My boyfriend Marco got me a sexy red PlayStation 3 as a late Christmas present, awakening the video game nerd in me that has been long asleep and out of touch with the gaming world. Although slaying dragons and exploring underwater cities were the first things I did on my new console, I’m starting to miss the unique thrill that can only be evoked by scary video games. Come to think of it, I don’t think I shot a zombie or bludgeoned a bandaged nurse since the PlayStation 2.
With some deft Googling, I came up with a list of upcoming horror video games that will hopefully be released by the time I’m finished with the games I currently own. Based on my research, we’re up for a very exciting year in horror gaming – assuming that nothing gets in the way of their releases, that is. Here are the survival horror video games I’m looking forward to in 2012:
Amy
What’s worse than trying to escape a disease-ridden town while battling walking corpses, demons, and all sorts of unholy creatures? Babysitting a child in the process, probably. That child is the eight-year old Amy, an autistic girl that your character Lana must save from the aberrations in town, or the future of humanity is lost. I’m not the biggest fan of escort missions, but even I couldn’t help getting excited after watching the trailer.
Release date: January 11, 2012 (PlayStation Network)
Last of Us
In The Last of Us, entire populations are being wiped out by an epidemic of the mind-controlling cordyceps fungus – the same kind that produces zombie ants, creating fungus growths on their heads and causing them to behave violently before they themselves die an agonizing death. Except in this game, the fungus infects humans. We have 14-year old Ellie (who looks a lot like Ellen Page) and a burly survivor Joel trying to make their way across what’s left of the United States, hoping to find an isolated spot free from the disease. There isn’t a lot of news behind this PlayStation 3 exclusive besides a trailer that will make your jaw drop and leave you hungry for more. I’m thinking this might not even be released until 2013.
Release date: unknown
Silent Hill: Downpour
The last Silent Hill game I tried playing (Homecoming) had me so fucking terrified that I gave up after the first ten minutes. Seriously, who was the genius who thought that starting the game in scary Silent Hill was a good idea? So at first I wasn’t too excited when I heard about Silent Hill: Downpour, but the more I read up on it the more I find myself itching to rediscover my favorite ghost town. In Downpour, you play Murphy Pendleton, a prisoner who gets stranded in Silent Hill when the prison bus he’s riding goes off a winding mountain road. What’s intriguing about Downpour is that it’s designed to be survival horror in its truest sense. Unlike many action-oriented horror games, Murphy does not come crashing into town with big guns and bombs; most of his weapons are improvised (i.e. lead pipes and tables), and they’re breakable. I have a feeling Americans won’t take too kindly to this game, but I for one am eager to see how it will play out.
Release date: March 31, 2012
Asylum
Hospitals are the scariest stages in any survival horror game, so to have an entire game revolve around being trapped in an insane asylum is something to look forward to. Little is known about Senscape’s latest horror project Asylum, except that the the fictional Hanwell Mental Institute where the game takes place is partially based on the architecture of real asylums. How fucked up is that?
Release date: unknown
The Secret World
Next to The Old Republic, The Secret World is my most highly anticipated MMORPG of the year. It’s a dark fantasy game where you’re a member of a secret society fighting off zombies, demons, and other monsters that threaten the modern world. Unlike the typical MMORPG, character building is skill-based rather than through levels or classes, and you can play the game in single-player mode if you’d rather not enjoy it with a group. I CANNOT WAIT.
Release date: April 2012
And for posterity’s sake, notable games that I’m not really excited about. Some of these have a few horror elements, but don’t really fall under the survival horror genre, while the others just downright suck.
Silent Hill: Book of Memories
When I first heard that Konami will be implementing all sorts of unpopular changes in Book of Memories, I thought, “Okay, let’s keep an open mind. Maybe this won’t suck as much as fans say it will.” But after viewing this trailer, I realize that Book of Memories is Silent Hill for the Twilight generation. Konami took away the essence of the Silent Hill series and turned it into this action game that’s part Sims, part High School Musical, part Left for Dead. I’m all for updating games to suit the tastes of today’s kids, but this is just ridiculous. The top-down view and multiplayer feature does away with the feelings of isolation, helplessness, and horror – the very characteristics that define the series – not to mention that the characters look like anime versions of the Glee cast. There is nothing that makes Book of Memories worthy of the Silent Hill name. Thankfully, it’s just a PlayStation Vita exclusive.
Release date: February 29, 2012
Resident Evil: Operation Raccoon City
These days, Resident Evil is designed less for the horror types and more for the douchey action types, which is very disappointing for someone whose love for the horror genre began with Nemesis. For this reason, I’m not excited about Operation Raccoon City; if anything, it spits at the face of Resident Evil 2 and 3. In Operation Douchey FPS Posing as a Horror Game, you get to play as an Umbrella Security Service officer on a series of missions, which is not so much about surviving a zombie outbreak as it is about making military decisions like, “Should I kill Leon Kennedy or not?” Five bucks says all these meatheads will start claiming that they’re into “survival horror” as soon as they’re done collecting every single fucking trophy in the game. Thank you for ruining my childhood, Capcom.
Release date: March 20, 2012
Lollipop Chainsaw
Okay, now this is a game that I’m kinda excited about. In Lollipop Chainsaw, a high school cheerleader named Juliet Starling battles the zombie apocalypse using high kicks and pom poms. A lighthearted, slightly perverted game that only the Japanese could have thought of.
Release date: March 2012
Finally, let me leave you with Twisted Metal’s Sweet Tooth character trailer, which plays a lot like a cheesy B-movie. I know it’s not a horror game per se, but I am so fucking excited for this! Psychos battle each other to the death using modified cars in order for a chance to get one wish fulfilled (and go horribly wrong). I don’t know how I missed out on Twisted Metal in the 90s, but I am very glad that they’ve decided to reboot the series.
What horror video games are you looking forward to this year?
I love playing scary video games too. But I can’t play them alone haha! Playing horrow games used to be my bonding with my brother, and I love how we both get shocked every time something scary happens. Resident Evil is my favorite of all time and Jill Valentine would always be the most bad-ass video game character, for me at least.
I’m a fan of Twisted Metal 2! Most of what came after that weren’t good, though I was told the PS3 TMs are expected to live up to the legend that was 2, haha. I still haven’t played much on the PS3 myself, since suddenly I’m more into Steam games rather than console ones (though I was the exact opposite before). I’m checking out the other character trailers now–this is the first time I’ve seen them use live action.