How the PlayStation Revolutionized Horror

A look at the history of horror videos that saw a release on the original PlayStation console and how they revolutionized the survival horror genre.

If you prefer to watch the video instead then you can view it below the table of contents otherwise you can continue to read the article below.

Table of Contents:

• History of PS1 Horror Games
• Alone In The Dark
• Dr Hauzer
• Resident Evil Series
• D
• Clock Tower Series
• Parasite Eve Series
• Overblood Series
• Nightmare Creatures Series
• Dino Crisis Series
• Galerians
• Ronin Blade / Soul of The Samurai
• Koudelka
• Evil Dead Hail to the King
• Countdown Vampires
• Devilman
• Fear Effect Series
• Martian Gothic Unification
• Doom
• Alien Trilogy
• Exhumed / Powerslave
• Alien Resurrection
• Hybrid
• Lifeforce Tenka / Codename Tenka
• Spacehulk Vengeance of the Blood Angels
• Defcon 5
• Hexen
• Hellnight / Dark Messiah
• Iru
• Reikoku
• The Note
• Gege No Kitaro
• Tecmos Deception
• Shadow Tower
• Kingsfield Series
• Echonight Series
• Germs
• Other Popular & Unknown Survival Horror Games
• Silent Hill
• Cultural Impact of Horror Games

The History of PS1 Horror Games

When we think about horror video games, there is one console that stands out as the central hub of where the genre came into popularity where it is most fondly remembered and that is the Sony PlayStation.

The PlayStation is one of the most influential and inspirational consoles in history that has a very unique list of games with series spanning generations of gamers to become immersed in the franchises and the varieties of titles that were available.

But very few people know that the PlayStation had a troubled development history that spawned quite an unusual beginning and these defining moments would help to skyrocket the console to become the Pinnacle Hub of many future genre-defining titles ranging from racing to RPG and fighting games that would change the face of the video games industry forever.

The success of the console would filter into the timeline of its successor, the PlayStation 2, that would become the greatest-selling console of all time.

This success would not have been made possible without the prominent status of its predecessor.

The PlayStation 2, Looking Back is the best selling console of all time but it's iconic predecessor would help change the Outlook and influence of the game's industry forever.

There were many experimental and important games released in the early months of the PlayStation console with games like Wipeout, Ridge Racer, Tekken and Destruction Derby among others that would help to influence future games development and entice more third-party developers to produce and publish games on the console.

The PlayStation would also become the first console to have a huge influence on the dance Pop Culture Club scene of the time that would be reminiscent of its somewhat bizarre yet obscure advertisement campaigns.

This concept would fit in with the experimental nature of the games being developed and produced on the system and would play a massive role for the inspiration of upcoming titles that had yet to be released, but the PlayStation isn't just known for its futuristic premise and inspired future generations of consoles and Gamers to follow suit, but it would also create and solidify one of the most groundbreaking and Atmospheric genres in the game's industry known as Survival Horror.

The PlayStation would become the first grown-up-themed console that would be aimed at a much more mature audience of gamers.

The future of horror games had to take its inspiration from somewhere when many gamers wanting to understand the influences behind why the games they were playing made them feel so uneasy, but the two big questions are: Why are PlayStation 1 games so scary? and What made them create such an unnerving tension that made you feel uneasy and terrified when playing?

To gain a better understanding of this we need to look back over the first documented horror games ever created.

It's interesting to see these first ever envisioned concepts dating back as far as the early 1980s with games like haunted house on the Atari 2600 that would be inspired by the movies of the time.

Each console generation thereafter would attempt its own take on creating unique horror experiences that would adapt and evolve over time.

With horror movies becoming more mainstream dating back to the original black and white movies of bygone Eras while quickly becoming more graphic and Eerie towards the latest 1970s and early 1980s began to have a massive influence on the gaming industry, even 80s cartoons had so much atmosphere when we take a look at popular TV shows like The Real Ghostbusters which is considered by many to be one of the best and most favorable cartoon series of all time during that period that had many spooky and scary moments within each of its episodes.

The Sight of seeing the boogeyman appearing out of a closet would leave you not wanting you all to sleep for a very very long time and I'm sure many people looking back would have a lot of those memories of that cartoon that left the lasting impact that you will still feel even to this day and the same can be said for the cultural impact of video games and the games that had yet to come.

With seeing things like that it's easy to understand why these types of fear elements would become influential within the gaming industry, with many attempts to effectively replicate those ideals but with little success until the evolution of 3D gaming in the early 90s.

Developers will quickly try to capitalize on the success of the ever-growing horror movie franchise with movies such as Dawn of the Dead, Halloween and the Evil Dead among many others that would heavily Inspire many video game iterations to be developed in tandem with upcoming movie releases, however due to the technical limitations of the consoles and Hardware of the time, it was difficult for developers to find the place for horror games to exist as is it yet to find this place within the industry.

It was difficult to create a real feeling of suspense and atmosphere due to the 2D visuals and limited color palettes that were available at the time but in 1989 that would change with the release of Capcom's, Sweet Home which would become the first game to invoke sense of fear in players that presented an aura of suspense in the plot and environments but still would not be enough to scare them to their core.

This game, however, would become the template and inspiration for an iconic series that would later revolutionize horror video games into its own grounded genre.

Many other consoles would also try to develop their own versions of horror style games with titles like Bram Stoker's Dracula and master of Darkness released on Sega consoles such as the Master System that would take a lot of inspiration from the likes of Castlevania but would still be limited to the hardware and design patterns of the time.

Moving forward into the early 90s, there would be one game that would have to inspire many of the iconic horror games on the PlayStation and Beyond with a game known as Alone in the Dark.

Alone in the Dark

Alone in the Dark while many may not know, is one of the first authentic 3D horror gaming experiences that was created by Infogrames for the PC in 1992.

The game would allow you to take control of two playable characters both male and female protagonists by the name of Edward Carnby and Emily Hartwood.

Players would be challenged to search investigate and escape a haunted mansion while solving puzzles using a unique item-based management inventory system and using weapons to dispatch enemies.

The game would also be the first of its kind to implement the renowned yet often hated tank controls all within beautifully crafted 3D environments that would use the iconic fixed camera perspective influencing many games that will later become synonymous with the most iconic horror series that would solidify the term survival horror as its own genre within the games industry.

Alone in the Dark is often known as the grandfather of survival horror as it invented the 3D horror genre that would spawn two sequels and multiple reboots of the series on the PlayStation and later consoles.

Both Alone in the Dark, 1 Eyed Jack's Revenge also known in Europe as Jack is back, and Alone in the Dark, The New Nightmare would see a release on the PlayStation console in 1995 and 2000 with a later reboot that would appear on the PS3, Xbox 360, Nintendo Wii and PC also with a current remake of the first game being developed and reimagined from the ground up.

Be warned however as they earlier Alone in the Dark games can be quite difficult and frustrating to play, needing multiple tries to overcome many of the games trickier environments, enemies and set pieces, but if you want to see where the original elements of survival horror first started, then Alone in the Dark will provide plenty of hair raising moments to satisfy your Cravings that would also provide as the main inspiration for what would become arguably the greatest survival the horror gaming series of all time.

Doctor Hauzer

With the unexpected success of Alone in the Dark in 1992 having to inspire many gaming concepts, it would still take a few years for horror games to become noticed in the mainstream, and during that time there would be a handful of games that would tried to follow in the footsteps of Alone in the Dark with one such Title by the name of Dr Hauzer, which would be developed by River Hillsoft in 1994 for the Panasonic 3DO.

To many the game remains relatively unknown as it only saw a release on the console in Japan. The gameplay shared many similarities with Alone in the Dark the made use of fully 3D rendered environments with the ability to change the different View and play styles from fixed cameras to first person and top-down views, which was ahead of its time and quite a rare sight to see in games during that period.

Many of the game's elements such as the room loading scenes would also provide the inspiration for many horror titles on future consoles.

The game's developers River Hillsoft would also later create 1997's Overblood which would appear on the PlayStation console.

The plot follows Adam Adler, a young newspaper reporter in the 1950s investigating the whereabouts of Dr Hauzer, leading him to a remote and derelict Mansion to look for Clues as to his disappearance, uncovering notes to gain more insights to how the doctor disappeared and a sharp mental decline which led him to murdering his assistants after discovering an artifact that is believed to create immortality to those that can decipher its meaning.

While exploring the mansion Adam encounters many obstacles and traps that have been designed to keep out Intruders from finding out what the doctor is really up to, So Adam must overcome these hurdles while searching for clues and exploring the hidden secrets within the mansion with the goal of finding the doctor.

After stopping the deranged doctor, Adam manages to Escape the Mansion after an explosion which completely destroys the building and its Foundation, falling into a dark abyss below.

Unlike many other survival horror titles, there would be no combat or enemies to encounter, instead, opting for the use of solving puzzles and avoiding traps that will cause instant death.

Dr Hauzer would make use of early 3D cell-shaded visuals for the game's assets and locations that would later be popularized within future generations of game Concepts and ideas.

The director of the original Silent Hill and Forbidden Siren on the PlayStation 2, Kochiro Toyama, cited that it was Dr Hauser that sparked his interest in creating horror games, stating that the game inspired him with its obscure locations and unique atmosphere.

While the game only saw a release in Japan, there have been many fan translations of the game which you can find online.

Dr Hauzer alongside Alone in the Dark would provide the inspiration for many future iconic survival horror titles with ideally the most important entry in the genre, the legendary RESIDENT EVIL...!

