Survival horror

Part of a series on
Action games
Subgenres Action-adventure Metroidvania Battle royale Fighting Beat 'em up Hack and slash Platform fighter Platform Rhythm Action RPG Shooter Artillery Arena First-person Hero Light gun Third-person Tactical Shoot 'em up Bullet hell Twin-stick Sports Racing Stealth Survival Vehicle sim
Topics Capture the flag Cover system First-person shooter engine Free look Quick time event WASD keys
Lists List of battle royale games List of beat 'em ups List of fighting game companies List of fighting games List of first-person shooters List of freeware first-person shooters List of third-person shooters List of survival games List of light gun games List of maze video games List of platform games
v t e

Survival horror is a subgenre of horror games. Although combat can be part of the gameplay, the player is made to feel less in control than in typical action games through limited ammunition or weapons, health, speed, and vision, or through various obstructions of the player's interaction with the game mechanics. The player is also challenged to find items that unlock the path to new areas and solve puzzles to proceed in the game. Games make use of strong horror themes, such as dark mazelike environments and unexpected attacks from enemies.

The term "survival horror" was first used for the original Japanese release of Resident Evil in 1996, which was influenced by earlier games with a horror theme such as 1989's Sweet Home and 1992's Alone in the Dark. The name has been used since then for games with similar gameplay and has been retroactively applied to earlier titles. Starting with the release of Resident Evil 4 in 2005, the genre began to incorporate more features from action games and more traditional first person and third-person shooter games. This has led game journalists to question whether long-standing survival horror franchises and more recent franchises have abandoned the genre and moved into a distinct genre often referred to as "action horror."^[1][2][3][4]