variety of adventures, responding to prompts to guide the action in any direction. [Hidden Content] In a demo, Hidden Door’s leaders showed me how it works, by working on the character description together. Her most frequent mood was “excited for the future.” And what kept Tyler, the gossip columinist up at night? I answered, “Boring news.” Mason said you can start a scene in a townhouse, with characters sipping tea and reviewing the latest social gossip. If you get writer’s block as a fan-writer, you can get help from the platform, which can give you examples of things you might do in the form of cards. Each character, item, location in the world is a card and you collect them. You build up a deck, and then you can play with that deck, choosing which chracter to play as. “You can see all the information about them, their current energy, their attributes, their location, anything about the location,” Mason said. It’s a game of world building, and that world building happens by accumulating, collecting, earning and manipulating these cards, which can be the things of your world, the characters, items, locations, but also stories, said Matt Brandwein, chief product officer and cofounder of Hidden Door, in an interview with GamesBeat. “Every time you play, you might get a completely different deck and all the things will change through play,” Mason said. You can succeed or fail, based on the quality of the narrative that emerges. But Mason believes that you will feel like a participant in the story, as well as its author. In the case of Pride and Prejudice, the story revolves around a scandal for the gossip writer. Completing stories unlock cards that players can copy between stories, adding a new spin to well-known fictional worlds. As players build up their collection of stories, characters and locations, they collectively shape a larger extended universe unique to them. Players can even pull cards or storylines from others’ shared worlds, building lore together within the broader fan community. Hidden Door’s creator partnership model represents a new approach to fan engagement and IP monetization. Rather than training AI models on authors’ work, the company collaborates directly with content creators through revenue-sharing agreements that require minimal time investment—typically just a few hours. Authors and publishers maintain creative control while gaining insights into how fans interact with their worlds, creating an additional revenue stream from existing IP. The platform serves multiple creator types, from established authors like Alan Dean Foster to romance publishers like 831 Publishing to film studios like Pressman Films, each bringing their unique worlds to life through carefully crafted adaptations that respect the original work’s integrity. Starting today, select worlds are available to play for free at [Hidden Content], with more to come at a later date. Follow along for the latest updates on Discord, BlueSky and Instagram. Here’s the FAQ. The post Hidden Door has Halloween games for adults who love fan fiction appeared first on GamesBeat. View the full article

Xbox Game Pass is losing Return to Monkey Island—one of its highest-rated games—on October 31. Two more titles have already been marked as leaving on the same day, with the full list of upcoming Xbox Game Pass departures being expected to be officially announced on the week of October 20. View the full article

Battlefield 6 is the most successful game in the franchise, having sold over seven million copies in its opening weekend alone. This many players means EA had to step up and deliver on security measures to keep cheaters at bay, and the company's draconian approach seems to be working very well. Countless social media posts across just about every Battlefield community on the internet have shown that EA isn't playing this time around. Bans are running rampant throughout the nefarious part of the game's fanbase, with players getting reprimanded for the smallest infractions and the least suspicion of cheating. No matter if players were using advanced, very effective cheating tools to rack up hundreds of kills per match or using external means to "cheat," like enabling mouse and keyboard on consoles, for example. This last case, usually associated with something called Cronus Zen, appears to be in EA's sights to a great degree, with numerous reports of players getting permanently forbidden from playing Battlefield 6 just because they ran the device. Battlefield 6's multiplayer experience is almost perfect, not least because cheaters are near non-existent. Screenshot via EA So, yeah, EA isn't kidding: no cheating is allowed, and neither are external tools. Any semblance of trying to gain what's perceived as an unfair advantage will result in permanent removal from the game, your $70 (or more) be damned. It's a staunch stance, a stern approach, and I'm all for it. Cheating has been a plague on first-person shooters since their inception, but as technology advances, so do hacks of all kinds, including those that perform all bypasses under the sun to avoid detection. By cracking down on any and all cheats out there, as well as on unfair and unsportsmanlike practices, EA is setting a major precedent in the genre, taking up the mantle as a leading figure in the fight against cheaters. I can't believe I'm writing this, but EA and, by extension, Battlefield Studios, are taking charge and effectively curbing the most devastating practice in the shooter industry. Games like Counter-Strike 2 have been utterly destroyed by cheaters, making EA's approach seem much more appealing. Image via EA Yes, yes, they do make you use Secure Boot, enable TPM 2.0, and have a kernel-level anti-cheat enabled while playing the game: things that can and will be taken as potential infringements on player privacy. However, given how effective this approach seems in making BF6 as smooth an experience as it is, I'm on the fence about actually supporting it. Of course, I value my privacy to the utmost and despise these security measures, but they're a sign of the times and illustrate just how bad cheating has become. It's time things changed, and EA itself seems to think so. And I, for one, am thankful that they do. Like our content? Set Destructoid as a Preferred Source on Google in just one step to ensure you see us more frequently in your Google searches! The post EA has implemented draconian measures against cheaters, and it’s exactly what shooters need right now appeared first on Destructoid. View the full article

