This might be a strange recommendation and not technically count, but if you're looking for stuff more in line with the RE2Make, Daymare 1998 scratches that itch for me.
Been going through Eternal Evil lately. There's some goofy animation here and there, but its a solid title. Great first-person RE stuff, much like Nightmare of Decay.
You should definitely check out a little game called "Dismantled" on Steam. Came out a couple of years ago. It's built in the GZDoom engine but it takes a ton of cues from classic Resident Evil. A sprawling complex full of puzzles, limited ammo, enemies you can run around (for the most part), door-opening loadscreens and ink ribbon-based saving. Even the shitty voice acting is faithful as the creator voices every male character in the first game with his incredibly thick French Canadian accent.
I'm really scratching the back of my head here but uh, Cry of Fear maybe? Though it's not the most similar to RE, probably closer to SH. Man I feel so out of the loop. Congrats on the move btw! Hope you guys are settling in well :)
- Typical gamer: "This game has a horror setting and story, so I'm gonna call it a survival-horror game, even though it's missing literally every other aspect of a survival-horror game." - Jared from Avalanche Reviews: "This game doesn't have tank controls or fixed camera angles, so I refuse to call it survival-horror, even though it contains literally every other core feature of a survival-horror game." Statements which are polar-opposite from one another, yet equally ridiculous.
I think that the "survival horror" is a genre totally unrelated to the perspective of how it's played. Think at it like, for instance, the fighting game genre: you have your street fighter, which is 2D, then you have your Tekken, which is 3D but has a 2D perspective, and then you have arena 3D fighters. They are all different games, but they are all sub-genre of the same genre, fighting games. And that's the same: you can make a good survival horror with an over the shoulder camera or a first person view. The problem is that the genre went dormant for a bit and they wanted to market horror games for streamers (nothing bad about streaming, you know what I'm talking about). I'm pretty happy to see that finally the genre is resurrecting even in the mainstream scene. Anyway, after all my rant, I want to suggest you a gem, Lone Survivor: a 2D survival horror which goes more on the psychological side of the horror genre. You can find it on every platform I think, maybe it wasn't released on switch but not sure about that
I agree. It’s ridiculous to claim every single Resident Evil game since CV, even 7, 8, 2 and 3; aren’t survival horror games just because of the perspective? Clearly you’re allowed to prefer a perspective and visual style but gatekeeping the genre because of it is so strange.
@@MysterioTGN not only that, but if you say that "survival horror depends on it's camera perspective, if there's no fixed camera that's not a survival horror" you just ignore good games, like the one I suggested. Certainly they aren't resident evil clones (that's not the case) but definitely the vibe and the experience is that of a survival horror.
I agree as well. To me the defining features of the sub-genre are the resource management, exploration, and key/puzzle-based progression. It can have any perspective, be 2D or 3D, any control scheme, and I'd still recognize it as being in the same vein of games. Granted, it's pretty hard to argue that the prototypical survival horror game isn't a fixed-camera game with tank controls, and it's fair that someone would be looking specifically for that because it just has a very specific feel to it. Though personally I'm still pretty new to survival horror (first exposure to classic RE was right after finding RE4 for the first time. It wasn't at all what I was expecting and I kinda hated it. Fortunately I made a complete 180, albeit over a decade later), so I don't really have nostalgia for any particular style, and it kinda seems like such a rigid definition is informed by nostalgia.
here's the thing about you saying RE7 isn't a proper entry in the franchise because of it's perspective. a game can be a first person shooter and a survival horror game at the same time, just like the older RE games can be third person shooters and survival horror games at the same time. a game can in fact fit into multiple genres.
I always saw 'classic survival horror' as its own distinct genre that had its heyday due to the technology of the time and subsequently gets the rare homage, ala film noir.
This is probably why I adore Tormented Souls so much. It’s perhaps the first true survival horror game we’ve gotten in the last 15 years or so. For better or worse, RE4 changed EVERYTHING and “survival-horror” became a diluted genre.
Avalanche, man, I'm not kidding when I say that you have saved my life. Your videos have given some of my restless nights meaning. Thanks for being such a legend. Much love from down under
I love those subtle jabs lol. But it's so true..I was watching one who had his mouth wide open in the thumbnail and as i watched him he freaked out and threw the controller even when an enemy walked around the corner.
survival horror has nothing to do with perspectives even Shinji Mikami himself said he wanted the first Bio Hazard to be first person but thought the PS1 was not strong enough.
Something I find interesting, is that the era people grew up with is what they'll consider to be the greatest. You grew up with the 90s and that's your answer but to me it's 05-11 and you know that's pretty cool
I'm glad you went over the Dreadout series! I think it really deserves recognition for people making a game they love. The second game really showcases how much they have grown as devs and its fantastic! Idk if you've covered ...Iru! but that is a super interesting game that came out in 98 on the PS1! I think deserves a look.
I can't express how happy it makes me to know there are still people who appreciate the good old tank controls, fixed cameras, and who know to use their gun only when all else fails.
I strongly disagree with the idea that anything that isn't third person isn't survival horror, that's nostalgia talking imo, great video. Gonna play some of these
Well put. I feel the same about games that offer no option to avoid combat. Like RE6. The choice to engage an enemy or avoid is a tenant of Survival Horror in my opinion
I was a national champion RC car racer for two years and raced for 7 in regional events. Tank controls are a must for me and resi 1,2,3, outbreak and silent hill are my favourite games.