Resident Evil Series

We all remember this, arguably one of the most defining moments in the history of survival horror that set the standard for everything that was yet to come.

One of the most influential and important games of the PlayStation 1 era and in history, Resident Evil set the standard for what would become one of the most popular genres in video gaming history known as survival horror.

The original game in the series would be released for the PlayStation under the name Biohazard in Japan but would be renamed as Resident Evil for the American and European regions in 1996, with development starting on the game way back in 1993 and 1994, that would go through many iterations originally intended to be created as a first person horror game.

But due to the technical limitations of the PlayStation hardware, many of the ideas concepts and iterations would have to be dropped in favor of the third person prospective vision that would take direct inspiration from the Alone in the Dark series as the game's main concept on the console.

The game saw members of an elite task force investigating a series of events where horrific and grotesque murders happening within the Raccoon City Limits leading to the members of stars, The Raccoon Special Tactics and Rescue Squad to locate the source of the disturbances while also trying to track down missing members of the Stars Bravo Team which would lead on to the events of the iconic Mansion setting thus the beginning of the story.

Chris Redfield and Jill Valentine would be the main controllable characters within the game with the goal to Escape the Mansion while uncovering the dark secrets that led to the many mass murders within the area to discover that it would all be the cause of a bioweapon laboratory experimental accident which had turned those infected into grotesque, undead monsters.

It was later revealed that the experiments had secretly been conducted by the umbrella pharmaceutical company that had been working on the T-virus.

The game spawned in number of sequels on the console that would breed life into the franchise that would extend beyond the original PlayStation and still remains of mantle within the video games industry even to this day with more sequels and spin-off games that would attempt to cover many areas of the franchise's lore.

The original concept of the series would change its perspective over future entries in the series leading on to the over the shoulder perspective of Resident Evil 4, which would become one of the most iconic games of all time that inspired many if not all of the over-the-shoulder shooter games we see today that would eventually Resort back to its original first person concept with Resident Evil 7 and 8 on the PlayStation 4 on PlayStation 5.

The concepts of these early games in the series including Resident Evil 4 will go through many iterations and prototypes before inevitably being scrapped or canceled in favor of the final versions We are familiar with today.

Many of these shelled iterations would later be used within and Inspire many of Capcom's other iconic horror game franchises such as Dino Crisis, Onimusha and Devil May Cry.

Probably the most notable yet sought after an iconic prototype in the series would be the early Resident Evil 2 prototype that is now known as Resident Evil 1.5.

That like the final game would take place in the built up locations of raccoon city where new characters such as Leon S Kennedy that would become a future fan favorite in the series alongside Elza Walker, a college student that would later be replaced with Claire Redfield, the younger sister of Chris Redfield from the original game with the aim to tie the events of the story together.

This prototype would be scrapped late in development due to the sense of the story not lining up that would possibly have ended the franchise without any possibility of future entries in the series.

However fans of the series have managed to get a hold of some of the original source code from that prototype and managed the piece together various versions and demos of what the game could have looked like which you can now play online.

The final version of Resident Evil 2 would go on to become a commercial success despite the prolonged development being classed as one of the greatest survival horror games of all time.

The game's concept would tie in with and also inspire the events of Resident Evil 3, while introducing most intimidating enemy in the series with the Nemesis that could stalk and follow you around many of the game's locations that only intensified the fear and tension as you played where you could either choose to fight or run which running was usually the safest option.

The success of these sequels like the first game would Inspire future remakes to also be released on later consoles that brought the lore of Resident Evil to a whole new generation of horror gaming fans.

Capcom would try your time that the first person shooter genre with Resident Evil Survivor in the year 2000 and near a Gun Survivor 2 on the PlayStation 2 but would not be as popular as the original entries in the series.

There are many fan mods of the original Survivor game that can be found online that replaces the first person view with the fixed camera perspective of the original games in the series.

The Resident Evil franchise has released multiple entries remakes reimagining's and spin-offs on all major and handheld consoles, some great and some that didn't achieve as much success that spans over 25 years which is a true Testament to how it has created a legacy to inspire all survival horror games that followed.

The game would also spawn many movie and TV show iterations over the years for better or worse would build a unique but somewhat divided fan base for the franchise but the game would become more fondly remembered for its iconic B-movie style voice acting.

The Resident Evil series is well known for experimenting with different ideas and retelling various aspects of the game's lore with many modern iterations and remakes aiming to create a more cohesive storyline plot linking each of the main games in the original story together.

Resident Evil is undoubtedly one of the most important PlayStation games of all time.

It popularized the survival horror genre and defined what would become the franchise's signature formula.

The game's Effectiveness comes from its use of suspense and scares which it expertly weaves into its gruesome tale of a zombie outbreak in Raccoon City.

While the dated graphics and tank controls can be a bit of a turn off for modern gamers, they are a testament to the game's age and the experience it gives the player, as it limits many aspects of how you can play, which only adds to the suspense and tension.

The legacy of Resident Evil would go on to be a cultural phenomenon within the video game space that inspired and solidified the survival horror genre as we know and see it today.

With its tank controls, pre-rendered backgrounds and spine chilling atmosphere, Resident Evil was a pioneer in video game horror and its influence can still be felt in games to this day.

And while it may not be considered as the best game in the series, the original Resident Evil is a must play for any fan of horror games and without it, the games we would experience could have been very different...

D

It wasn't just the success of the Resident Evil series that helped to propel the PlayStation into the Power House for games that would be aimed at a much more mature audience of players.

There would also be a number of lesser known yet innovative titles that were try their hand at developing more unusual ways to scale gamers that would also have to greatly influence the survival horror genre over the future generations to come.

One of the many games to implement these ideas would be a title simply known as D that was released for the PlayStation in 1996 and instead of this being a traditional survival horror game it would primarily base its idea on being an interactive movie and adventure game that would play out portions or sequences at various intervals based on specific choices you would have to make to progress through the story.

The game itself originally saw a release on the Panasonic 3DO with later ports being added to the Sega Saturn and Windows PC alongside of the PlayStation.

The Game follows the story of the main character Laura Harris on a journey to locate her missing father after learning that he became delusional and went on a mass murdering spree inside the hospital where he works and barricaded himself within.

Once inside the hospital, Laura's environment transforms into a Gothic castle where she must explore to find her father's whereabouts.

The player controls the character through a series of FMV sequences and has a time limit of only two hours to investigate the surroundings while solving puzzles and avoiding traps while trying to learn of her father's whereabouts.

The choices you make throughout the game would uncover many of the game's lore and secrets to progress the story, which would be detrimental to your survival or seal a horrific fate.

So if you failed at any point when playing, you would have to begin the experience from the very start.

You later find out that Laura and her father are descendants of a vampiric bloodline also to discover that her memory has been erased by her father due to Laura killing her own mother after acting out on her own bloodline Cravings to drink human blood.

In order to stop her father from being transformed into a vampire, she must kill him in order to sever the bloodline ties, which you only learn about near the end of the game.

The point-and-click style nature of D would play a pivotal role in The Game's atmosphere as the restrictive movements would only add to the tension, coupled with the various choices Laura had to make would determine her fate as each decision had a consequence.

D was an early example of experimental ideas within survival horror that opted for a more unusual and psychological approach taking away the full controllability of the player, instead focusing on choices and puzzle solving skills to determine the fate of the character.

D alongside many other early horror titles on the console would fall under the shadow of the world-renowned Resident Evil but would, like many become a cult classic over future generations.

Clock Tower Series

Clock Tower is a point-and-click survival horror Adventure that was published by Human Entertainment and initially saw a release on the Super Famicom or Super Nintendo, which would be known as the first fear.

The game later got a port to the PlayStation for the Japanese audience only in 1995. 

The original games in the series followed the story of Jennifer Simpson, an orphan, after she has been adopted with the Game's plot trying to avoid the evil clutches of the scissor man, who stalks her relentlessly throughout an old castle in which he must escape.

The series would receive a second release simply under the name Clock Tower name in 1996 in Europe but would be named Clock Tower 2 in Japan.

Games companies back in the early days of video games development had a very unusual way to Brand games when releasing them in different regions.

The game would see the return of the scissor man trying to relentlessly stalk and take the life of the protagonist of the first game Jennifer Simpson.

Jennifer along with the help of other characters spend most of the game trying to avoid the scissor man while investigating and learning the origins of his immortality.

Throughout the game, you will meet many characters that all suffer a horrific fate at the hands of the scissorman.

Like many of the popular and experimental horror games being developed during this time, Clock Tower would be developed utilizing 3D visuals while moving away from the 2D graphical style of the original title for the next generation of consoles during the time.

The game would also make full use of those 3D visuals to present many scary moments with lots of grotesque imagery that only heightened the suspense and Terror of the player.

The game's concept and artistic style would be inspired by The Works of Italian film director Dario Argento who helped produce many film projects, most notably 1985's Phenomena.

As the PlayStation Port was only available in Japan, it has since received an English translation, so fans can follow the stor while fully understanding The Game's lore...

Clock Tower 2, The Struggle Within, also known as Ghost Head in Japan, is the third entry in the series that would present an entirely different plot that would also be considered a spin-off with no mention or sight of the scissor man.

The plot follows a teenage girl Alyssa Hale who suffers from multiple personality disorder with a murderous Alter Ego known as Mr Bates.

The final entry in the series, Clock Tower 3, would be a totally different game from its predecessors that saw a release on the PlayStation 2.