It's been eight years since In The ****** secured Kickstarter funding, and ten since initial work on it first began. It was known as Starfighter Inc at the time, but since then developer Impeller Studios has given it a new name as it worked on crafting the most realistic interstellar combat sim possible. Star Citizen, No Man's Sky, and Elite Dangerous will want to fasten their seatbelts, because there's a new challenger to the best space games, and it's taking things very seriously. I've been test-flying its Steam Next fest demo, and I'm still terrible at it, but I'm already eager to master my craft. Read the rest of the story... RELATED LINKS: Starfighter Inc. makes a swift return for a second round on Kickstarter Impeller Studios wants to make Starfighter Inc. the heir to X-Wing View the full article

Elite fans got Elite: Dangerous, Wing Commander fans are getting Star Citizen, but what about X-Wing fans. The series did just appear on GOG and Steam, but as great as they are, gosh they're a bit old now. This leaves the door open to Impeller Studios and Starfighter Inc. It's not a new X-Wing game, it's not related to Star Wars at all, but the team's goal is to carry on the series' lineage. It's on Kickstarter at the moment, and is half-funded with 24 days to go. Read the rest of the story... RELATED LINKS: Ambitious, ultra-realistic space combat sim In The ****** finally has a playable demo, and I love how terrible I am at it Starfighter Inc. makes a swift return for a second round on Kickstarter View the full article

Impeller Studios' hardcore space combat sim Starfighter Inc. has returned with a new Kickstarter campaign with a smaller end goal and a much more impressive array of features. Read the rest of the story... RELATED LINKS: Ambitious, ultra-realistic space combat sim In The ****** finally has a playable demo, and I love how terrible I am at it Impeller Studios wants to make Starfighter Inc. the heir to X-Wing View the full article

A new video released by Square Enix is showing off a comparison between the gameplay for Final Fantasy 7 Remake on Switch 2 and other platforms. The beloved RPG served as one of the biggest third-party games announced to be receiving a port to the newest Nintendo platform, adding some new features like "Streamlined Mode" for players more focused on the story. Final Fantasy 7 Remake's Switch 2 version will even include some exclusive perks for pre-orders, with digital pre-orders getting the original Final Fantasy 7 for a limited time. Now, Square Enix is showing off the Switch 2 version's performance. View the full article

"I READ EVERY SINGLE FEEDBACK SPREAD ON THE INTERNET."View the full article

Atari is reviving a familiar name in gaming history – but this time, it belongs to one of its earliest rivals. The company has announced the Intellivision Sprint, a compact console that recreates the look and feel of the original 1980 Intellivision system while introducing modern hardware updates. Read Entire Article View the full article

The worst thing I've ever read was this: "Just make sure you turn the music off before you start." It was a throwaway forum post around the launch of Nightdive's System Shock 2 remaster—advice given to a new player asking for tips before their first playthrough... Read more.View the full article

Endless Legend 2 developer Amplitude Studios is throwing us a bone as its first major update helps you handle its terrifying Doomwraiths. With Civilization 7 still going through a gradual process of improvements, the long-awaited sequel has already become my go-to, and it has the potential to grow into one of the best 4X games on PC if Amplitude is able to build on its core successfully. Thankfully, it's certainly been listening closely to players, and a new State of the Game check-in for October discusses some of the most pressing problems. Read the rest of the story... RELATED LINKS: Endless Legend 2 is the 4X breath of fresh air I needed, but I'm hungry for more Endless Legend 2's Tahuk faction balances precariously between science and faith Endless Legend 2 is set to rival Civilization 7, and it's on Game Pass day one View the full article

I love JRPGs, but I didn't grow up with them. My earliest forays into the genre weren't until high school, when I started trying out games ranging from Final Fantasy 6 to Eternal Sonata. While I found the genre attractive, Chrono Trigger was my only early experiment that really stuck. Without a love for turn-based combat or frequent encounters, I found it all too easy to bounce off after a few hours. View the full article

