PHASE ZERO: Survival Horror Revival
The golden era of survival horror is about to make a return with PHASE ZERO, a brand-new indie title that promises to pay homage to the classics while integrating modern quality-of-life improvements. Developed by SPINA Studio, a team of seasoned developers who worked on SUPERHOT, Dying Light, and Cyberpunk 2077, PHASE ZERO promises to capture the essence of 90s horror gaming and bring it to modern audiences. A Desperate Fight for Survival in Flint Peak Set in the desolate, snow-covered harbor town of Flint Peak in 1994, players will navigate a nightmarish outbreak that has left most of the town’s residents grotesquely transformed. With pre-rendered backgrounds, fixed camera angles, and cinematic storytelling, PHASE ZERO promises to deliver an immersive, atmospheric horror experience that fans of the genre will adore. At the heart of this nightmare are two unlikely protagonists: Mary, a newly arrived reporter, and Guy, an injured engineer. Trapped in a town spiraling into chaos, they will need to scavenge for resources, navigate horrifying environments, and uncover the truth behind the mysterious illness before dawn breaks. Terrifying Creatures and Cinematic Horror The streets of Flint Peak are overrun with mutated, grotesque monstrosities. Tissue overgrows buildings, flesh bursts through pipes, and hollow human husks fill the alleys, making every step a gamble. The game’s meticulously designed camera angles and immersive 3D environments promise to enhance the tension, creating a cinematic horror experience that will rival its classic inspirations. PHASE ZERO at a Glance: You can whishlist PHASE ZERO on Steam, and if you want to keep up with the developer follow SPINA Studio on X.
The Thing Remastered Exclusive
Disclaimer: We were fortunate to gain early access to an unfinished build of The Thing Remastered. The impressions shared in this article are based on that pre-release version. NightDive Studios has created a reputation for expertly revitalising classic games from the ’90s and early 2000s, titles from an era predating HD graphics, PBR textures, and advanced lighting systems. Their talent for modernizing these experiences makes The Thing (2002) a prime candidate for a remaster. Your squad mates can now only be infected by direct contact with a Thing beast. The heart of The Thing lies in its infection system, a mechanic that captivated fans upon its original release. Naturally, one burning question precedes the remaster’s launch: Are the infections still scripted? I’m happy to confirm that they are not. The remaster eliminates the old scripted infections. Now, squadmates are only infected through direct contact with a Thing beast. Adding another layer of tension, certain NPCs are more susceptible to infection than others, making each encounter unpredictable. This dynamic approach reintroduces the fear and paranoia that defined the original game while enhancing the immersion for a modern audience. The saying goes, “Photography is all about lighting,” but the more I play NightDive’s remasters, the more I believe this is true for gaming too. The flamethrower is an integral part of combat. To take down the big Walkers, you need to burn them when their health is low, meaning you’ll rely on the flamethrower frequently. In this remaster, the Kex Engine enhances the dynamic lighting effects, making the flamethrower’s flames look far better than in the original game. Another significant update in the remaster is the rebalanced difficulty. Late-game sections, in particular, now feature more health and ammo pickups, alleviating much of the frustration players faced in completing the original. While The Thing Remastered retains its horror elements, it’s more accurately described as a squad-based action horror game rather than pure survival horror. Resources are plentiful, and the gameplay leans heavily on action rather than evasion. Unlike traditional survival horror games, where avoiding enemies is key, this title encourages direct confrontation and tactical combat. Don’t let the genre label deter you – this is a classic game inspired by a cult-classic horror movie, and it’s absolutely worth experiencing. If you’re curious to see The Thing Remastered in action, check out the video below. It showcases the game’s updated visuals, dynamic lighting, and intense gameplay, giving you a glimpse of what makes this remaster so special. Whether you’re a fan of the original or discovering it for the first time, the footage will give you a better feel for the atmosphere and improvements NightDive Studios has brought to this cult classic.
Silent Hill 2 Remake: Avoiding Enemies
Following the release of Silent Hill 2 Remake, many online discussions have noted a shift in the game’s approach to combat, with some players suggesting it has become more combat focused and that avoiding enemies is now less feasible. While the remake does incorporate significant upgrades to combat mechanics, players still retain the ability to avoid certain enemies in various scenarios. “One prominent example of this perspective appears in Modern Vintage Gamer’s YouTube video, Silent Hill 2 Is A Remake (Mostly) Done Right. In the video, MVG notes that the ability to avoid enemies, a notable feature in the original game, has been altered in the remake, commenting that ‘avoiding enemies is unfortunately not part of the remake’ and that ‘players will need to engage in combat.’” While I disagree with this point in the video, I appreciate that MVG has highlighted the importance of enemy avoidance in survival horror games; after all, this is a key aspect that separates them from action games. Survival horror is a puzzle game of efficiency , the whole time you are playing every action you take is all part of a grander puzzle. I’m not only referring to the classic puzzles, like finding and rearranging coins, but also the intricacies of combat, resource management and navigating the maze-like environments. If you boil down the gameplay of Resident Evil 1, the core objective is simple: get from point A to point B without dying, often picking up a key item along the way or backtracking to retrieve one. This is also true with Silent Hill 2 and the Silent Hill 2 remake. The trick is to get to point B the most efficient way possible, and often the most efficient way to do this is to avoid combat altogether running past the enemies saving your ammo for later. I show an example of this in the video below. As shown in the video above, enemies can be avoided about 80% of the time; you can either run past them or use the newly added dodge button. For the remaining 20%, however, dodging is impractical, and it’s more efficient to eliminate them. The enemies are also much more aggressive than in the original Silent Hill 2, where you could literally walk in circles around them, even the initial encounter with Pyramid Head was almost comically easy to avoid. Not so in the remake, and the game is all the better for it. Since 2001, people have become desensitized to horror; we now see far worse things on YouTube or in the news. If the enemies in the remake were as easy to avoid as in the original, there would be no sense of tension or threat. Bloober Team made the right decision to make the enemies more relentless while also retaining a fundamental trait of survival horror games, the ability to avoid the enemies.