It would move away from the traditional point-and-click gameplay style in favour of the more familiar gameplay mechanics seen in the early Resident Evil games.

Co-developed by Capcom and Sunsoft, the point-and-click elements were all about removed in favour of creating a more atmospheric survival horror experience using similar aspects to the Resident Evil series with fixed camera perspectives that would incorporate the hide and seek mechanics forcing the player to use the environment to hide from threats this gameplay style would also be used on the cult classic Haunting Ground which would be released by Capcom on the PlayStation 2 a few years later.

Many of the elements seen in these games would Inspire Night Cry, a 2016 release on Steam for the PC that is often seen as a spiritual successor to the earlier Clock Tower Games. 

The Clock Tower series is among some of the most notable games in the survival horror genre that added many elements to the experimental nature of games being developed at that time that also helped to inspire many modern titles that we see today.

Parasite Eve Series

With the rise in popularity of survival horror, many companies while not known for their interests in horror games would also throw their hat into the ring to project their own unique ideas and vision to create some very unusual concepts that at first glance may not seem possible but would also build on the status of previous entries in the genre to expand to the point of also becoming cult classics in their own right due to the ideas being brought forward with one title by the name of Parasite Eve.

A game that would utilize elements of survival horror and mix them with the gameplay mechanics of popular RPG games which for many seem like an unlikely possibility but would see great success while also seeing many future sequels and similar style games from other independent companies being released.

Being inspired by the success of Resident Evil and a book of the same name, Parasite Eve was created by SquareSoft now known as Square Enix for the PlayStation that follows the story of a New York City Police officer by the name of Aya Bree investigating the weird and disturbing occurrences where the city's inhabitants have been transformed into hideous creatures caused by the parasite known as mitochondria that has evolved inside its primary host known as Eve, who later infects more people that also turn into grotesque monsters throughout the story.

With squaresoft being renowned for primarily creating RPG games took a risk and decided to incorporate a game that infused RPG elements with survival horror that would initially create its own sub-genre known as J-Horror.

This concept would also piggyback off the raising popularity of Japanese horror movies at the time, which allowed the game to become a cult classic.

While the game was an experimental concept at its time of development and release, It plays very differently when compared to other survival horror games of its time which also helped to favour the unusual mix of turn-based RPG systems and horror elements that would only influence and increase its cult status.

Parasite Eve wouldn't see a release in Europe, therefore only be made available to both Japanese and American audiences which would only enhance its popularity and cult status as the game for years had become a rare sight to many interested gamers who were desperate to play and experience the game's unique elements.

The game Incorporated many unique elements and took great inspiration from Resident Evil with the use of pre-rendered backgrounds, fixed camera angles, perspectives and tank controls while putting its own stamp on the genre that would greatly influence its excellent sequel, Parasite Eve 2 and many other survival horror games on the PlayStation and Beyond. 

Parasite Eve 2 would follow the events of the first game reprising the role of Aya Bree being assigned to a new task force to hunt down the bio-organic creatures while uncovering new experiments that are transforming people into even more hideous creatures.

The gameplay would use many of the RPG elements from the first game but would Implement a more direct approach to the combat mechanics similar to the Resident Evil games.

The Parasite Eve series wouldn't receive another entry in the franchise until 2011 under a spin-off name by the third birthday that would be released on the Sony PSP.

Parasite Eve, in its own right, would help to expand the survival horror genre beyond what had previously been seen with the Resident Evil series and other iconic games that would open up the door to more opportunities and ideas of producing games that could unnerve and scare players in many different ways as it proved that combining different gameplay elements from other genres could work.

The Parasite Eve series was extremely innovative for its time with its use of many experimental elements that paid off and is considered to be among some of the greatest survival horror games ever made both on the PlayStation and in the games industry.

Overblood

Beyond the realm of more noticeable and popular games in the genre, there were many other games that added many elements and experimental features that, although may not have reached the popularity or Mass Appeal of more iconic titles but managed to stand out due to their unique Concepts ideas and surreal nature that only had to influence the survival horror genre even further throughout the PlayStation's iconic Legacy.

Many of these titles would fall into the long forgotten realm of obscurity but still left a mark on the industry with a lot of their unique elements being used to inspire many of today's horror titles that we see being created by fans and Indie developers alike which proves why the survival horror genre is so fondly admired and adored by many...!

This next game would be one of the titles to take many influences from Resident Evil while adding its own unique perspective being set in the future.

Overblood is a 3D sci-fi Horror Adventure game that was developed by River Hillsoft and published by Electronic Arts for the PlayStation in 1997.

The game would be one of the first ever survival horror experiences to make use of fully 3D rendered environments that also give players the ability to play the game from multiple camera perspectives with fixed camera angles used in Resident Evil and Alone in the Dark while also making use of third and first person perspectives to suit each player's style.

The game would also incorporate many gameplay elements from platforming to using a variety of weapon types from guns and fighting combat styles while being able to interchange between playable characters at any time to work into tandem to complete many of the game's puzzles to progress the game's story plot.

The game features the role of the main protagonist Raz Karcy being awoken from a cryogenic sleeping chamber following a system malfunction that takes place in a hidden research facility where a team of scientists have been conducting controversial genetic cloning experiments.

Upon Awakening, Raz is left cold and confused with no memory of his identity or who he is.

He would be accompanied by two other playable characters further into the story with a small friendly robot by the name of Pipo and one of the facilities scientists Milly Azray with the premise of the story to escape the facility alive while avoiding the monsters or zombie-like creatures which they will inevitably encounter throughout their Adventure.

Pipo would eventually be destroyed while trying to save Raz from one of the zombie clone encounters, which ultimately leads to Raz and Milly desperately trying to escape while trying to discover and investigate the events that have taken place within the facility and to discover his identity.

Raz would later find out that he himself is a clone of the head scientists conducting the experiments that after the outbreak, also became infected with the same virus that has hideously transformed all of the other clones into zombie-like creatures that roam around the facility.

The game itself received mixed reviews and isn't without its flaws, mainly with the janky tank based controls and combat system, but one of the main elements fondly remembered was for its voice acting and if you've played the first Resident Evil you'll know why.

The game was praised however for its unique setting, the atmosphere along with many features and experimental nature it presented to the player but somewhat lacked in the scare department as there were not many enemy encounters in the game.

Overblood received a sequel a few years later with Overblood 2 that would be a very different game where it removed the survival horror elements from the original and instead replaced them with RPG and Adventure elements featuring a team of Freedom Fighters at war with corrupt world organizations with the aim of leaving earth to live freely on another planet.

The game would replace the full 3d environments and Aesthetics in favour of 2D pre-rendered backgrounds to work with many of the open world style environments in the game, and with this style, it presents a very similar look and feel to Final Fantasy VII, where it took most of its visual inspiration from.

The Overblood series while often overlooked remains relatively unknown to many but would provide many useful elements that would inspire the creation of future games in the survival horror genre...

Nightmare Creatures

Parasite Eve and Overblood weren't the only games to combine elements from different genres successfully, but this next title would create the basis and inspiration for some of the greatest games ever in the modern era.

Nightmare Creatures is an action-based survival horror beat em up that would be added to the ever-growing list of iconic games to be seen on the PlayStation in early 1998.

The game would combine a unique yet very experimental mix of gameplay styles from many popular genres such as survival horror, adventure and platforming with fighting and beat em up gameplay elements that combined a range of mixed martial arts styles to engage in combat with the use of various weapons while also having the ability to perform fatal blows through body dismemberment to eliminate the monsters, zombies and many of the game's enemies.

These Concepts would eventually become the catalyst to provide inspiration for many modern and iconic titles such as Dark Souls, Demon Souls, Bloodborne and Elden Ring, that provided a rich atmospheric experience with plenty of unsettling and hair-raising moments and jump scares to fill the player with an intense sense of fear and panic.

Although it was more fast-paced compared to other survival horror titles, by combining all of these elements provided a new concept to horror games that evoked a terrifying sense of creepy atmosphere attention giving the impression that terror lurked around every corner.

You would think that from the initial concept that it couldn't be possible to make all of these elements work together, the logic behind it would deem those ideas impossible to execute, but it is one of the very few games to have managed this feat, as many of those elements from the dark aesthetic of the gothic level design and the combat mechanics have been influential to the development of popular modern titles such as Bloodborne which is considered by many to be the spiritual successor to the nightmare creature series.

The premise of the game takes place in a fictional story during the Victorian Gothic era in the year 1834, that sees the city of London fall victim to many unsightly scenes and evil occurrences, with reports of people transforming and mutating into grotesque monsters and insanely hideous creatures with zombified corpses of the dead rising from the graves all throughout the city...

These horrific events were caused by various experiments drawn upon events, dating back from the 16th century by a group known as the Brotherhood of Hecate, a devil worshiping cult that were conducting Sinister experiments to create superhuman beings with the intention of taking over the city of London and eventually to dominate the world.

Instead of creating super beings their experiments would create horrific and grotesque monstrosities which they would then use as an army to conquer the world.

Before the domination of the Brotherhood could take place, in an event to stop the impending disaster a member of the cult organization known as Samuel Peps sets fire to the main headquarters resulting in starting the great Fire of London, destroying many of the experiments and monsters in the process.

This would later lead on to the events of the game centuries later with a book being dropped off at the home of one of the main characters, Ignatius Blackward, a priest and occult expert that discovers while researching the book that it is the lost Diary of Samuel Peps.