Techland has shared a new Dying Light: The Beast content roadmap spanning the next 11 and a half weeks. The developer's near-term agenda includes everything from gameplay features and technical improvements to events and rewards that will arrive in Dying Light: The Beast by early January 2026. View the full article

It's no secret that Xbox Game Studios' ever iconic Halo franchise has been in somewhat of a rut over the past few years, often getting sidelined in favor of other up-and-coming franchises. To make matters worse, both its latest projects with Halo Infinite and Halo the show ended up getting cut halfway before reaching their full potential, with the latest official game being released nearly 4 years ago. View the full article

This week, The Elder Scrolls Online did something it's never tried before - launch a weeks-long, community-wide event that pits each individual server against one another in a race to take down the Writhing Wall. Behind the wall? The realm of Eastern Solstice and all the shiny contents of Update 48. It's ambitious, and part of a "shift in mentality" for Zenimax Online Studios, according to ESO's associate design director Mike Finnigan. While the Writhing Wall's initial reception has been a touch frosty, with some seasoned players voicing disappointment, Finnigan says that the event isn't a glimpse into how all content will be structured and delivered in the future - it's merely the first of many "big swings" ZOS wants to take to keep ESO players on their toes. Read the rest of the story... RELATED LINKS: Elder Scrolls Online's "massive" new event pits whole servers against each other ESO boss says the goal is still to make a "30-year MMO," even after Xbox layoffs ESO dev "befuddled" that some still don't know the decade-old MMO is out View the full article

Resident Evilhas spawned a seemingly endless array of horror imitators, but the best game inspired by the 1996 classic doesn't even belong to the same genre. Survival horror mechanics are a big part of Resident Evil, and the fear of running out of shotgun shells as you criss-cross the first game's Spencer Mansion is a defining element of its gameplay loop. The use of interconnecting puzzles throughout the mansion, however, might offer an even more interesting foundation to build on. View the full article

Warhammer 40,000 Boltgun: Words of Vengeance originally launched as a stopgap/marketing gimmick to coincide with the announcement of Boltgun 2. But it appears to have gone down swimmingly with the Boltgun playerbase in its own right, having accrued a 'Very Positive' Steam rating out of 1,700 reviews. The 2.5D blaster's free-to-play spinoff swaps out clicking on enemy heads to kill them in traditional shooter fashion for keyboard-based mass ******* a-la The Typing of The Dead... Read more.View the full article

If you've ever wished that Minecraft had more in common with the likes of Skyrim or Diablo, you're in luck. New server Soulsteel transforms the iconic blocky sandbox into one of the best RPGs Minecraft has ever offered. With a complete, bustling hub city, numerous dungeons to battle your way through, rare gear to collect, and a wealth of potential upgrades to unlock, this complete reimagining of Minecraft is one you won't want to miss, and you can try it today. Read the rest of the story... RELATED LINKS: Best farming games 2025 Minecraft's new spear has already been buffed, so now you can actually use its best move The best Minecraft house ideas for 1.21.10 View the full article