Vultures – Turn Based Survival Horror
In the same way you would combine a red and green herb in Resident Evil, Giovanni (Agar3s) and Mateo (Carenalga) from Team Vultures are combining tactical turn-based gameplay with survival horror themes. “In fact I came to the realisation that the tactical elements are perfect for a survival horror game.” Before I played the Vultures – Scavengers of Death demo I was worried the turn based elements would overpower the survival horror but that isn’t the case. In fact I came to the realisation that the tactical elements are perfect for a survival horror game. Turn-based games share several similarities with survival horror games in terms of strategic depth and gameplay mechanics. In turn-based games, players must weigh the risks of each move, while in survival horror games players must think about their actions at a more deliberate pace rather than relying on fast reflexes. Survival horror games typically feature real-time combat, the need to choose when to fight, flee, or hide mirrors the tactical combat decisions in turn-based games. I decided to test Vultures against my “golden rules of survival horror” and I was surprised to find it almost perfectly fits my criteria for the essential gameplay elements of a survival horror game. For more information on my golden rules for visit here: www.survivalhorrors.com/survival-horror-golden-rules Golden Rule 1: Scarce Resources There is barely enough ammo to kill all of the zombies in the police station where the demo takes place, I found myself entering rooms with 5 or 6 zombies and I simply did not have enough ammo to kill them all. Just like classic survival horror games I had to back track where I found a shotgun which let me progress through the rooms with large numbers of enemies. Saving in Vultures is also a scarce resource, just like the ink ribbons in Resident Evil to save in Vultures you have a limited number of discs, this requires players to be strategic about when and where they save their progress to avoid losing significant progress. Golden Rule 2: No Control Over How Successful Your Attack Will Be In fixed camera angle games, you aim roughly in the direction of the enemy without any real control or precision aiming. This lack of control is present in Vultures, I found myself with a 70% chance of getting a head shot regularly missing. This lack of control when fighting enemies is what separates survival horror games from action games that do have precision aiming. Golden Rule 3: Unexpected Attack In classic fixed camera survival horror games there would often be enemies just outside of the cameras view which made it unsettling to turn a corner. In the footage below you can see this same scenario plays out in Vultures, you don’t know what is a few movement squares in front of you until after you commit to moving. In the footage I try and sneak past a zombie but a second zombie is revealed around a hidden corner triggering the combat. Running in the game wouldn’t be advised and the sneaking feature doesn’t guarantee safety either. Golden Rule 4: Puzzle Solving The demo features a few code base puzzles which require you to read notes you find in the police station and then back track to a lock. Puzzles in the final game will be expanded to more than just code based puzzles but they are still being developed. Golden Rule 5: Having to Evade Enemies I found myself underequipped to fight the enemies in a room or the room had more zombies than I first thought, when this happened it was best to just run to the nearest door and evade the enemies. There is also a stealth movement mode (Sneak) which is slower but a much safer way to move around the police station. I found this worked great when there is 1 zombie in the room but you can’t easily sneak between multiple zombies. Golden Rule 6: Playing as a Vulnerable Character You play as a bad ass from the Vultures organisation so you aren’t exactly vulnerable however if enough zombies surround you it is hard to live. In the final version of Vultures you will have the choice of two characters, Leopoldo or Amber. This is a nice tribute to Alone in the Dark and Resident Evil that also give you a choice of a male or female character. Golden Rule 7: Maze-like Environments The police station in Vultures is very similar to the labyrinthine Resident Evil 2 police station it was inspired by. Even the demo has a nice variety of locations to explore within the police station including a Garden, Press Room, Offices, Firing Range etc. I am really looking forward to exploring and unlock new paths in the police station further when the final game is released. Check out some gameplay from the official Twitter page. Are you excited about Vultures – Scavengers of Death? Wishlist it on Steam now and be the first to know when it’s available! www.store.steampowered.com/Vultures__Scavengers_of_Death
Clock Tower Remake – True Survival Horror
Get ready to revisit one of the most iconic horror games of all time as Clock Tower gets a chilling remake. Never before release outside of Japan, this indie gem, developed by a team of dedicated horror enthusiasts, promises to revive the terror of the original while introducing new twists and turns to keep players on the edge of their seats. For those unfamiliar, Clock Tower follows the story of Jennifer Simpson, a young woman who finds herself trapped in a sinister mansion plagued by a relentless stalker known as Scissorman. As players guide Jennifer through the haunted halls of the mansion, they must solve puzzles, evade the Scissorman’s deadly grasp, and uncover the dark secrets hidden within. “It is true survival horror, you can only survive” Mariel CartwrightClock Tower Port+ Creative Lead Just like the original game Clock Tower Port+ will be a true survival horror game explains Mariel Cartwright “We have a ton of game where you’re fighting monsters and you’re shooting them with guns and that can still be scary but clock tower is distinct in that you really don’t have any of those tools… It is true survival horror, you can only survive.” Whether you’re a fan of the original or new to the world of Clock Tower, this remake is a must have for survival horror fans. Keep an eye out for more updates on this eagerly anticipated indie title as we await its release date. If you would like a physical version of the game Limited Run Games is opening up pre orders from May 31 to June 30 for Switch, PlayStation, Xbox and PC.