With this new found information Ignatius sends the diary to an American Professor who then travels to London with his daughter Nadia, the second of the game's main characters to learn more about this newfound information.

Not long after their arrival Nadia's father is murdered and the diary is stolen.

Both Ignatius and Nadia later discover that the member of the Brotherhood of Hecate cult

Adam Crowley has resumed in conducting vile rituals to continue the experiments after acquiring the lost diary to finish what the cult had originally started centuries ago.

This leads Ignatius and Nadia to investigate the city streets, dark alleyways and abandoned buildings around London defeating monsters and putting an end to Adam Crawley's reign of terror once and for all.

The sequel, Nightmare Creatures 2 would continue the series storyline plot some years into the future after the first game's events, where the rituals and experiments continued but took place throughout different environments such as Paris.

A third game was in development but was later canceled in 2004.

Some of the most memorable elements to note from the game are its intense mix of jump scares, eerie locations, terror inducing atmosphere and a great soundtrack that mixed Gothic themes with heavy rock that at first may seem odd but really helps to create a very unique vibe that stood out from many other horror games at the time.

The Nightmare Creature Series has inspired many unique and obscure survival horror games to be developed over the years with large companies, Indie developers and fans creating their own vision to craft some very unique concepts to prove that this mixed style of gaming genre works and as a result has a very loyal following.

It will be interesting to see some of the future Creations from these fans and also proves that new ideas can always be crafted from all the concepts that can appeal to all the new horror gaming fans...

Dino Crisis Series

Dino Crisis would be a new entry within Capcom's Survival horror lineup in 1999, where the game would take direct inspiration from its Resident Evil counterparts that would present new locations and environments but would replace decaying zombies and other monstrosities with dinosaurs which was a calculated risk that would achieve cult status and huge success within the video game industry.

Aside from the Resident Evil influences, the games in the series would take huge inspiration from the legendary Jurassic Park movie franchise that would pit the game's characters on the quest to investigate a secret research facility on an unknown Island to understand and learn about the disappearances of many of the laboratory scientists and researchers only to discover that a failed experiment caused the island to be overrun with dinosaurs and other prehistoric monsters.

So it is up to the game's protagonists to solve the quest and save any possible survivors while escaping what their lives intact.

While this would be the premise of the game's story there are also plenty of plot twists along the way to surprise the unsuspecting player.

There are many differences in the gameplay elements and overall visual style regarding the original Dino Crisis as it uses very similar aesthetics to the Resident Evil series with item management, weapons and fixed camera angles but would use fully 3D rendered environments for the base of the gameplay with the emphasis on making the experience more natural and lifelike.

The dinosaur enemies themselves were more intelligent than mindless drowning zombies that could anticipate your movements to prepare for an attack but could also follow you into rooms that only intensified the panic-inducing moments.

This kind of gameplay mechanic would be seen previously within the third entry of the Resident Evil series with the Nemesis aggressively following you throughout rooms of the RPD station and other areas of the game where you either had to run or Dodge attacks or engage in battle to take him out of the equation for a while before the next encounter.

The second game in the series Dino Crisis 2 would remove the 3D rendered backgrounds with the tried and tested pre-rendered visual style perspective and opted for a more action-focused gameplay style which was more fast-paced with various weapon upgrade systems but still managed to retain the panic-inducing fear that was represented in the first game.

The third entry in the series Dino Crisis 3 would see a release on the Xbox a few years later but this sequel had little to no relevance to the original two titles in the series.

Like Resident Evil before it, the Dino Crisis franchise would test a variety of ideas, prototypes and concepts that would see many of them cancelled during the early development phases, but a few spin-off games would make its way into the wilderness with Dino stalker an FPS light gun spin-off that would replicate elements from the Resident Evil Survivor series and another game that would appear on mobile devices in 2007.

But unlike Resident Evil the Dino Crisis series for whatever reason has remained in limbo with Capcom remaining unsure as to the franchise's Future despite the crying outpour from nostalgic Gamers to revisit the games and possibly develop a remake leading to fans developing their own versions and remakes of the original game due to the lack of feedback hoping that somehow Capcom will take action...

Galerians

Galerians is a survival horror game developed by polygon magic for the PlayStation in 1999 that follows the story of a young boy named Rion who while trying to learn about his identity was suffering from Amnesia discovered that he has psychic powers while finding out that he is Humanity's Last Hope for survival against Genetically Enhanced humans known as the galerians.

The game's plot revolves around Rion escaping from a laboratory trying to survive while learning that an advanced self-replicating artificial intelligence system known as Dorothy has malfunctioned and broken free from its programming Matrix to come to the conclusion the humans are an inferior species and must be eliminated at all costs and instead replace them with a superior enhanced race of humans.

Taking much inspiration from the Resident Evil games, Galerians utilizes many game player aesthetics and mechanics such as the pre-rendered backgrounds and fixed camera perspectives that had become synonymous with the genre up to that point but replace zombies and monsters with Advanced beings that would adapt to your attack patterns.

Instead of using guns and weapons Rion must utilize his psychic abilities to defeat enemies to put an end to Dorothy and save humanity from an impending fate.

Rion must also save his friend Lilia who has the virus code to destroy Dorothy deep within her mind and she must work with Rion to trigger the virus to put an end to Dorothy's rain of terror.

Rion will also encounter many characters test subjects and minions on his journey that have been sent to stop him from achieving his goal.

A sequel would follow up with Galerian's Ash a few years later on the PlayStation 2, continuing the story with Rion trying to stop the last few Advanced Galerian beings created by Doherty to continue their quest to eliminate the human race.

The gameplay would take a different approach in the sequel removing the fixed camera angles in favour of a more traditional third person perspective that would be more prominent in popular action adventure games similar to Tomb Raider and Syphon Filter.

Galerian's, while having many similarities to popular iconic games within the genre, it is often overlooked which shouldn't be the case as the game presents many unique elements that have helped to popularize the survival horror genre on the PlayStation...

Ronin Blade

Ronin Blade also known as Soul of the Samurai was published by Konami for the PlayStation in 1999 and is a unique action-adventure game says in the feudal era of Japan that utilizes many survival horror elements and gameplay

Aesthetics that many players would be familiar with regarding to other notable games in the genre.

The game's story follows the Journey of two playable characters Kotaro, a lone Samurai and Lin a ninja each with their own path to follow with the stories plot being interconnected with the goal to stop and evil overlord that has been dealing with demonic rituals and creating hideous parasites that are being used to infect the local townspeople and turning them into zombie-like creatures.

Among the game's locations plots and altercations it is up to Kotaro and Lin to put an end to the reign of terror by exploring the vast landscape and environments by acquiring weapons, upgrades and abilities to defeat enemies.

The gameplay shares many elements from a variety of games across different genres on the PlayStation with swordplay combat from the likes of Bushido Blade and Tenchu Stealth Assassins while utilizing the control style of popular survival horror games with Resident Evil and Dino Crisis.

The game world and environments would consist of 2D pre-rendered backgrounds while making use of the popular fixed camera perspective, taking much inspiration from other horror games in the genre.

During its development Ronin Blade will go through many redesigns and iterations during its original development before being met with a mixed reception during its final release.

It is also one of the few titles to find the balance between the gameplay elements and combat style used within games using pre-rendered visuals as this had been a difficult feat to achieve for many previous games found on the PlayStation...

Koudelka

Koudelka is a survival horror RPG developed by Sacnoth and would work under combined publishing efforts on both SNK and Infogrames for the PlayStation, Japan in 1999 and released internationally in 2000.

Set in the 1800s and inside the confines of an old Monastery in the Welsh Countryside, the game's plot follows the story of three protagonists Koudelka, Edward and a bishop by the name of James O'Flaherty to uncover the monastery's long forgotten secrets while trying to survive the many encounters fending off attacks from Spiritual Beings and grotesque monsters throughout their quest.

Taking a lot of ideas and inspiration from games such as Parasite Eve and Resident Evil, the game would use many similar features in gameplay aesthetics to create a unique survival horror experience but without for a more traditional turn-based combat system that would most notably seen in popular role-playing games such as

Final Fantasy 7, Breath of Fire 3 and many other titles within the RPG genre while using grid-based elements to allow the characters to move around the 3D maps within each combat sequence gradually.

The game's environments would Implement 2D pre-rendered backgrounds with fixed camera perspectives while incorporating a beautiful gothic visual style and design with unique voice acting dialogue and storytelling which was a unique concept that failed to deliver in many earlier survival horror games in the genre.

The acting and dialogue is one of the standard features of this game as it was released at a time when storytelling was beginning to become a major focus within games that had often been overlocked within previous games and titles on the PlayStation and other consoles.

How unusual that you two have decided to come to our rural district there's really nothing interesting here.

The game would also makes puzzle solving elements along with the exploration and turn-based combat elements to create a unique experience that provided an eerie atmosphere and tension for the player with the entire story of the game being spread out over four discs, a feat rarely seen on PlayStation games while receiving favorable reviews in Japan the game once released worldwide would receive mixed criticism but was considered good enough to set the foundation for its spiritual successor, the very popular and iconic Shadow Hearts series that found a home on future consoles such as the PlayStation 2.

At the time of Koudelka's release J-Horror was still a New Concept for Western and European gaming audiences that didn't fully understand the game's concepts wanting to focus on more action-orientated titles, which caused the game to be overlooked by many but for those that understood RPG games would see the unique elements that Koudelka had to offer which is why it has become a cult classic in recent times with new fans and older gamers finally appreciating the titles overlooked obscurities that was ahead of its time...