It's a more precise method of control than typical 3d movement. Lends itself perfectly to evading enemies in tight spaces. Also games like Armored Core need tank controls to make you feel like you're controlling a huge mech. Mastering the rigid controls makes the air battles and flashy stunts that more rewarding and flashy.
Them: “bUt PRereNDeReD baCkGrOunds aRn’T reAL GrAPhiCs!!” Me: Yes…yes they are…they’re just not running in real-time which saves on memory and resources that can be used on more important assets. For whatever reason, EVERYTHING has to be in real-time or it doesn’t count apparently. Everything from graphics and gameplay to cutscenes
I would love to see a video like this but with Silent Hill clones. I know there are less of those but a few I can recommend are Lost in Vivo, Lone Survivor, Claire and maybe Ib.
the Nightmare of Decay dev is a really nice guy too, being super helpful and active on the steam forum for his game, trying to help people with issues in the game however he can! So he's not only an awesome creator but also a friendly and chill dude!
Well I'm definitely sold on Tormented Souls! Wow, that game looks amazing! And it's on PS4 to boot! See, that's the problem I've been noticing with a lot of these modern survival horror titles. They're mostly only available on PC, and my laptop isn't exactly current so it's always questionable whether or not it'll run them. Tormented Souls looks like exactly what I've been looking for for years now. A genuine old school survival horror. Another great video, Avalanche. Great work!
I can't think of the right way to explain my excitement when I see the thumbnail of videos like this....the time, the effort, the care....these are incredible videos Avie...keep up the amazing work man, we all love you dearly for it!
I mean I do think he's way too limited in what's supposedly worthy of being survival horror. Like tank controls, pre-rendered backgrounds and fixed camera angles for example can all be attributed to choices made due to technical limitations and if you asked those who were responsible I'm pretty sure that they wouldn't consider those things necessary. Also he brought up fake aged technology too and I think it should be rather obvious that a genre can't really be exclusive to a certain time period. If you ask me survival horror is mainly defined by a meaningful importance of managing limited resources and because of that the goal is not to always fight your threats but just *survive* and the "horror" part is self explanatory. That's about it, puzzles and such are obviously a common feature and a good incentive to make the player look around to find items or clues but I don't think they can be considered necessary for the genre.
I think people overrate resources being limited in the genre, in most cases, we already find plenty of ammo on the classic games, and that's on default difficulty.
Oh, and as a true RE fan, you must know why RE1 in the US did not have a quick turn button. Yes, it's not a charming quirk, to not be able to quick turn, it is just bad.
A game missing from this retrospective that you definitely need to check out is Lone Survivor, though to be fair, it's more of a Silent Hill clone than an RE clone, but it has all the hallmarks of a survivor horror game. Also note that the dev of the game is working on a "definitive edition" at the moment, so it would be a good idea to check in on it after a while.
I was just about to wright the same :D Lone Survivor is a great piece of art indeed. This game literally proves that the right amount and usage of some 8bit pixels can be as scary or perhaps even scarier then some of the triple a titles with a modern presentation. Ofc audio design and in particular music are the actual keynotes here and they are crafted with huge dedication and quality. And if I remember it, everthing made by a single guy. Play it, you will be surprised 😊
I highly recommend Daymare: 1998! Not only was it originally meant to be the RE2 remake before Capcom stepped in, but then they decided to make it a new IP. And its definitely a love letter to those 90s horror games. More so Resident Evil though. Yeah, sure...its not the best and it certainly has its problems. But for a low budget game, its not that bad. Plus, they got the OG voice actor for Leon in it!
Yes! I loved it, especially with how committed they were to the campy script and voice acting. The puzzles were also something that made it more like the old RE games than the modern remakes
I really want to play Evil Tonight now! Also glad to hear you really enjoyed Post Trauma I knew it'd be right up your alley! Also you may want to try out Signalis and Viviette.
I''m 37 and I kinda love the RE2 remake (havent played 3 yet). Don't get me wrong, I love Tormented Souls, but I also kinda love that RE2&3 were both revamped with good over-the-shoulder cams while also not making them arcade bullet fiestas like RE5-6. While old RE was the best 3D solution of the time with the limitations we were working with, I was in love when RE4 showed the world was a good 3rd person camera was supposed to be in a game involving firearms. I have to say though, that I wish RE2&3 had the Gamecube ReMake treatment that RE1 had gotten. I feel like that would've allowed the new Remakes some room to breath in the fandom. I'm of a mind that we dont need a RE remake because the GC one is perfect though, and we may not have gotten any remakes had they been done back then :p
I played REmake for the first time recently, never played resident evil before and I didn't grow up when survival horror was big. I love it, it's a bit clunky but it's great.
I remember one RE clone reviewed by Civvie based on From Dusk Till Dawn, people who made this game also developed The Devil Inside, which was some kind of TV show where we can play as Dave (and turn into magic caster goth chick Deva, which spice ups kissing scene in final battle - spoilers) to explore haunted house. Really short when you know what to do... and have escorting segment which can give you some trouble.
I was a 90's kid so i can understand some of the stuff you saw in childhood, the classics the games that we grew up on definitely were some really weird games with the good and bad too lol
Ah Post Trauma finally a game where I can roleplay as a man who gets winded opening the fridge too fast instead of a super buff olympic level 18 year old.