Outbound is set up for successView the full article

Ever since Resident Evil exploded onto the scene in 1996 and made inventory reshuffling in the face of a zombie outbreak popular, players have been regularly fighting down to their very last bullet. 30 years later, survival horror is the dominant format for those seeking video game scares, as popular now as it’s ever been. And with a fresh batch of nightmares to consider, there’s never been a better time to rank the best games of the genre. But what qualifies a game to be considered as "survival horror"? Many games are often labelled survival horror, but lean much too heavily into action to be truly considered a genuine example of the genre. For our money, survival horror can be boiled down to four key factors, all of which are vital components of the classics that make up our list. There has to be a power dynamic weighted in the enemy's favour. You need to explore maze-like environments while solving puzzles. There’s often jeopardous resource management. Relentless pressure inflicted by either a pursuer or an oppressive space. So with the rules established and out of the way, here are our picks for the 10 best survival horror games of all time. 10. Clock Tower Developer: Human Entertainment | Publisher: Human Entertainment | Platform: Super Famicom | Release date: September 14, 1995 (JP) | Review: IGN's Clock Tower review [/url] While 1989’s Sweet Home is often considered the progenitor of survival horror, it’s Clock Tower, the 1995, 16-bit survival horror classic that was only ever released in Japan, that perhaps left a ******* mark on the genre. Its fingerprints can be easily found throughout the entirety of this list. You play as Jennifer, a teenage orphan stranded in a Resident Evil-like manor, point-and-clicking your way through a series of impressively detailed, oppressive rooms. But Clock Tower's defining mechanic, and why it rightfully deserves its place on this list, is its pioneering stalker gameplay. Four years before Resident Evil’s Nemesis spent an entire game shouting “STARS”, Clock Tower had us avoiding the dreaded “Scissorman”, who, much like Mr X, Pyramid Head, and Alien: Isolation’s Xenomorph, is a near-unstoppable force that’s always lurking nearby. Fast forward to today, and the stalker enemy type has become a staple of the survival horror genre. We have Scissorman to thank for all those enduring nightmares. 9. Silent Hill Developer: Team Silent | Publisher: Konami | Platform: PS1 | Release date: February 23, 1999 (NA) | Review: IGN's Silent Hill review [/url] While Capcom was storming the charts in the late ‘90s with Resident Evil’s campy, zombie-focused take on survival horror, Konami’s first stab at the genre saw the studio try something very different. What it created was dread. Pure, unrelenting dread. Silent Hill stars Harry Mason, an everyman who enters a fog-filled nightmare while trying to find his missing adopted daughter in the town of Silent Hill. What follows is an oppressive tale riddled with unseemly horrors, the likes we’d never witnessed in a video game before. Unlike its peers, Silent Hill provided a true 3D environment to explore, rather than the static, pre-rendered backdrops of Resident Evil. Due to the hardware restraints of the time, which struggled to render long draw distances, the fictional town was caked in a constant thick layer of fog that disguised the tech’s limitations. Serendipitously, this not only became the series’ signature look, but also demonstrated perhaps the greatest marriage of tech and tone we’ve ever witnessed in a video game. Silent Hill pioneered its own psychological corner of the survival horror genre, spawning many sequels and remakes that would go on to be considered some of the most haunting video games ever made. 8. Resident Evil 7: Biohazard Developer: Capcom | Publisher: Capcom | Platform: PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S PC | Release date: January 24, 2017 | Review: IGN's Resident Evil 7 review [/url] It seems like a distant memory now, but there was a painful ******* where the Resident Evil series lost touch with its survival horror roots. While Resident Evil 4 is rightly celebrated, it significantly ramped up the action, which laid the groundwork for both Resident Evil 5 and 6 to practically abandon the genre altogether. 2017 finally saw Capcom return to that classic survival horror feeling with Resident Evil 7: Biohazard, but it did so from an entirely new first-person perspective and through the use of a grimier, Texas Chainsaw Massacre-like cast of characters. Our new protagonist, Ethan Winters, is forced to take on the Louisiana swamp-dwelling Baker family, who force him to endure a gauntlet of grisly challenges. Gone were roundhouse kicks, quicktime events, and off-the-charts bombast, and back was delicate resource management, a reestablished power balance in the antagonist's favour, and the long overdue return of a stalker enemy. It’s impossible not to think of Resident Evil when talking about survival horror, but it’s only thanks to Resident Evil 7’s genre renaissance that they’re still considered synonymous with each other, rather than survival horror being just a footnote in the history of the series. 