Evil Dead Hail to the King

Developed by Heavy Iron Studios and published in 2001 by THQ, Evil Dead Hail to the King would act as a sequel to the iconic movie series that features Bruce Campbell as the main protagonist Ash trying to stop the horrific events after unleashing demonic creatures and beings from the Necronomicon otherwise called The Book of the Dead.

Taking place a few years after the events of the Army of Darkness movie, Bruce Campbell returns to voice the iconic character of Ash with all of his witty quips and cheeky humor with the aim to save his girlfriend and put an end to the mess that is caused by his possessed hand appearing and playing a recording of the phrases from the Necronomicon which unleashes the evil demons and deadites once again.

Ash would have to Traverse through many of the game's locations to uncover the missing pages of the Necronomicon to cast a spell that would send the demons back to the Underworld.

The game would see a release on both the PlayStation and Sega Dreamcast receiving mixed reviews but would follow the traditional survival horror look, utilizing fixed camera angles and pre-rendered backgrounds while also using the controversial tank controls and utilizing an item inventory system that would force Ash to hunt for limited supplies and ammunition to survive.

Taking inspiration from the heavy headers of the survival horror genre where Resident Evil, Parasite Eve and Dino Crisis, the series would receive two more game entries with Evil Dead A Fistful of Boomstick and Evil Dead regeneration a few years later on the PlayStation 2.

A TV spin-off would revisit the story 30 years later with Ash vs The Evil Dead which ran from 2015 to 2018 with a total of three series.

It has since been mentioned that an animated series is currently in the works.

Evil Dead is an iconic series that has stood the test of time with a loyal fan base that fits into the survival horror genre.

Countdown Vampires

Countdown Vampires published by Bandai and released for the PlayStation in 2000 is a survival horror game that takes much inspiration from the Resident Evil series.

The game follows Keith J Snyder a homicide detective who is assigned a task as a nightclub bodyguard to protect several VIPs when a fire breaks out while a weird liquid ends up being dispersed from the fire sprinkling system that transforms many of the establishment's occupants into vampire type creatures who proceed to kill and devour all of the other people inside of the nightclub.

The gameplay begins with Keith trying to survive the ordeal while trying to save any survivors he can find along the way, proceeding to forward the events to find and investigate the origins of this liquid that is transforming people into hideous monsters while the game utilizes many similar features in gameplay mechanics that would replace zombies with vampires the focus of the game is to explore the environments while trying to stop the impending threat of the many monsters that roam around the various stages within the game.

Many of the game's enemies can be killed using standard weapons but the player is also given a choice to stun and sedate the human vampire creatures while using a special chemical that transforms them back into their original human form.

The game would receive rather unfavorable reviews stating that the gameplay was broken with many limiting flaws from the poor quality AI, fiddly controls and misspelt text dialogue that made it difficult to understand when trying to solve many of the game's puzzles and what is considered by many to be among some of the worst voice acting witnessed in a video game that makes the original Resident Evil's acting sound like a masterpiece...

There are a lot of Gamers out there that truly hate the game due to many of its fundamental flaws, yet at the same time has also achieved somewhat of a cult status because of its experimental and very obscure nature.

While the game has many inherent flaws, it is still playable and provides a very different experience that coincides with many of the experimental survival horror games seen on the PlayStation with physical copies of the game demanding high prices if you choose to look for it online.

Devilman

Based on a popular manga anime series of the same name, Devilman is a survival horror game that would be released in Japan only for the PlayStation in 2000.

The game follows the Journey of two characters Akira and Rio who are trapped inside a large mansion filled with many bloodthirsty monsters and demonic entities with Akira merging and being taken over and possessed by a powerful demon to defeat the monsters and enemies within the game.

The game itself takes heavy inspiration from the Resident Evil series regarding its gameplay style and mechanics, utilizing many survival horror and puzzle solving elements with fixed camera perspectives while using 3D rendered environments and the more controversial tank controls.

The plot would be broken up into two main parts with the first being to evade and hide from enemies and later on after transforming into the Devilman would consist of fighting and defeating many of the game's enemies.

Upon completion of the game would unlock a separate scenario to play true events of the 1972 TV series, but with the game only seeing a release in Japan it is relatively unknown to many gamers outside of the region therefore, little is known about the game's background other than its ties to the anime series.

Fear Effect Series

Released in 2000, Fear Effect would take a different approach to the tried and tested methods of horror games similar to Resident Evil that would follow the story of three mercenary characters on a mission to kidnap the daughter of a powerful Hong Kong Triad boss and holder to ransom.

What should be a simple snatch and grab quickly turns into a fiasco forcing the characters to fight for survival while uncovering many Dark Secrets of the underworld to realize that many demons and zombie-led creatures are roaming the Earth which they must put a stop to.

While venturing on their Journey each character will meet an undecided fate where choices will have to be made at different intervals to determine who lives or dies resulting in many of the game's possible endings.

Unlike many other horror games on the PlayStation fear effect would remove the standard blocky polygonal characters with an almost comic book visual style using cell shaded Graphics.

The backgrounds and environments of the game while using fixed camera perspectives would instead remove move the 2D pre-rendered backgrounds in favour of being composed of streaming or looping full motion video which gave a sense of realism to the levels and surroundings that the characters occupied which made the world around the player feel like it was alive.

This would be a relatively New Concept seen in video gaming.

The game was highly praised for its graphics and unique visual style but would be criticized for its clunky control systems and challenging gameplay.

The sequel would be released in 2001 with Fear Effect 2 Retro Helix that would act as a prequel to tell an origin story that will lead up to the events of the first game foreign.

The fear effect franchise would eventually fall into obscurity until the release of Fear Effect Sedna in 2018 which reprises the roles of the original series characters played from an isometric gameplay perspective instead of the fixed camera elements of the original games.

A remake of the first game known as fear effect reinvented would be announced in 2017 with Square Enix filing for the trademark to produce more games in the series but very little information has been made available since its original announcement.

Martian Gothic Unification

Martian Gothic Unification is a survival horror game initially set as an exclusive to the PC in 2000 and later ported to the PlayStation in 2001.

This would also be one of the last remaining survival horror games to be released on the PlayStation console.

The games plot takes place on a martian base situated on the planet of mars with three characters having to investigate the unusual radio silence to try and understand the events of what has caused the reasons behind why the base's inhabitants have disappeared to later discover that an uncovered artifact with unusual power has turned the people into zombies and other hideous creatures.

The game's concept takes inspiration and a lot of ideas from the Resident Evil series utilizing tank-based control systems with pre-rendered backgrounds and fixed camera perspectives. 

The gameplay is focused heavily on gun combat and Exploration with the main emphasis on puzzle solving to progress further within the story.

With the evolution of the story you learn that in order to survive the horrific events all three characters which you will have control over at various points have to walk their own path and must not come into contact with each other at any point as the threatening alien presence will cause them to transform into grotesque monsters that will result in the ending of the game.

The game tries to put a different spin on the survival horror aesthetic with these gameplay mechanics by having the ability to change between each of the characters at any time adds to the complexity of the puzzle solving elements seen in the game.

This gameplay mechanic would later be seen in Resident Evil 0 on a Nintendo GameCube.

One of the major issues with the game would be that you could not permanently eliminate enemies as they would constantly be reanimated after a period of time leading to many players frustration where you would have to actively think about conserving ammo and supplies.

Martian Gothic would also be one of the last known survival horror games to be released on the PlayStation as it had been ported to the console during the later stage of its lifespan and the game would often be overlooked because of this.

Often referred to as a clunky yet difficult game, it has made a name for itself over the years by becoming somewhat of a cult classic.

While it may not appeal to everyone it has many unique gameplay elements that is worth exploring into if you're a fan of classic survival horror games...

First Person Horror Shooters

Doom

While the PlayStation would become home to a very obscure mix of groundbreaking and lesser known titles within the horror genre, it wasn't the only category that would experiment with these survival horror elements.

The first person shooter or FPS genre would also throw its hat into the ring incorporating survival horror elements into many of its games with PC ports of the iconic Doom and Final Doom which were among the First FPS games to induce a real sense of fear and suspense among players, taking on the role of the only human Survivor to eliminate the demon hellspawn that have invaded earth.

When Doom first released on PC in 1993 it pushed the boundaries of what was capable with video games and Technology at that time by allowing players to immerse themselves and engage in fully 3D rendered environments.

Doom was also one of the first true games to present a real sense of horror and fear that presented players with a dark, somber tone with a great use of lighting and level design, plenty of jump scares and Eerie elements from the use of creepy sound effects that left players feeling on edge all the time, not sure where threats would appear from next.

As Doom was also one of the first full 3D design games to allow the addition of texture design for use on various assets while adding dynamic movements with the control system which created motion sickness for many players that left them feeling nauseous.

This would also add to the unusual feeling players would experience during play.

Doom is considered to be one of the scariest and most influential games of all time in the video game industry as it inspired the way FPS games are designed and played today.

The PlayStation version of Doom would include all of the original campaign levels from both

Doom 1 and Doom 2, along with some console only exclusive levels such just the iconic Club Doom...

A follow-up sequel with Final Doom would add more levels and unique elements that would expand the player's experience with the Doom series.

There have been many fan mods that have been developed over the years on the PC with the use of the original game engine used to create the game that has allowed fans to create their own vision of the ultimate Doom experience.