The fact that Nightmare of Decay followed the RE 'Mansion, Court Yard, Guard House, Tunnels, Lab' progression (or a very close aproximation of it) was fucking rad. It felt like coming home again, lol.
I believe a more apt title would be: "The Wild world of modern survival horror games". Some games like Dreadout 1-2 have nothing to do with RE and are straight out inspired by Fatal Frame.
Insisting that tank controls are necessary to the genre of survival horror is like assuming that a dpad for movement is necessary to a first person shooter since that's how you controlled them in earlier days after we moved away from "Doom clones". You're not wrong for liking tank controls, but this particular insistence is just petty garbage and the sooner you admit it the better off everyone will be.
Also check out Lementum and Heaven Dust and Heaven Dust 2. Lementum is really good, legitimately scary and unsettling while Heaven Dust is a cute fun little homage to classic RE games.
I think you were a bit too rough on Dreadout and a bit too kind to 1995. By far the roughest game on this list is 1995, which has graphics that don't even measure up to the original Alone in the Dark, let alone ANY PS1 survival horror games. Incredibly amatuerish look is pretty off-putting. Whereas I think Dreadout feels more like a proper survival horror in part because of the sometimes obtuse mechanics which actually do help the mood... and in terms of presentation it has the most striking look of anything on this list, IMO.
Dreadout has a certain earnest wholesomeness to it that I just couldn't help but find endearing. Like, the text you get in limbo includes things like "You've been playing the game for a while, maybe you should take a break?" and "Thank you for buying our game!" You just can't help but feel affection for a studio who puts that face forward, you know? I agree with him; it *is* a bit rough but the game is clearly so sincere in what it wants to do it's hard to really criticize that (honestly, much as I love it, Them and Us is a lot rougher in the same regards, despite being newer, and I think Dreadout is a generally superior game). 1995 was rough; I played it and appreciate the Silent Hill vibes but Silent Hill is a much smoother experience despite being much older (to be fair, it actually came out in 1999, so if the dev was trying to imitate a game four years older I guess he hit the mark). My first true survival horror game was Resident Evil 2 on the N64, so I have a bit of a higher standard for what I accept in a "retro" game of this genre and, yeah, I had a hard time getting into this one. Resident Evil came out in 1996 and even that has a lot more polish and flair than this game does.
2:33 Looking forward to the part of the video where you get to whatever the hell that 2D pixel art game is. if that 'checks most of those boxes' as you put it, I'm absolutely picking that one up.
lol that duke nukem game is not an fps becuase the genre of "fps" has the *perspective in the name* survival horror does not. I'd argue under you definition silent hill isnt survival horror either, its not fixed.
Please, Jared, use your status and influence as a McMansion having RUclips denizen and get the guys developing Compound Fracture to finish their game. It looks like a friggin awesome Dino Crisis inspired fps with a PS1 aesthetic and it's been languishing for the last eight months or so. It's got a Steam page. Also Breakdown video when?
Game is not dead. Check out the Steam forums for the game. Reminds me of Dino Crisis meets classic AVP2. Most of the Indies covered here did not interest me, except for Nightmare of Decay. Also keep an eye on Trepang2 and Project Ferocious.
YES! Thank you! I've started a ... rather boring work 6 month ago... it's a pain in the butt but your resident evil clones video got me through it. I'm saving this one for work tomorrow :]
This is really eye opening. Especially in 2024 where almost every other game being released is coming from devs who hate you. Thank you for making these lists. Seen 4 in the series so far.
Love the video! There is so much good media out there but sifting through it is digging for diamonds in the rough -- these kinds of videos are so helpful for the health of the gaming scene
Combat can still be clunky and sluggish but you can get used to it being kinda crud, doesn't make it not crud lol. Part of the reason I've not played some older games personally is cause the controls just feel so bad. From any genre not just survival horror, like if a platformer has terrible jumping controls you just have to learn to deal with the crappy controls. Whether that be wind up to jump, movement in air or whatever. You can always get used to them but they are still bad.
Thx for giving TS so much love, as it's a game Made in My country it fiils me with pride that chilean dev teams can make games that ppl and crítics love
Jared my dude! I have been following you for a few years, we share tastes in your very specific brand of survival horror, and I purchased tormented souls when your full review came out. I need to start it tonight! Fuckin fantastic vid as always, man.
Eww. He wanted the Re2 remake to be like tormented souls EWWWWW. As a 90s old folgie who also played the originals the RE2 remake is a God damn masterpiece and 100% better than the original.
Tormented Souls was a really great time, watching your review on it back then convinced me to try the game & I loved every minute of it. Definitely took me back as I grew up in the 90s and reminded me that True Survival horror games like this can still work in more modern times if done right.
I'm glad your doing these gives me ideas for some new games I wouldn't have heard of otherwise your rpg hidden gems video got me to find a copy of Ring of Red to run through my retrotink 5x. So far I'm enjoying it. I'm at times astonished how often I miss at like 85% with the cannon.
Despite not being a huge fan of the Surv Horror genre, and even less - a man who actively plays them I find it surprising just how many of these tittles I was already aware of... I am happy Jared found a way to scratch his itch in the form of modern day surv horror I genuinely hope one day when I too will miss the "Good old days" I will be able to find just a few games to shed a tear of nostalgia for.
