Terror vs. Terrible: Horror returns to the mainstream

As per usual, we have a lot of horror titles to be excited for in 2014, but what makes this year particularly special is the fact that we're finally seeing a true return to form for a genre that lost it's way in the loudest corner of gaming culture.

Last Year, I believe, I became exponentially excited about an indie game that was green-lit on Steam, tearing through every little drop of information I could find on it, hoping to find a release date for PS4. The game I'm referring to is Lunar Software's "Routine", a survival horror game that, in my opinion, was (in theory) doing everything I've ever wanted done in a survival horror game. To paraphrase the official website:

*Routine is non linear, meaning that you're allowed to explore an entire Moon base and see/find things that other players wont.

*Routine uses a Perma Death system, meaning that when you die, you start all over.

*Routine has randomized environmental hazards, items, and enemy locations.

To put it simply, Routine is my survival horror wet dream come true. An unscripted, randomized survival horror experience that can be played again and again and remain just as potent in its ability to scare you as the first time you've played it! And MY GOD, it even has an 80's vision of the future (christ, it must be my birthday).

The beauty in Routine is that, not only does the game put everything the player does at the forefront, just the fact that it's non linear and randomized means the player will always be glancing over their shoulder and jumping at every little sound or shadow. That's my pet peeve with a lot of the previous mainstream horror titles I've played: most of them are too bloody scripted. For some reason, mainstream development must think that crafting a horror game like a film is a good idea. The problem there is that there's no point to being afraid when you know nothings going to happen until very specific points in the game. When you compare a game like Dead Space to Routine, it's the difference between choosing between a haunted house cart ride, and an actual haunted house adventure that has paid actors hunting you down as you try to find your own way out. You can argue 'different strokes for different folks' all you want, but after so many scripted, set-piece-filled action games have considered themselves horror games, someone must've clearly lost the how-to pamphlet to making a legitimate horror title.

What has almost entirely killed my excitement for Routine was the fact that it was only going to be on PC at launch. The fact that it hasn't even released yet for that platform means I won't be holding my breath for a PS4 port any time soon. Perhaps Lunar Software will surprise me at a future event, but regardless, I can't really be too upset. The genre of survival horror had already fallen back to the PC space due to losing its relevancy in the mainstream: it couldn't compare to the hyper-selling Call of Duty so, logically, publishers gave up on it (makes perfect since to me). Since then, we've seen horror games become action games and action games that try to pass themselves off as legitimate horror games(of course, one could argue that the reason these games are so action-heavy is so they can appeal to a wider audience, but therein lies the problem).

But wait, now we've reached a turning point for mainstream gaming. Now, we're in a whole new generation, and gamers are expecting new and exciting things from their favorite publishers and developers. No longer will the usual stagnant franchises be the talk of the town like they once were. No longer will the excuse of "it won't sell like Call of Duty" hold up. Right now, in the infancy of a new generation, anything that can do something unique (and do it right) will undoubtedly be the thing to garner endless praise from gamers and pundits alike. And that, my fellow home console gamers, is how we're going to bring back legitimate horror.

Alien Isolation and The Evil Within are two big, triple A games being developed and released on the current gen systems. If these games prove to be successful, we may just see a revitalization of interest in the market of horror games. I know if Alien: Isolation is everything I hope it is (or at least close enough), it could prove to be my immediate answer to Routine. But it has to happen now while developers are still experimenting with new ideas. It has to happen RIGHT NOW while Gamers are still clamoring for something different. It has to be RIGHT NOW, while publishers are still looking for the next big cash cow to leech themselves onto like a drowning woman to an inflatable raft in a sea of creativity.

we can't simply expect the industry to change, we've got to change it ourselves. No more crying on message boards over the bastardization of Resident Evil for me, gents. The time to act is now; this year, while everyone is still in such an alternative gaming mindset. We've got to speak up, not with words, but with our wallets. This may actually be the first time in forever I'll be supporting a game day-one, but by-George, it's just too imperative to the bigger picture! These are the first big budget horror titles in a long time that actually resemble horror titles, so until an alternative presents itself, we can't let these game fail. My fellow countrymen, let us stand and help to revitalize a genre. Let us stand and tell these publishers what we really want: Horror, in all its gory-I mean glory.