Roughly three decades removed from the release of genre-defining classics, Alone in the Dark, Resident Evil, and Silent Hill, you may assume that the ‘survival horror’ genre has been well exhausted and run dry of ideas at this point. During a lengthy portion of the seventh console generation in particular, this sentiment seemed to ring true with many derivative and unfocused works such as the bloated Resident Evil 6, the tonally confused Silent Hill: Homecoming, and the somewhat ambitious but mostly flawed Alone in the Dark (2008).

Looking back to the late 90’s and early 2000’s, survival horror was seemingly full of fresh ideas with a slew of experimental releases coming out of a variety of prolific developers. Whether it be Square’s Parasite Eve, Koei Tecmo’s Fatal Frame, or even From Software’s Kuon, the genre had carved out its place within the industry and tended to be a lucrative proving ground for fresh ideas and experiences.

That’s not to say that there weren’t standout titles during the late 2000’s or early 2010’s, such as Dead Space, Alan Wake, and Amnesia: The Dark Descent, who managed to innovate within the space and spawn their own respective franchises in the process; however, there’s no denying that the amount of creative titles within the genre had seen a drastic decline in quantity and often quality as well.

Fast forwarding to more recent years, Capcom has managed to bring survival horror back into the mainstream in a major way, starting with their soft reboot of the Resident Evil series back in 2017, while further revitalizing their catalog with a series of successful remakes, Resident Evil 2 (2019), Resident Evil 3 (2020), and Resident Evil 4 (2023), as well as a fresh experience in 2021’s Resident Evil: Village. Seemingly taking notice of Capcom’s success, former innovators within the genre such as Konami, who had effectively left the video game industry altogether, have returned to reinvigorate their dormant IPs as well.

While it is certainly nice to see these industry veterans back at the helm of some lucrative projects, they are, in my opinion, not the ones truly innovating and bringing fresh ideas to the table. This role has, as of late, fallen into the hands of smaller indie studios who have taken to combining beloved ideas and mechanics from survival horror’s past and meshing them into a variety of different sub-genres, creating subversive experiences in the process.

Signalis, a 2022 mind-bending retro-futurist indie title, is an excellent example of this creativity. It does an excellent job showcasing how the fundamentals of survival horror can weave a disorientating, immersive narrative while still providing engaging and suspenseful gameplay.

2024’s Crow Country, developed by the London-based SFB Games, also springs to mind as a fantastic example of an experience that embraces the genre conventions while also adding a slew of new ideas, whether that be its unique diorama-resembling presentation or its engrossing, relatively light-hearted narrative.

Signalis and Crow Country are far from outliers when it comes to recent innovative survival horror experiences released. It doesn’t take much digging to find a handful of other great examples. Many unique and innovative titles are a simple search away, begging to be discovered.

What is your take on the current state of survival horror? Have you dipped into any of the releases mentioned, or do you feel differently about the games discussed? Please share your thoughts with us on our Boss Rush Facebook Group or our Boss Rush Discord.

The Boss Rush Podcast – A Podcast About Video Games

The Boss Rush Podcast is the flagship podcast of Boss Rush Media and The Boss Rush Network. Each week, hosts Corey Dirrig, LeRon Dawkins, Stephanie Klimov, and Pat Klein, as well as their friends, fellow content creators, developers, and industry veterans come together to discuss their week in gaming, including what they’ve been playing, a randomly chosen rotating weekly segment, the Boss Rush Banter of the week, answer community write-ins, and more. New episodes are released every Thursday. Members of The Boss Rush Network’s Patreon will receive the exclusive Pre-Show at any tier along with other perks.

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