Next time you could cover a little Polish horror germ called Darkwood. It is a top down survival horror game with top notch atmosphere, cool mechanics and a dark fairy tail motif.
Interestingly, the possibility to put objects on the floor everywhere and get them back was a standard feature in the real father of survival horror: Alone in the Dark (1992).
The TLDR: Lamentum is a highly underrated game and an incredible RE clone. I think you should give it a shot. The longer explanation: A RE clone, that really, really pays homage to the genre is Lamentum. Much like Evil Tonight it is a 2D title, but just like RE 1, it is set entirely in a singular location, a mansion. Aside from that, you have limited inventory space, an item box to store the items you are not using, limited health and ammunition, and you can even enable limited saves, by turning on a feature that limits the "ink" you use to save. A lot of the lore is told to you in documents that you find over the course of the game. The adventure game puzzles also apply, and you have no idea how much joy I felt when I realized that one of the early puzzles required me to take notes on one of the in game documents. Aside from the graphics, the differences also lie in the fact that there is a lot more focus on melee combat, though your character takes 8 years to swing a weapon, even something as simple as a kitchen knife. You have a dodge button and can run, but when you are around enemies you become limited by a stamina pool that will stop you dead in your tracks if it runs out. After playing for a few hours, I find the game to be a complete delight. It is highly underrated as a game and I hope you play it and perhaps breathe new life into it.
I can give two recommendations Varmalis and Eldervale the latter has been on sale for awhile now. The former has a demo worth checking out. Hope he keeps working on it.
I'm surprised you've enjoyed Back in 1995, since the whole point of the game is to say that retro games all suck and we just remember them fondly because we didn't know any better, which is a shit point to make to anyone who's played Silent Hill 1.
Really enjoyed the video as always and great to see you giving these a chance. I haven't had it in me to play survival horror in a while as I can't fall in love like I used to, but this gives me hope. The only thing I'd mention if anything could be improved on the video, it's a mention of where these games can be bought. I know you said it for a couple, but I will have to research the others. But awesome video
I agree with anything you said besides that RE 2 and 3 remakes should look like Tormented Souls. I rather have a richer color pallet than only dark brown, greens and some yellow tinted lighting effects
Feel free to drop some modern survival horror games here in the comment section. I'm definitely hungry for more.
Go for the head
This might be a strange recommendation and not technically count, but if you're looking for stuff more in line with the RE2Make, Daymare 1998 scratches that itch for me.
Been going through Eternal Evil lately. There's some goofy animation here and there, but its a solid title. Great first-person RE stuff, much like Nightmare of Decay.
You should definitely check out a little game called "Dismantled" on Steam. Came out a couple of years ago.
It's built in the GZDoom engine but it takes a ton of cues from classic Resident Evil. A sprawling complex full of puzzles, limited ammo, enemies you can run around (for the most part), door-opening loadscreens and ink ribbon-based saving. Even the shitty voice acting is faithful as the creator voices every male character in the first game with his incredibly thick French Canadian accent.
I'm really scratching the back of my head here but uh, Cry of Fear maybe? Though it's not the most similar to RE, probably closer to SH. Man I feel so out of the loop. Congrats on the move btw! Hope you guys are settling in well :)
Gosh you can HEAR the happiness in your voice! The GLEE of having so many new Resi clones to check out. Good times for horror fans!
Because I was so close minded with modern games, it's really like a whole new world. Pretty damn exciting.
@@AvalancheReviews A WWWHHOOOLLLEEE NEWWW WOORRRLLDD, A dazzling place of horror and suspense!!
It so weird to see to youtube channels i enjoy that seem so different interacting lol
Can of coke for his work!
Man, I love you're bringing back the RE clone series back.
Me too, Soul Bro. I only found this channel this year and I'm already out of content to watch.
Yea I love watching these to watch these
It was barely absent
@@dustinsterling3248 back back to back back?
- Typical gamer: "This game has a horror setting and story, so I'm gonna call it a survival-horror game, even though it's missing literally every other aspect of a survival-horror game."
- Jared from Avalanche Reviews: "This game doesn't have tank controls or fixed camera angles, so I refuse to call it survival-horror, even though it contains literally every other core feature of a survival-horror game."
Statements which are polar-opposite from one another, yet equally ridiculous.
I think that the "survival horror" is a genre totally unrelated to the perspective of how it's played.
Think at it like, for instance, the fighting game genre: you have your street fighter, which is 2D, then you have your Tekken, which is 3D but has a 2D perspective, and then you have arena 3D fighters. They are all different games, but they are all sub-genre of the same genre, fighting games. And that's the same: you can make a good survival horror with an over the shoulder camera or a first person view. The problem is that the genre went dormant for a bit and they wanted to market horror games for streamers (nothing bad about streaming, you know what I'm talking about). I'm pretty happy to see that finally the genre is resurrecting even in the mainstream scene.
Anyway, after all my rant, I want to suggest you a gem, Lone Survivor: a 2D survival horror which goes more on the psychological side of the horror genre. You can find it on every platform I think, maybe it wasn't released on switch but not sure about that
I agree. It’s ridiculous to claim every single Resident Evil game since CV, even 7, 8, 2 and 3; aren’t survival horror games just because of the perspective? Clearly you’re allowed to prefer a perspective and visual style but gatekeeping the genre because of it is so strange.