7. Outlast Developer: Red Barrels | Publisher: Red Barrels | Platform: PS4, Xbox One, PC, Switch | Release date: September 4, 2013 | Review: IGN's Outlast review [/url] Often the best survival horror tropes are reflections of the movies that inspired them, and there’s no better illustration of this than 2013’s Outlast, a first-person descent into a remote psychiatric hospital that took the found footage movie genre and expertly turned it into a five-hour interactive nightmare. Outlast is relentless, and in traditional survival horror fashion, gives you very little to defend yourself with. It does, however, effectively turn vision into a resource; with the majority of the gloomy hospital only visible through the green, grainy lens of your camera's night vision, it's vital you build a stockpile of batteries to keep it powered up. AAs are as important in Outlast as bullets are in Resident Evil, and without them, you’re completely blind to horrors that lurk in the dark. When you can see what’s chasing you, Outlast is as scary as any game on this list. When the lights go out, it stands nearly in a league of its own. 6. Alan Wake 2 Developer: Remedy Entertainment | Publisher: Epic Games Publishing | Platform: PC, PS5, Xbox Series X/S | Release date: October 27, 2023 | Review: IGN's Alan Wake 2 review [/url] Much like Outlast, Alan Wake 2 also commodifies light, although unlike its more action-led predecessor, it strikes a perfect balance of tense survival horror gameplay and a cinematic, surreal nightmare. Developer Remedy’s unsettling story follows the intertwined journeys of titular writer Alan Wake and FBI agent Saga Anderson. As Alan, you’ll blast ghostly figures and solve Resident Evil-esque puzzles in a nightmare version of New York City. But the further you venture, the stranger things get; you’ll write new pathways through reality, witness a bizarre Finnish horror movie, endure an anxiety-inducing chat show, and take part in the best rock opera you’ve ever gunned your way through. Saga’s chapters, meanwhile, see the story transform into a blend of Hannibal and Zodiac, with Silent Hill-like exploration and combat sitting neatly next to police procedural work. As you investigate a chilling chain of ritual murders, you’ll need to arrange clues on your evidence board and drill deeper into the minds of your many suspects. Alan Wake 2 finds a unique way to combine familiar survival horror gameplay with Lynchian cinematic flair, resulting in a deeply ambitious, frequently disturbing experience that both feels true to the genre and something completely fresh. 5. Amnesia: The Dark Descent Developer: Frictional Games | Publisher: Frictional Games | Platform: PC, PS4, Xbox One, Switch | Release date: September 8, 2010 | Review: IGN's Amnesia: The Dark Descent review [/url] Thanks to its gameplay innovations that helped course-correct and spur a rebirth of a genre that had drifted too far into action-game territory, almost all modern survival horror games are indebted to Amnesia: The Dark Descent, at least to some degree. In Frictional Games’ landmark 2010 first-person horror, you play as Daniel, who wakes up alone in the dark castle of Brennenburg with no memory of how he got there. As you explore, you learn of a shadow that’s stalking you, and encounter other creatures that will give chase if they spot you. Armed with nothing but a lantern, your only form of defence is to run and hide, often in the dark. This cat-and-mouse experience is a common survival horror trait today, but back in 2010, it was a stark contrast against more action-oriented horror games like Resident Evil 5, which was released just one year earlier. Amnesia: The Dark Descent isn’t just a game of hide and seek, though: it has an extra wrinkle, one that forces you to always be on the move. Stay in the dark too long and you’ll gradually lose your mind. This forces you into maintaining a delicate balancing act, avoiding the darkness that’s driving you insane but frequently using it to hide from your pursuer. Amnesia’s multiple sequels all build upon The Dark Descent’s mechanics in smart ways, but perhaps more important to its legacy is how other developers took notice, with Resident Evil 7’s decision to switch to a first-person perspective owing a lot to Amnesia’s success. The Dark Descent still holds up today, and its influence runs deep, paving the way for the first-person playstyle to receive equal attention next to the genre’s traditional third-person camera. 4. Resident Evil Developer: Capcom | Publisher: Capcom | Platform: PS1, ***** Saturn, PC, Nintendo DS | Release date: April 1, 1996 (NA) | Review: IGN's Resident Evil review [/url] It’s hard to imagine what horror in video games would look like without the arrival of Resident Evil. The first in the long-running (and extremely successful) series arrived in 1996, inviting players to explore the zombie-infested, puzzle-riddled Spencer Mansion, and it’s fair to say the survival horror genre hasn’t looked back since. Although primitive by today’s standards, Resident Evil set the mold for everything that followed. The isolation, the limited resources, the relentless sense of dread, and the jump scares. Resident Evil pioneered the way for the genre, and without it, modern survival horror simply wouldn’t exist. Yes, Sweet Home outlined the blueprint, but Resident Evil masterfully executed the ideas and propelled survival horror to the masses. Of course, the formula has since been regularly improved upon, and many of those games are featured in this list, but every entry in Capcom’s enduring series owes a debt to the first. Resident Evil is arguably weaker than most of its sequels, its own remake included, but none of them would have existed without the progenitor, and its importance to the genre (and this list) is unquestionable. 