Opening a Horror Game

Resident Evil Village | Playstation 4 | 2021 | Capcom

While playing through the latest installment in the long running survival horror franchise, Resident Evil, I started pondering about how the expectations behind the games atmosphere are put in place. How does a horror game introduce players to the way it’s intending to cause any sense of discomfort? Does the game introduce you to a horde of monsters while giving you a gun to shoot said monsters? Or does the game put you in the shoes of a fragile protagonist simply seeking to find some answers behind a mysterious letter?

While the horror genre enjoys its fair share of overused tropes, it’s ultimately to the initial minutes of interacting with the game that shapes the expectations of the experience. Resident Evil: Village is a rather particular example of this, due to the way that it shapes these expectations for the multitude of sequences that you’re about to go through. The walk through the forest at the start of the game is much more in line with the tone of the haunted mansion, while the introduction to the village gives off the sensation of being hunted, like you would be later in the castle. It sprinkles some action pieces throughout to remind you that you’re still playing Resident Evil, and a rocket launcher to shmear a boss across the pavement is inevitable.

Conceptually the video was meant to be an exploration of the ideas behind the presentation of some of the more iconic horror titles, like Fatal Frame, Dead Space and Silent Hill. However, I quickly realized that the video was more of a celebration of the horror genre in general. Looking at some fantastic introductions to the eerie halls of a dark space ship, the horrors of the self and the abstract and frightful experiences that it has to offer. The whole video ended up (fatal) framing the opening sequences of horror games to indulge in my fascination for the delightful discomfort that it has to offer.