@@MysterioTGN not only that, but if you say that "survival horror depends on it's camera perspective, if there's no fixed camera that's not a survival horror" you just ignore good games, like the one I suggested. Certainly they aren't resident evil clones (that's not the case) but definitely the vibe and the experience is that of a survival horror.
I agree as well. To me the defining features of the sub-genre are the resource management, exploration, and key/puzzle-based progression. It can have any perspective, be 2D or 3D, any control scheme, and I'd still recognize it as being in the same vein of games. Granted, it's pretty hard to argue that the prototypical survival horror game isn't a fixed-camera game with tank controls, and it's fair that someone would be looking specifically for that because it just has a very specific feel to it. Though personally I'm still pretty new to survival horror (first exposure to classic RE was right after finding RE4 for the first time. It wasn't at all what I was expecting and I kinda hated it. Fortunately I made a complete 180, albeit over a decade later), so I don't really have nostalgia for any particular style, and it kinda seems like such a rigid definition is informed by nostalgia.
here's the thing about you saying RE7 isn't a proper entry in the franchise because of it's perspective. a game can be a first person shooter and a survival horror game at the same time, just like the older RE games can be third person shooters and survival horror games at the same time. a game can in fact fit into multiple genres.
I always saw 'classic survival horror' as its own distinct genre that had its heyday due to the technology of the time and subsequently gets the rare homage, ala film noir.
This is probably why I adore Tormented Souls so much. It’s perhaps the first true survival horror game we’ve gotten in the last 15 years or so. For better or worse, RE4 changed EVERYTHING and “survival-horror” became a diluted genre.
@@bronzin1445 Agree 100%. If the Tormented Souls team stick together and work on the feedback then Tormented Souls 2 could be something special.
@@Roggor Tormented Souls was already great, something truly special which rendered dross like Resi 8 irrelevant
Avalanche, man, I'm not kidding when I say that you have saved my life. Your videos have given some of my restless nights meaning. Thanks for being such a legend. Much love from down under
Here here! Absolutely 💯!!
"...than having some Markiplier clone pretending to be scared by it"
I audibly said "damn."
your script writing has got me dead
I love those subtle jabs lol. But it's so true..I was watching one who had his mouth wide open in the thumbnail and as i watched him he freaked out and threw the controller even when an enemy walked around the corner.
I've heard this "Markiplier" fellow is popular among the children and invalids. I've seen 5 seconds of one of his videos, how did he get popular?
shots fired
The fact that Markiplier is still relevant almost gets me dead
I find your strict definition of 'Survival Horror' and your loose definition of 'RE clone' hilarious.
Keep up the good work.
survival horror has nothing to do with perspectives even Shinji Mikami himself said he wanted the first Bio Hazard to be first person but thought the PS1 was not strong enough.
Something I find interesting, is that the era people grew up with is what they'll consider to be the greatest. You grew up with the 90s and that's your answer but to me it's 05-11 and you know that's pretty cool
I'm glad you went over the Dreadout series! I think it really deserves recognition for people making a game they love. The second game really showcases how much they have grown as devs and its fantastic! Idk if you've covered ...Iru! but that is a super interesting game that came out in 98 on the PS1! I think deserves a look.
Oooo ok. I’ll put it on the list.
I can't express how happy it makes me to know there are still people who appreciate the good old tank controls, fixed cameras, and who know to use their gun only when all else fails.
I strongly disagree with the idea that anything that isn't third person isn't survival horror, that's nostalgia talking imo, great video. Gonna play some of these
I always thought survival horror without combat misses the point of the genre
It's called a FIGHT or Flight response for a reason
Alien Isolation got it right
Well put. I feel the same about games that offer no option to avoid combat. Like RE6. The choice to engage an enemy or avoid is a tenant of Survival Horror in my opinion
I was a national champion RC car racer for two years and raced for 7 in regional events. Tank controls are a must for me and resi 1,2,3, outbreak and silent hill are my favourite games.
Yes! That's exactly how I explained tank controls to someone who was new to it. It's just like controlling an RC car.
It's a more precise method of control than typical 3d movement. Lends itself perfectly to evading enemies in tight spaces. Also games like Armored Core need tank controls to make you feel like you're controlling a huge mech. Mastering the rigid controls makes the air battles and flashy stunts that more rewarding and flashy.
More Modern survival horror games need pre rendered backgrounds like the classic RE Remake.
That game is 20 years old and still looks amazing.
Them: “bUt PRereNDeReD baCkGrOunds aRn’T reAL GrAPhiCs!!”
Me: Yes…yes they are…they’re just not running in real-time which saves on memory and resources that can be used on more important assets.
For whatever reason, EVERYTHING has to be in real-time or it doesn’t count apparently. Everything from graphics and gameplay to cutscenes
Yeah, Zero looks even better
25:42 almost made me spit out my coffee.
I would love to see a video like this but with Silent Hill clones. I know there are less of those but a few I can recommend are Lost in Vivo, Lone Survivor, Claire and maybe Ib.
Did you know ? Ib got a remake recently !
Nightmare of Decay actually looks like a really solid King’s Field clone! Definitely will be watching those devs.
One word, Lunacid, now there's a modern (and horror infused) King's Field clone to drool over.
@@GoodmansGhost That! Lunacid is awesome
Loving your most recent videos man.
the Nightmare of Decay dev is a really nice guy too, being super helpful and active on the steam forum for his game, trying to help people with issues in the game however he can! So he's not only an awesome creator but also a friendly and chill dude!