3. Alien: Isolation Developer: Creative Assembly | Publisher: ***** | Platform: PC, PS3, PS4, Xbox 360, Xbox One, Switch | Release date: October 7, 2014 | Review: IGN's Alien: Isolation review [/url] 1979’s Alien is a masterclass in fear, building uneasy tension and suspense with the threat of its single, deadly Xenomorph. On paper, the film’s concept is not easily translated into video game form, and there certainly were many failed attempts until Creative Assembly’s Alien: Isolation arrived in 2014. Alien: Isolation abandons pulse rifles, gung-ho Colonial Marines, and gallons of acid blood in favour of survival horror trappings, asking you to outwit an indestructible stalker that hunts you around the sprawling Sevastopol space station. Powered by sophisticated artificial intelligence, the Xenomorph in Alien: Isolation lives up to its silver screen relative, accurately creating a terrifying gameplay experience based on everything we saw in Ridley Scott’s classic. The beast quite literally has a mind of its own, capable of learning your tactics and finding new ways to hunt you. In a list full of games with stalker enemies, it’s still hard to look past the perfect organism as the greatest hunter of them all. With only stealth, guts, and a few select tools to help you survive, Alien: Isolation is a terrifying horror simulator that not only instantly became the best Alien video game of all time, but also one of the very best examples of the survival horror genre. 2. Silent Hill 2 Developer: Team Silent | Publisher: Konami | Platform: PS2, Xbox, PC | Release date: September 25, 2001 | Review: IGN's Silent Hill 2 review [/url] Silent Hill 2 is an increasingly disturbing, psychological journey into the repressed thoughts of its unassuming protagonist and the tortured souls he meets along the way. Emotional tragedy, guilt, anger, abuse, and the horrible ways the resulting trauma manifests are handled with grace and maturity rarely seen in the genre. Silent Hill 2 is everything a good survival horror game should be, perfectly balancing a relentless sense of hopelessness with just enough to keep you in the fight. James is a tortured soul, but one driven by the desire to continue his path, despite how unlikely success seems, and although this isn’t the first Silent Hill on this list, it is unquestionably the best. The original Silent Hill 2, developed by Konami’s Team Silent back at the dawn of the millennium, is perhaps the bleakest, most sombre game ever made. 23 years later, Bloober Team successfully recreated its ********** magic, crafting a remake that is a deeply effective descent into genuinely uncomfortable terror. With this 2024 remake, Team Silent’s nightmarish vision is preserved. It’s a modern reminder not just of an era when Konami was a master of survival horror, but also of the significant power of Silent Hill 2’s timeless misery. Where are Resident Evil 4 and Dead Space? Despite being survival horror’s most famous series, Resident Evil has often veered into more action-heavy territory, particularly with its run from Resident Evil 4 to 6. That’s true of the entire Dead Space trilogy, too, which affords you more ammo than you’ll ever use and places far more focus on action sequences and bombast than a desperate fight to stay alive. Survival horror, at least as far as we’re concerned, is defined by impossible odds, a relentless pursuit, and an ongoing sense that you’re never quite equipped for what’s in front of you. So while Resident Evil 4, Dead Space, and many more are all-time great games and unquestionably still horror games, they fall just short of the strict survival horror criteria we’ve used for this list. [/url]1. Resident Evil 2 Developer: Capcom | Publisher: Capcom | Platform: PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, PC, Switch | Release date: January 25, 2019 | Review: IGN's Resident Evil 2 review [/url] When you think of survival horror, you think of Resident Evil, and although there are many contenders for best entry in the series, our vote, emphatically, goes to the 2019 remake of Resident Evil 2. The original Resident Evil 2 took everything successful about the survival horror formula established by the first game and refined it. The locations were creepier, the enemies more menacing – this was the introduction of the infamous ******* and Mr. X, the stalker enemy that set the bar for the genre – and the scares were ******* and badder. The adventures of Leon and Claire in Raccoon City not only became a benchmark for Resident Evil but for the genre as a whole. Every way 1998’s Resident Evil 2 improved on its predecessor, the 2019 remake replicated in kind, becoming not only a prime example of how to take an older game and reanimate it for a new generation of players, but also how the original rules of survival horror still stand strong to this day. Resident Evil 2 is everything you want survival horror to be: a game of carefully balancing your resources while always feeling like you don’t quite have enough, enduring relentless pursuits through maze-like environments, obtuse puzzles to solve, and a constant state of unease that makes it feel like you won’t quite survive through the whole ordeal. Resident Evil 2 influenced not one, but two generations of survival horror, and despite being often imitated, it’s rarely equalled. In our eyes, Resident Evil 2 is not only the very best of survival horror’s most famous series, but it also sits atop the genre itself. If you liked this list and are eager for more survival horror, why not check out the 25 best horror games of all time, or our Art of the Level episode on Resident Evil 2, discussing how Capcom perfected the RPD Police Station twice. View the full article

When I first saw that city-builder Surviving Mars is getting a remaster, my first thought was "Isn't that a bit soon? It only launched recently." It turns out 'recently' was seven flipping years ago. That's a shorter ******* than between the original Resident Evil and its 2002 HD edition. Truly, my ability to measure the passage of time has been destroyed since 2020... Read more.View the full article