Well, for this article in my series about horror videogames, I thought that I’d talk about level length. One of the interesting things about horror games is that – like role-playing games and “point and click” games – many of them don’t actually have defined “levels” and are instead just one large level.
A good modern example of this sort of thing is a terrifying “run and hide” survival horror game called “Remothered: Tormented Fathers” (2018) that almost entirely takes place within a creepy 1970s mansion. Although there is a short outdoor area at the beginning and a couple of segments that take place in parts of the mansion that are only visited once or twice (eg: the attic and wine cellar), there aren’t really any defined level boundaries and the game just progresses like it is a single “level”. This works really well because it makes the mansion feel more claustrophobic and more like a real location that the player will get to know well.
And realism is one reason why horror games often don’t include multiple levels. This trend was started by either “Alone In The Dark” (1992) or “Resident Evil” (1996), both of which involve exploring a large mansion and other areas connected to it. And, as well as adding a more realistic atmosphere, the lack of defined levels also helps to emphasise exploration too.
Without levels, these games can also be a bit more non-linear too, with the player able to either complete some parts of the game in any order they want (such as some of the earlier puzzles in “Resident Evil”) or to solve problems in multiple ways (such as a zombie-filled room in “Alone In The Dark” where the player can either fight the zombies or distract them). It makes the game feel a bit more open – and thus gives the player more options, which fits in perfectly with the “survival” elements of these games since the player has to think carefully about what the best option would be.
Pacing is another reason why horror games often only have one “level”. Scary horror games are almost always slower-paced games. The lack of clearly-defined levels plays into this, since its harder for new players to gauge how far through the game they are and how much progress they are making. This shifts the focus from rushing forwards towards an end goal to just focusing more on the present moment.
Still, although multiple levels aren’t that common in horror games, they do appear sometimes. The classic “Silent Hill” games (1999-2004) are an interesting example of this since they all contain a “soft” level system. In the first two games, the player has to traverse an open-world setting between visiting large buildings. Each building is like a self-contained level, and these levels are long and complex enough to almost feel like a short survival horror game in their own right. Still, although these games never explicitly say “levels”, the open-world segments serve as a way of separating each level-like area.
Both the third and fourth games in the series take a slightly more linear approach. “Silent Hill 3” (2003) has a more traditional linear structure to it, with the level changes being defined by cutscenes, boss battles and/or location changes (that don’t allow the player to return to earlier areas). These levels are, again, self-contained things that are long and complex enough to almost feel like miniature survival horror games. “Silent Hill 4” (2004) does something relatively similar, but includes a hub area that the player returns to between each level. Although it can also be returned to during most levels (for saving and item storage), it provides a much more well-defined “ending” to each level.
This “soft” level system allows these games to give the player a more well-defined feeling of progression, whilst also being seamless enough to give these games the feeling of a more continuous and “realistic” story too.
Even though the use of levels is one of the many differences between the classic games in the “Silent Hill” and “Resident Evil” franchises, its interesting to note that the “Silent Hill” games still keep their levels large and long enough to maintain a suspensefully slow pace, create a somewhat realistic atmosphere and to allow for lots of exploration too. Despite their level-based structure, these games still feel a lot more like traditional single-level survival horror games than any other type of game.
Still, there are horror games with shorter levels and this can have some interesting effects. A good example of this is probably a slightly overlooked PS2 game called “Forbidden Siren 2” (2006). Although I’ve only played the demo version of this game and watched some online footage of the full version, one of its defining features is very short and very linear “mission”-based levels. Each one only seems to be a few minutes long – and the player is given an objective at the beginning and guidance about how to achieve it.
These tiny levels allow the game to juggle a large cast of playable characters and to tell a larger-scale story in a fragmented way. The frequent character changes not only add mystery to the game, but keep the gameplay fresh too. They also make everything feel like a typical third-person perspective thriller novel – which will often include alternating chapters focusing on different characters in order to add lots of compelling “mini-cliffhangers” in order to keep the reader reading.
Interestingly, although this game has a lot in common with classic survival horror games – except for the camera system and stealth elements – it feels very different to them. The short levels and mission-based structure give it a much more abrupt and focused atmosphere. These levels feel like individual scenes from a horror movie. It’s a really interesting creative choice that makes the game feel unique, even if it comes at the cost of exploration and more sustained slower-paced suspense.
Another game, which is probably more “horror-adjacent” than full-on horror, that uses shorter levels is “Devil Daggers” (2016). This fast-paced horror-themed first-person shooter game only has one level – and the player is scored on how long they manage to survive within it. Technically, this is an extremely long level since it can carry on endlessly if the player is good enough. However, given that – at the time of writing (28th July 2021) – the current world record is only about nineteen and a half minutes, it is a short level in all practical terms. Seriously, even getting up to three minutes can take several hours of practice.
This game uses short levels both to add a slight level of “trapped in a time loop”-style creepiness to the game but also as a way of making it more compelling. Short levels – like short online videos – are designed to hook the audience. Because the audience is only initially asked to give a small amount of time, they’re more likely to think “Just one more go. I’ve got time“… and, before you know it, two or three hours have passed. So, shorter levels can also be used to make games – including horror games – more compelling.
So, yes, level length can have a surprising effect on the mood and atmosphere of a horror game. Although long levels are a lot more common, since they allow for slower pacing and a more “realistic” atmosphere, shorter levels can be used in clever ways to affect the mood of a horror game or to make it more compelling.
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Anyway, I hope that this was useful 🙂
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