Well I'm definitely sold on Tormented Souls! Wow, that game looks amazing! And it's on PS4 to boot! See, that's the problem I've been noticing with a lot of these modern survival horror titles. They're mostly only available on PC, and my laptop isn't exactly current so it's always questionable whether or not it'll run them. Tormented Souls looks like exactly what I've been looking for for years now. A genuine old school survival horror.
Another great video, Avalanche. Great work!
It’s so damn good!! You’re gonna love it.
Literally my only complaint about Tormented Souls is that theres nothing unlocked for beating it
Great game but the ‘puzzles’ are stupidly hard.
I can't think of the right way to explain my excitement when I see the thumbnail of videos like this....the time, the effort, the care....these are incredible videos Avie...keep up the amazing work man, we all love you dearly for it!
I mean I do think he's way too limited in what's supposedly worthy of being survival horror.
Like tank controls, pre-rendered backgrounds and fixed camera angles for example can all be attributed to choices made due to technical limitations and if you asked those who were responsible I'm pretty sure that they wouldn't consider those things necessary.
Also he brought up fake aged technology too and I think it should be rather obvious that a genre can't really be exclusive to a certain time period.
If you ask me survival horror is mainly defined by a meaningful importance of managing limited resources and because of that the goal is not to always fight your threats but just *survive* and the "horror" part is self explanatory.
That's about it, puzzles and such are obviously a common feature and a good incentive to make the player look around to find items or clues but I don't think they can be considered necessary for the genre.
I think people overrate resources being limited in the genre, in most cases, we already find plenty of ammo on the classic games, and that's on default difficulty.
Oh, and as a true RE fan, you must know why RE1 in the US did not have a quick turn button. Yes, it's not a charming quirk, to not be able to quick turn, it is just bad.
A game missing from this retrospective that you definitely need to check out is Lone Survivor, though to be fair, it's more of a Silent Hill clone than an RE clone, but it has all the hallmarks of a survivor horror game.
Also note that the dev of the game is working on a "definitive edition" at the moment, so it would be a good idea to check in on it after a while.
I was just about to wright the same :D
Lone Survivor is a great piece of art indeed.
This game literally proves that the right amount and usage of some 8bit pixels can be as scary or perhaps even scarier then some of the triple a titles with a modern presentation.
Ofc audio design and in particular music are the actual keynotes here and they are crafted with huge dedication and quality. And if I remember it, everthing made by a single guy.
Play it, you will be surprised 😊
"The 90s is the greatest era of gaming" lmao.
I highly recommend Daymare: 1998! Not only was it originally meant to be the RE2 remake before Capcom stepped in, but then they decided to make it a new IP.
And its definitely a love letter to those 90s horror games. More so Resident Evil though. Yeah, sure...its not the best and it certainly has its problems. But for a low budget game,
its not that bad. Plus, they got the OG voice actor for Leon in it!
Yes! I loved it, especially with how committed they were to the campy script and voice acting. The puzzles were also something that made it more like the old RE games than the modern remakes
25:44 That scene alone sold the game to me
I really want to play Evil Tonight now! Also glad to hear you really enjoyed Post Trauma I knew it'd be right up your alley! Also you may want to try out Signalis and Viviette.
Mate its the craziest thing, I was literally about to jump off my balcony to my death cuz I wanted a new video from you, good timing mate.
"Refined pa[lette" though? You're the kinda guy that would switch to inverted aiming aren't you? Hawaiian pizza.
I''m 37 and I kinda love the RE2 remake (havent played 3 yet). Don't get me wrong, I love Tormented Souls, but I also kinda love that RE2&3 were both revamped with good over-the-shoulder cams while also not making them arcade bullet fiestas like RE5-6. While old RE was the best 3D solution of the time with the limitations we were working with, I was in love when RE4 showed the world was a good 3rd person camera was supposed to be in a game involving firearms. I have to say though, that I wish RE2&3 had the Gamecube ReMake treatment that RE1 had gotten. I feel like that would've allowed the new Remakes some room to breath in the fandom. I'm of a mind that we dont need a RE remake because the GC one is perfect though, and we may not have gotten any remakes had they been done back then :p
13:00
It sounds like you are saying that your criteria for "RE clone" is *looser* than your criteria for "Survival horror". Seems backwards to me.
You could play Elvira Mistress of the Dark is very interesting how the enemies can open doors and it came out way back in 1990.
I played REmake for the first time recently, never played resident evil before and I didn't grow up when survival horror was big. I love it, it's a bit clunky but it's great.
I remember one RE clone reviewed by Civvie based on From Dusk Till Dawn, people who made this game also developed The Devil Inside, which was some kind of TV show where we can play as Dave (and turn into magic caster goth chick Deva, which spice ups kissing scene in final battle - spoilers) to explore haunted house. Really short when you know what to do... and have escorting segment which can give you some trouble.
Listening in while playing Dead Space feels like I'm exploring the ship while listening to a gaming radio station.
Brilliant.
Your videos make my day man. They are legit like free therapy for me. Appreciate you brotha
Super happy to hear that! I love making this stuff and it's an awesome bonus that people enjoy them so much.
I was a 90's kid so i can understand some of the stuff you saw in childhood, the classics the games that we grew up on definitely were some really weird games with the good and bad too lol
The intro "rant" was enough to warrant a like for the video haha love how you're always brutally honest ! Always look forward to your next video man
Ah Post Trauma finally a game where I can roleplay as a man who gets winded opening the fridge too fast instead of a super buff olympic level 18 year old.