Doom was also one of the first games alongside Alone in the Dark to Output a true sense of fear within the gaming environment with dark tones and lighting, along with an eerie audio soundtrack that presented an unusual mix of unnerving atmosphere and tension that had never been witnessed before and it is due to these elements that has allowed Doom to be placed as one of the greatest games of all time in the video game industry...

Alien Trilogy

Released in 1996, Aklaim entertainment's Alien Trilogy would also incorporate many of these fear-inducing elements taking inspiration from Doom to tie in with the events of the original three movies in the series that presented a game with a much darker tone that gave players a real sense of dread while exploring the dark hallways and corridors of the game's environments solving puzzles and finding new areas to explore all while trying to avoid and eliminate the alien xenomorph creatures and many other enemies.

Alien Trilogy expanded on the many elements seen in Doom while also heightening the suspense and terror, never knowing where alien monsters would appear from as the dark lighting in each of the levels would restrict the player's field of view looking into the darkness leaving players terrified to venture further into the various environments.

You would have to make each shot count with the weapons acquired in the game as ammo was extremely limited.

Like many of the horror games seen on the PlayStation making use of the graphical limitations greatly added to the suspense of the game an Alien Trilogy made full use of these features to terrify players.

Fear lurked around every corner and you would not see what entities would be close by until they appeared right next to you.

The game is considered by many as one of the greatest FPS games of all time and even more so on consoles during the mid 90s.

As it stands, Alien Trilogy is also considered as one of the best movie tie-in games ever created, leading to its success and prominent cult status that helped to inspire many future FPS games in the genre...

Exhumed/Power Slave

Exhumed otherwise known as Power Slave in other regions would become a groundbreaking entry into the first person shooter genre that would take many elements from Doom while expanding on the gameplay with various power-up elements and mechanics that players would have to acquire and unlock through playing to reach, explore and find secret areas in order to progress the story.

Exhumed would be released on both the Sony PlayStation and the Sega Saturn with the PC version being developed with an entirely different game engine that would make use a more advanced and complex mechanics that were not capable on consoles at that time.

This game is among some of the best gaming experiences you can have and was ahead of its time on the PlayStation with excellent high resolution visuals, great use of weapons, level and sound design with plenty of interactive features that greatly added to the replay value of the game.

Exploration and upgrading your characters abilities would be the main focus as many of the environments within Exhumed would require revisiting only after the player has acquired specific artifacts that would allow for further exploration to new levels and hidden areas to progress The Game's plot.

Like Doom before it, you play the role of a lone soldier that is tasked with saving the world from being overrun by aliens and other demonic creatures which you will encounter throughout many of the games dark and eerie levels and environments with the help of the spirit of an ancient Egyptian god to stop the monster siphoning the power from his mummified corpse which they intend to use to control and destroy the world.

This would be among the first games to use such elements that would provide many unique features that had not been seen in FPS games at the time.

Still for its release in 1996, Exhumed was considered one of the better looking and visually impressive games on the PlayStation that also helped pave the way for future FPS games to take inspiration from.

Exhumed, despite having many groundbreaking elements would often be overlooked but would help to set a new standard for games development on gaming platforms during the mid 90s which has since received a Revival with a modern remake combining elements from both the PlayStation and Sega Saturn console versions to create a unique experience to appeal to a new generation of gamers...

Alien Resurrection

Alien Resurrection would be released on the PlayStation in 2000 a few years after the movie's release that went through a somewhat troubled but lengthy development process with many ideas, iterations and prototypes being developed before finally being confirmed as a survival horror FPS shooter.

Alien Resurrection would be one of the first few FPS games on the system to make use of fully 3D rendered environments that would take much inspiration from the incredible Quake 2 Port that would be seen on the PC that would later be released on the PlayStation taking much inspiration from both Doom and its predecessor Alien Trilogy, Alien Resurrection proved that it was possible to create an atmosphere drenched experience that would truly unnerve the player as they traversed through many of the game's environments while tackling enemies conserving the limited ammo and reserves while solving puzzles that would create one of the scariest experiences on gaming consoles during that time.

The game would also become the First FPS shooter to make full use of the twin stick analog control system of the DualShock controllers which after much criticism due to the difficult learning curve, would become the Mainstay and controls of FPS games for consoles moving forward even to this day.

Like Alien Trilogy and Doom before it, the levels in the game were dripping with atmosphere that increased the overall tension of the experience that very few FPS games managed to accomplish at the time.

Despite the troubled development, Alien Resurrection played a pivotal role in the future of FPS games and survival horror games as it helped to push the boundaries for what was possible with games and storytelling at the time as it managed to utilize the limits of the PlayStation to its fullest potential to produce one of the scariest and most groundbreaking entries for its time within the game's industry.

There were many other FPS Shooters on the system that would take inspiration from Doom, Exhumed and the Alien series while making use of many of the fear-inducing elements that can be seen in games such as:

• Hybrid
• Life Force Tenka
• Space Hulk Vengeance of the Blood Angels
• Defcon 5
• Hexen

While many of these games were not survival horror games exactly but they would use and incorporate many of the dark tones and atmospheric vibes that had become synonymous with the experimental nature of games that were appearing on the PlayStation at that time that would have a huge influence within the FPS horror genre over future Generations.

First person horror was still a relatively new concept to video gaming around the time of the PlayStation but due to various hardware and graphical limitations, many developers struggled with making these ideas a reality when you look at the plethora of indie first person horror titles that literally saturate the front pages of Steam and modern gaming sites, you can clearly see the influence of this gameplay style and why so many developers have tried to create their own concepts of what they would consider to be the definitive horror experience.

Hell Night

When looking back over the many horror games that populated the PlayStation lineup, there were a handful of titles that managed to create and master the fear-inducing elements of the first person perspective that were often overlooked by many gamers of the time as although the games were very atmospheric and unnerving but the clunky and sluggish controls are usually what would hamper the experience for many players.

These games would also be considered to be among the scariest and most atmospheric games to be released on the system.

One of the most notable games in this category would be Hell Night otherwise known as Dark Messiah in Japan...

Hell Night is an atmospheric horror Adventure title set in a futuristic Tokyo setting where the city is overrun with corruption and criminal activities.

The plot of the game takes place beneath the city streets within the Subways and Sewer environments with the main character and a young girl called Naomi being among the only survivors of a horrific train crash that ended up being caused by a laboratory scientist who becomes infected by an unknown symbiotic parasite that transforms him into a grotesque and indestructible zombie-like creature.

The game starts with the main character and the young schoolgirl Naomi along with other survivors, some of which have an influence on the game's many endings all depending on who you choose to work with together to escape the mutating monster throughout the abandoned

Subway and Sewer tunnels situated below the surface of the city.

Along the way, you will cross paths with many characters who live in various sections of the sewers to escape the dangerous life of the city streets of Tokyo that will help and provide information regarding the game's plot while gaining access to items and solving puzzles to progress through the story to reach the surface and Escape.

Hell Night makes full use of the first person perspective and control system to full effect by providing an immersive and fear-inducing atmosphere that increases the tension as you try to escape and elude a Relentless enemy.

Upon entering rooms away from the main sewer tunnels, will change the perspective to use pre-rendered backgrounds while utilizing point-and-click mechanics to interact with items and puzzles within the environment.

The game would receive mixed reviews as gamers were unfamiliar with the first person Horror concept and had yet to acquire a warm or interested audience as gamers wanted more action-focused games at the time which resulted in the game falling into a void of obscurity within the PlayStation's history and lineup of experimental games.

Hell Night like many other games of its time would simply be overlooked as first person horror games were not considered to be as popular as the traditional style of survival horror games seen at the time.

But when compared to modern game seen today, the majority of modern indie horror titles all now use this perspective due to the popularity of games like Amnesia, Outlast and big hitters such as Resident Evil 7 Biohazard that helped to make this style of gaming more popular to wider audiences.

This widespread popularity would inspire small creators and development companies like puppet combo to revisit many of these older games like Hell Night for reference when creating their own versions and modern visions of many low Poly horror games that have become commonplace on the front pages of Steam, ITCH IO and other popular gaming sites.

Iru

Iru is a first person survival horror game that takes much inspiration from both the Clock Tower and Echo Night series of games where players must use elements of the environment to hide and avoid impending dangers.

The game was a Japan only exclusive published in 1998 that follows the events surrounding a group of high school students finding themselves locked overnight inside the school to find out that the hallways are haunted by monsters roaming around and killing members of the group.

The player's goal is to run hide and solid puzzles and provide assistance to other people you meet while uncovering the truth and the origins of the monsters and why they are murdering everyone inside of the school.

Like Hell Night, Iru, makes full use of the first person elements and gameplay systems that provides attention-filled experiences with a very unnerving atmosphere that fills the player with a real sense of dread throughout the experience.

Very little information about the game was available to be found online, but within recent years an English fan translation of the game has been made available for fans to gain a complete understanding of the actual story so players can experience the game from a whole different perspective while being able to gain a grasp as to the stories plot so they can find that the true meaning of what happened in the school.

Reihoku

Reihoku to many is a very rare first-person adventure game released for the PlayStation only in Japan in the year 2000.

This game would take much inspiration from other titles within the genre with the likes of Iru and Hell Night but would fall under the radar of obscurity with not many players knowing of its existence.

The game's plot follows the role of a Paranormal Investigator who sets out to investigate various paranormal events and phenomena within an old abandoned mansion that is said to be haunted.