You consistently make some of my favorite videos on YT. Keep it up!
The fact that Nightmare of Decay followed the RE 'Mansion, Court Yard, Guard House, Tunnels, Lab' progression (or a very close aproximation of it) was fucking rad. It felt like coming home again, lol.
The only reason you like Onimusha is because there's no ammo and you giant knife everything to death
Your new intro is great, didn't think we'd get another long vid like this!
The graphics of back in 1995 remind me of the Alone in the Dark sequels rather than Resident Evil
I believe a more apt title would be: "The Wild world of modern survival horror games". Some games like Dreadout 1-2 have nothing to do with RE and are straight out inspired by Fatal Frame.
I gotta try out that last game, I'm not a survival horror guy but I do like fun, quirky games with light-hearted protagonists.
Insisting that tank controls are necessary to the genre of survival horror is like assuming that a dpad for movement is necessary to a first person shooter since that's how you controlled them in earlier days after we moved away from "Doom clones".
You're not wrong for liking tank controls, but this particular insistence is just petty garbage and the sooner you admit it the better off everyone will be.
The bass in your voice is booming. I love it. I have to run my voice overs through audacity to achieve what sounds natural for you.
Well it helps that my mic is sort of made to emphasize that boomy, radio dj sort of sound.
this man living the dream. living in Tokyo, talking about video games.... maaaannnn
You say "refined pallettes", I say "unwilling to learn a control scheme".
Do we have to bring up the survival horror conundrum in every video my man? XD
39:01 "the little mice they call you Coraline when it should be Caroline."
Man I love these videos. You're doing amazing work! Always excited to watch this series and RE Retrospective
Also check out Lementum and Heaven Dust and Heaven Dust 2. Lementum is really good, legitimately scary and unsettling while Heaven Dust is a cute fun little homage to classic RE games.
I think you were a bit too rough on Dreadout and a bit too kind to 1995. By far the roughest game on this list is 1995, which has graphics that don't even measure up to the original Alone in the Dark, let alone ANY PS1 survival horror games. Incredibly amatuerish look is pretty off-putting. Whereas I think Dreadout feels more like a proper survival horror in part because of the sometimes obtuse mechanics which actually do help the mood... and in terms of presentation it has the most striking look of anything on this list, IMO.
Dreadout has a certain earnest wholesomeness to it that I just couldn't help but find endearing.
Like, the text you get in limbo includes things like "You've been playing the game for a while, maybe you should take a break?" and "Thank you for buying our game!" You just can't help but feel affection for a studio who puts that face forward, you know? I agree with him; it *is* a bit rough but the game is clearly so sincere in what it wants to do it's hard to really criticize that (honestly, much as I love it, Them and Us is a lot rougher in the same regards, despite being newer, and I think Dreadout is a generally superior game).
1995 was rough; I played it and appreciate the Silent Hill vibes but Silent Hill is a much smoother experience despite being much older (to be fair, it actually came out in 1999, so if the dev was trying to imitate a game four years older I guess he hit the mark). My first true survival horror game was Resident Evil 2 on the N64, so I have a bit of a higher standard for what I accept in a "retro" game of this genre and, yeah, I had a hard time getting into this one. Resident Evil came out in 1996 and even that has a lot more polish and flair than this game does.
I'm glad you covered Nightmare of Decay, because it convinced me to buy it and I had a blast. Great content!
2:33 Looking forward to the part of the video where you get to whatever the hell that 2D pixel art game is. if that 'checks most of those boxes' as you put it, I'm absolutely picking that one up.
lol that duke nukem game is not an fps becuase the genre of "fps" has the *perspective in the name* survival horror does not. I'd argue under you definition silent hill isnt survival horror either, its not fixed.
Please, Jared, use your status and influence as a McMansion having RUclips denizen and get the guys developing Compound Fracture to finish their game. It looks like a friggin awesome Dino Crisis inspired fps with a PS1 aesthetic and it's been languishing for the last eight months or so. It's got a Steam page.
Also Breakdown video when?
Game is not dead. Check out the Steam forums for the game.
Reminds me of Dino Crisis meets classic AVP2.
Most of the Indies covered here did not interest me, except for Nightmare of Decay.
Also keep an eye on Trepang2 and Project Ferocious.
McMansion?
"Evil Tonight" grabbed my attention the most in this video, something about that "Chrono Trigger" SNES aesthetic.
YES! Thank you!
I've started a ... rather boring work 6 month ago... it's a pain in the butt but your resident evil clones video got me through it.
I'm saving this one for work tomorrow :]
This is really eye opening. Especially in 2024 where almost every other game being released is coming from devs who hate you. Thank you for making these lists. Seen 4 in the series so far.
Love the video! There is so much good media out there but sifting through it is digging for diamonds in the rough -- these kinds of videos are so helpful for the health of the gaming scene
Combat can still be clunky and sluggish but you can get used to it being kinda crud, doesn't make it not crud lol. Part of the reason I've not played some older games personally is cause the controls just feel so bad. From any genre not just survival horror, like if a platformer has terrible jumping controls you just have to learn to deal with the crappy controls. Whether that be wind up to jump, movement in air or whatever. You can always get used to them but they are still bad.
You really need to try out alien isolation, literally the only thing that it doesn't do in your criteria is have fixed camera angles.
Thx for giving TS so much love, as it's a game Made in My country it fiils me with pride that chilean dev teams can make games that ppl and crítics love
Nice.. Your channel seems to have gotten me 3 new discoveries in the genre. Thank you for the tips!
Jared my dude! I have been following you for a few years, we share tastes in your very specific brand of survival horror, and I purchased tormented souls when your full review came out. I need to start it tonight!
Fuckin fantastic vid as always, man.
Mikami wanted RE1 to be first person. If he is fine with survival horror in first person, who am I to disagree?
Eww. He wanted the Re2 remake to be like tormented souls EWWWWW.
As a 90s old folgie who also played the originals the RE2 remake is a God damn masterpiece and 100% better than the original.
Tormented Souls was a really great time, watching your review on it back then convinced me to try the game & I loved every minute of it. Definitely took me back as I grew up in the 90s and reminded me that True Survival horror games like this can still work in more modern times if done right.
I'm glad your doing these gives me ideas for some new games I wouldn't have heard of otherwise your rpg hidden gems video got me to find a copy of Ring of Red to run through my retrotink 5x. So far I'm enjoying it. I'm at times astonished how often I miss at like 85% with the cannon.
Ha! It's enough to ruin your whole day when that happens!!! Happy to get some awesome games into some deserving hands.
Despite not being a huge fan of the Surv Horror genre, and even less - a man who actively plays them
I find it surprising just how many of these tittles I was already aware of...
I am happy Jared found a way to scratch his itch in the form of modern day surv horror
I genuinely hope one day when I too will miss the "Good old days" I will be able to find just a few games to shed a tear of nostalgia for.
Thanks!
NO THANK YOU
Awesome to bring back this series, I think the clobe series is one of my favorites on RUclips
Every video you make about RE and its clones is an instant hit :D
Keep em comming :D
It's always a good day when there is a new Avalanche Reviews Video!! Thanks for the Content!
I love these videos, they just help making my steam wishlist longer ... Thanks for the awesome content once again, good sir !
Next time you could cover a little Polish horror germ called Darkwood. It is a top down survival horror game with top notch atmosphere, cool mechanics and a dark fairy tail motif.
I love Darkwood! I did a video on it a while back.
@@AvalancheReviews: Nice!
Interestingly, the possibility to put objects on the floor everywhere and get them back was a standard feature in the real father of survival horror: Alone in the Dark (1992).
11:53 Nightmare of Decay is such a nice game and Checkmaty is a really nice person (I did an Italian translation for the game for him).
The TLDR: Lamentum is a highly underrated game and an incredible RE clone. I think you should give it a shot.
The longer explanation:
A RE clone, that really, really pays homage to the genre is Lamentum. Much like Evil Tonight it is a 2D title, but just like RE 1, it is set entirely in a singular location, a mansion. Aside from that, you have limited inventory space, an item box to store the items you are not using, limited health and ammunition, and you can even enable limited saves, by turning on a feature that limits the "ink" you use to save. A lot of the lore is told to you in documents that you find over the course of the game. The adventure game puzzles also apply, and you have no idea how much joy I felt when I realized that one of the early puzzles required me to take notes on one of the in game documents.
Aside from the graphics, the differences also lie in the fact that there is a lot more focus on melee combat, though your character takes 8 years to swing a weapon, even something as simple as a kitchen knife. You have a dodge button and can run, but when you are around enemies you become limited by a stamina pool that will stop you dead in your tracks if it runs out.
After playing for a few hours, I find the game to be a complete delight. It is highly underrated as a game and I hope you play it and perhaps breathe new life into it.
Great to be back watching another one of your videos, keep up the great work!
I can give two recommendations Varmalis and Eldervale the latter has been on sale for awhile now. The former has a demo worth checking out. Hope he keeps working on it.
You sound so nerdy. "The latter" "The former" 🤦🏻 get a life bro.
DreadOut is more of a Project Zero / Fatal Frame clone if you'd ask me. How much THOSE games are RE clones however may be a different question.
Love the vids. Disagree 100% that re2 and 3 should have been like the other game that is all clunky and slow. Glad to see them moving it forward.
This series is the best! Thanks for your work!
I love you Jared, your videos are always so enjoyable.
Your RUclips content is not mediocre. You do great work!
48:17 Not trying to start a fight but you could do that RE0 item drop mechanic in OG Alone in the Dark. ;)
I'm surprised you've enjoyed Back in 1995, since the whole point of the game is to say that retro games all suck and we just remember them fondly because we didn't know any better, which is a shit point to make to anyone who's played Silent Hill 1.
There is a reason why tank controls are not as popular. I'll give you a hint. They suck. Were never good, enhanced nothing and will never be good.
Yes, 90s being the best is up for debate
I'll see you at the debate stage. Bring your A game.
Really enjoyed the video as always and great to see you giving these a chance. I haven't had it in me to play survival horror in a while as I can't fall in love like I used to, but this gives me hope. The only thing I'd mention if anything could be improved on the video, it's a mention of where these games can be bought. I know you said it for a couple, but I will have to research the others. But awesome video
I agree with anything you said besides that RE 2 and 3 remakes should look like Tormented Souls. I rather have a richer color pallet than only dark brown, greens and some yellow tinted lighting effects