Many of the local townspeople have stated that the Mansion is haunted where there have been recorded sightings of evil spirits Phantoms and events of poltergeist related activity.

The player must invest the mansion and these events to discover the origins and truth behind these unusual occurrences.

The game would mix a first person play style that utilizes psychological elements to unnerve the player throughout the experience with objects in the environment being manipulated

Beyond The Player's control to develop a high level of tense moments with doors opening and closing in the distance with many sudden noises and quick scare scenarios.

Like many of these other rare titles that were released only in Japan, there is very little information known about the game that would see it fall into the realms of obscurity like many other titles hidden away in the depths of the PlayStation's Library...

The Note

Released in 1997 for the PlayStation with the game being developed and published by team bulkhouse alongside Sunsoft, The Note follows the role of a freelance occult journalist by the name of Akira on a journey to investigate the disappearance of a young woman and her high school friends with the only piece of information to their whereabouts being an old photograph taken outside of an old abandoned rundown mansion.

As you might have noticed the old rundown mansion concept became a common theme for survival horror games during the PlayStation era that still continues to this day with the popularity of many modern Indie survival horror titles.

Returning to the events of the game with Akira and the help of his partner Angela manages to find the location of the old mansion somewhere in Europe.

The player's goal is to explore the mansions rooms and hallways and investigate the teenager's whereabouts while uncovering their surroundings, hidden secrets and lore while avoiding they nightmarish creatures to survive.

The game would play very similar to titles very like Hell Night and Iru utilizing a first person perspective to explore fully 3D rendered environments while solving puzzles and interacting with objects like opening window curtains and lighting fires to eliminate the player's surroundings creating a high level of tension as players visibility is severely limited until they can light up each area to see what threats are lurking close by.

The game would also fall into the long forgotten realms of obscurity due to poor reviews focusing on the sluggish controls and slow gameplay aspects with the game becoming very rare and hard to find, you can expect to pay high prices to acquire a physical copy to add to your collection if you're looking for it online.

The Note is just another tragic tale of long forgotten survival horror first person games that have mainly been overlooked over past generations of games but even regardless of the obscurity and nature behind the game it has also led to the inspiration and revival of modern classics that you can now see on modern devices that have brought the first person survival horror genre to a whole new audience of players.

Gege no Kitaro

Gege no Kitaro is the first person Adventure style horror game released in 1997 for the PlayStation exclusively within Japan that utilizes many survival horror elements within its gameplay.

The events of the game lead to witnessing a group of students trying to escape the confines of a haunted high school that has been overrun by evil spirits entities and ghastly Monsters.

The gameplay's emphasis is to run, hide and solve puzzles to escape from the monsters but at times can be somewhat hampered due to the slow and sluggish control system.

A lot of the elements seen in this game would take a lot of inspiration primarily from Iru that also uses very similar gameplay aspects and control systems to guide your characters throughout the various locations within the high school seen in that game like many of the first person horror titles seen on the PlayStation at the time the game would also suffer from the clunky and unresponsive controls with the lack of any real story that leaves players struggling to figure out what to do and how to avoid enemies to progress through the game's story.

Coupled with that there is also very little information that can be found about this game online so trying to figure out what to do and to explain the events of the story of the game can be difficult for those reasons which like many games before it sees it falling into the forgotten realm of obscurity where very few people even know that this game actually exists.

Tecmo's Deception Invitation to Darkness

Tecmo's Deception Invitation to Darkness is a unique role-playing game that utilizes first-person gameplay with survival horror elements that saw a release on the PlayStation in 1996.

Unlike the traditional roles of many RPG games with the main character having to survive the ordeal while saving the world instead the rules would be reversed in deception with the player being tasked with roaming a haunted castle also known as the Castle of the Damned as an evil Overlord with the goal of hunting down unwanted guests and strangers that tried to venture into and explore the castle with different intentions by luring and setting traps to capture or kill them.

Throughout the game the player realizes that he is the victim of many deceptions before his death and must decide which path to choose whether to carry out the heinous acts or convert to a good cause.

The choices you make will directly impact future sections of the game as you play.

The player will interact and move around in a first person perspective all with fully 3D rendered environments to lay down traps and capture intruders.

The player will also have a choice on whether to kill or capture intruders which will provide a variety of rewards that can be used to unlock more features and purchase better traps and even acquire the ability to turn people into monsters to help aid in the capture and destruction of anyone who enters the castle.

The game received positive reviews and was highly praised for its originality in gameplay style.

It was also noted that the game managed to mix Innovative gameplay while providing and disturbing atmosphere that provided much tension throughout the experience.

The game would receive multiple entries in the series, two of which would also appear on the PlayStation in 1999 and 2000 with Kagero Deception 2 and Deception 3 Dark Delusion, a later sequel with Deception 4 Blood Ties and its add-on the Nightmare Princess would appear on the PlayStation 3 in 2014 and 2015.

A spin-off of the series by the name of Trapt would also see a release on the PlayStation 2 back in 2005.

Shadow Tower

Released from the PlayStation in 1998, Shadow Tower is an action adventure RPG that takes many elements and inspiration from the popular kingsfield series that is played entirely from a first person perspective.

The plot follows a mercenary named Russ Hardy returning to his home town of zeptr to discover that the region and the central tower have been sucked into the underworld which has destroyed everything within the surrounding region, so it is up to Russ to save any survivors and reclaim the region.

The game utilizes a very dark tone and oppressive atmosphere with the player having to navigate through very restrictive and claustrophobic levels which only increase the tension during battles and enemy encounters where you would have to adapt and use different strategies to defeat enemies.

The game would also make use of the same game engine used for the king's field and Echo Night games which would be upgraded and polished to incorporate additional features with armor that degrades over time and must be replaced also with various weapon types to defeat enemies within the game.

The gameplay Aesthetics and mechanics will also utilize the same perma death feature as seen in the kingsfield series so if you died at any time you would lose all your items and you would have to go back to the start of the area that you're in and progress until you've acquired enough items and upgrades until you can start to defeat enemies a lot easier.

Shadow Tower would receive mixed reviews that would rate it mainly based on the slow and sluggish control system.

The game itself would only see a release in Japan and North America and wouldn't be made available in other regions until being added to the PlayStation Classics lineup on the PlayStation Store on the PS3 a few years later.

The game would also receive a sequel on the PlayStation 2 with Shadow Tower Abyss a few years later that utilizes many of the same features as seen in the prequel but we take advantage of the power of the PlayStation 2 visual capabilities to extend the gameplay.

Kingsfield Series

Kingsfield is a first person action adventure role-playing game that would be developed by From Software and released in Japan as part of the original PlayStation's launch lineup in 1994.

The game would immerse the player within fully rendered 3D labyrinths and brooding atmospheric environments that at its time were considered groundbreaking that inspired many sequels both on the PlayStation and PlayStation 2 with kingsfield 4 and the ancient city and many iterations of the games being made available for Windows PC and mobile devices in recent years.

Set in the dark and foreboding landscape that would see exploration and looting of defeated enemies to be the main focus of the gameplay with various upgrade features and use of weapons to solve puzzles that would become commonplace within RPG games these elements would have to inspire many future games across modern consoles.

The first game would be released only in Japan with the sequels attracting a wide audience of players from other regions over the years that set the benchmark for future iconic games on modern consoles with Demon Souls, Dark Souls, Sekiro and Elden ring among its vast catalog of ground breaking titles as these modern iterations take much inspiration from the kingsfield series with the main focus being around instant or perma death that you have to explore the landscape.

But you have to be very particular and strategic in how you engage with enemies in the environments and traps that lay around you within each area and unlike many other games that you would see that although look similar but play very different where you can defeat enemies with relative ease or defeat them over time, with the likes of the kingsfield series and even modern iterations you can be taken out of the equation very very quickly leaving you to respawn or to have to restart the entire game again from scratch losing all of your progress and having to replay the game literally from its entirety.

These type of games although iconic do cater only for a specific or more so a hardcore level of player that enjoys a challenge.

For many casual gamers, games like kingsfield are probably not the best Avenue to go down as it will frustrate a lot of players overall but regardless of the love-hate relationship of these games, kingsfield is an iconic series again that has inspired many modern versions of games to be developed in recent years and has stood the test of time with its gameplay mechanics as being a standard within this genre of survival horror and Action gaming.

Echo Night Series

Echo Night is the first game in a Trilogy of first-person adventure games released in 1998 and created by From Software, the developers of the kingsfield and Shadow Tower series of games also seen on the PlayStation consoles.

The premise of the game and its later sequels would play from a first person point of view but the main focus on the use of exploration of isolated environments and puzzle-solving elements that tells an interesting story of interacting with ghosts and various spirits who have become trapped in a limbo type State and need help to pass on from the living world.

The gameplay would provide a slower pace compared to similar games in the genre but provided many elements of obscurity within the environments and setting that reveal the player to be one of the only living beings in the game as all of the other characters you'll encounter on the journey are mainly all spirits.

What originally began life as an experiment taking inspiration from the development of the third kingsfield game ended up becoming a cult classic that has amassed quite a following throughout the various entries in the series.

The Game would receive two more entries with Echo Knight 2, The Lord of Nightmares which would only see a release in Japan and a third entry with Echo Night Beyond on the PlayStation 2.

Echo Knight 2 has received an English fan translation in recent years making the game more accessible to fans of the series.

Germs

Germs is an open world first person survival horror style game released in Japan for the PlayStation in 1999.

The story follows a newspaper reporter returning to his hometown to investigate the weird occurrences with the appearance of strange mutated monsters in the region so it is up to the player to understand the origins of what is causing people to be mutated into monsters and to find a cure to stop the spread of this unknown virus.

The player can interact with the environments by walking, driving cars or taking a bus and trains while interacting with puzzles and many of the games NPCs or non-playable characters to learn more about the origins of this virus that is mutating the town's inhabitants into monsters.

The game itself also offers a different take on the typical combat mechanics instead of the player dying after an altercation with monster, they will become infected themselves and you quickly have to race to a hospital to cure the infection before it spreads which is a unique feature. 

The gameplay utilizes an unsettling mix of Science Fiction and survival horror elements taking much inspiration from many 1950s movies and another experimental game also released on the PlayStation by the name of LSD dream simulator.

Both games are regarded as weird and unusual due to their experimental nature which is interesting as the PlayStation since its Inception became home to not only survival horror but to many of its unusual game ideas and surreal concepts which provides an interesting discussion in itself of why games like this were being created.

But its titles like this that also help to popularize the PlayStation console due to many of these experimental elements and the games that were being developed at the time that had to pave the way for many iconic titles that can be seen on later consoles

The list of survival horror games developed for the PlayStation is quite extensive with a varying mix of higher quality and lesser known titles that deserve to be investigated further and many of these titles would fuel the inspiration for future games that helped to solidify the survival horror concept as its own standalone genre but would also set the groundwork for one particular title that would bring video gaming into a much more mature area and help to change the games industry forever.

But before we look into what is considered to be the best and most influential survival horror game on the PlayStation, we should also take a brief look over the many other memorable and long forgotten titles from the systems long horror-filled history.

Each of these games, while a lot of them are known by many, provide their own unique take and vision of experimental elements that were inspired by many of the popular games in the survival horror genre.

Each with their own quirks and nuances that appeal to a variety of Gamers that have amassed dedicated audiences of fans since their Inception.

To understand more about the obscurities of these unique offerings we will dive into each of these long forgotten games more and take a look at the stories behind them in another video.

Silent Hill

With the multitude of horror games released on the PlayStation that presented many obscure and experimental ideas and visions that would offer many hair-raising moments, many of them leaving a lasting impression, but one game would have such a cultural impact on the genre that it is also arguably known as the most mature survival horror game that would get a release on the PlayStation in 1999 under the name of Silent Hill.

Heavily inspired by Resident Evil and many of the iconic survival horror entries in the genre, Silent Hill would implements psychological elements into the gameplay to create a surreal sense of tension and atmosphere that had managed to surpass all of its Rivals.

The story follows the role of Harry Mason arriving in the town of Silent Hill on vacation with his daughter Cheryl.

After an accident sees Harry waking up to discover his daughter is missing, so he sets off to find her only to begin witnessing some of the hideous and unusual events that are happening within Silent Hill.

Fearing for his daughter's life, throughout the story Harry will come across and interact with other characters to complete puzzles and quests to investigate the origins of the cult and how the town is being devoured by darkness, almost creating a hell on earth scenario while understanding that his daughter is somehow connected to the events that are happening in the town.

The game would be played with fully 3D rendered environments that would make full use of the PlayStation's hardware and graphical limitations by adding fog to mask over the limited draw distance of each area to restrict the player's field of view, never knowing where an enemy or Monster would be hiding.

With these limitations the game would make excellent use of texture warping on the graphics to create an unnerving feeling that made you feel that the environment around you, even the ground beneath the player was alive to spook you out at any given moment.

These elements added so much to the unnerving presence of the game that affected the player's mental state as they played and it is why you can see these features being used in many modern low poly horror Indie titles as it provides something that modern games with far superior visuals just cannot achieve.

It provided an aura that something didn't feel right or would seem off when exploring many of the games dark environments which would only be heightened with the use of the fog, darkness and lighting effects that only increase the intensity that would almost cripple the player from playing the game any further due to all the terrifying elements that always messed with psychological aspects of the player's mind.

These elements would become synonymous with future games in the franchise with all of these concepts in mind Silent Hill's attempt to surpass Resident Evil was successful as it was the first game to get inside the mind and unnerve the player, which very few games had managed to achieve.

Resident Evil while also terrifying would focus more on jump scares to work alongside its atmospheric nature knowing that once you overcame a situation that you could find a sense of relief slightly until the next encounter.

However this is not the case with Silent Hill because of the psychological elements there would never be a point in the game where the player would feel safe every enemy or room you encountered presented a different feeling and only provided more terror as it always felt that something was watching you while looking from the shadows.

Silent Hill is considered by many to be the most mature survival horror game on the PlayStation that managed to surpass Resident Evil with its suspenseful elements and unique atmosphere that had never been witnessed in a 3D horror game up to that point that would become the standard with future games in the series and in the genre overall.

It would only be surpassed by its incredible sequel Silent Hill 2 that later got a release on the PlayStation 2 console.

Even with the differences between both Silent Hill and Resident Evil there are many similarities with regards to how they play, where many fans have great respect and admiration for both franchises that have amassed huge cult followings and are considered to be the two greatest franchises within the survival horror genre.

You cannot deny the cultural impact Resident Evil, Silent Hill, Parasite Eve and Dino Crisis have had on the survival horror genre on the PlayStation as it is the first console to output true horror in video games. It's the alluring atmosphere and tension that helps to differentiate the survival horror genre from other traditional games as the games don't solely focus on the gameplay mechanics but more on how it makes the player feel throughout the experience.

The sense of terror and dread is what really makes these games stand out which is why they are held in such high regard as they were able to inspire and trigger emotional responses and reactions that had never truly been witnessed in video games up to that point and is one of the main reasons why the PlayStation is often referred to as the true home of survival horror.

But we must not forget titles like Overblood, Nightmare Creatures, The Note, among many other of the overlooked long forgotten and more obscure games as although they may not have been as popular or widely accepted they too also contributed many solidifying factors that would help to establish the survival horror genre to the status of greatness within the video game industry.

As each game presented something new and different enticing many development teams to experiment with new ideas and Concepts to work within the limits but also to push the boundaries of what was possible on the PlayStation and beyond as many movie companies producers and even future consoles would inherit many of these experimental ideas into their projects that can be seen today.

Every idea and concept had something unique to offer which is why you are now seeing a major resurgence with modern Indie survival horror titles taking those ideas and finding their own place in the genre with low poly and first-person horror titles being the main ideas you see all over various gaming sites such as Steam, ITCH IO and even on modern consoles.

They all try to use these ideas with some titles working to great effect, making use of both the graphical limitations but also of the lighting and sound effects that have been drastically improved with modern technology.

But one idea that they all have in common is that they have all been inspired by the success of survival horror on the original PlayStation.

Cultural Impact of Horror Games

When we look back over the scary elements of these games, you have to look into the Aesthetics of what made these horror games so unnerving and we also have to look at the many graphical elements and limitations of the PlayStation Hardware as they all contributed to the overall look and feel of the games being produced and this greatly enhanced the atmospheric nature with the limited texture palettes and color schemes.

One of the most notable aspects to explain this would be the visual style of the graphics on the ground and the environments around you within each of the games.

It gave the idea that everything around you could be alive which was very unsettling.

Something would always seem to feel off when playing that only heightened the sense of terror and dread that modern games have never been able to replicate, with vertex snapping elements when drawing at part of levels would cause texture warping that were constantly move as you investigated each environment.

This would cause the walls and environmental textures to create the sense that the world around you was alive which only heightened the unnerving tension as you played.

The limiting features of the hardware caused these unusual events as the renderer would constantly be trying to draw out each level section as you progressed, with the texture snapping together at a fast race that caused this level of movement within the environments.

Darkness and fogging would also add to the suspense as many of the level components would remain in darkness until you proceeded closer to each section and this only heightened the fear element as you could not see what was coming around the corner and with the fog being used to mask the environments to eliminate the view of any random pop-ups which were prominent across many games on the console.

That is why games like Silent Hill made full use of the fog elements as it helped to create a very unique atmosphere that set a mature tone that had not been witnessed in any survival horror game up to that point that would become a Mainstay within the series across future sequels leading on to the PlayStation 2 and other modern consoles.

These limitations worked in the PlayStation's favour as the games might not have been as scary or fear-driven had they not been used to such great effect.

These aspects of PS1 survival horror games were used to give the player the illusion and sense of dread, this is why many modern indie horror titles use these visual Aesthetics as they provide a dark immersive and fear-inducing atmosphere that leaves players feeling unhinged and terrified.

Many modern Indie titles are looking to use the low poly Aesthetics that replicate the original PlayStation's graphical style and limitations as they truly are terrifying.

All you need to do is search through the multiple horror games being developed and sold on various marketplaces like Steam and Itch IO to understand the popularity of this genre and its resurgence over recent years.

You can clearly see the concepts and influences behind these modern games and all you have to do is look back over the extensive library of PS1 horror titles to see many of these modern adaptions and influences and where they came from, and they are also the main reasons why you're starting to see a resurgence in low poly games being released by Indie developers and games companies as it is a popular concept and it all comes back to how the original PlayStation Revolutionized Survival Horror...

Now we have barely touched the surface of what the cultural impact and influences of the horror games that have inspired many iconic franchises over the years.

To venture further into these iterations, ideas and long lost concepts, we need to dive deeper into the lore of survival horror and to do that, you need to check out this next piece that extends those concepts beyond the original PlayStation...