Well, for this article in the second season of my “Horror Videogames Series“, I thought that I’d talk about linear horror games. Or, more accurately, what sets a good linear horror game apart from a bad one.
This was something I ended up thinking about when, the day before writing this article, I finally summoned the courage to try playing “Outlast” (2013) again. Thanks to having more experience with “run and hide” horror games in the year or two since my last serious attempt at playing this ultra-terrifying game, I was delighted to find that I had the fortitude to withstand about twenty-five minutes of it this time. Still, picking up this game again reminded me of how… linear… it is.
This is a screenshot from “Outlast” (2013), a first-person perspective horror game where you play as a journalist with a camcorder who explores a creepy semi-abandoned mental hospital. It is a game that has, on at least a couple of previous occasions, literally scared me away from playing any more of it…
Often, there is just one “correct” path that you have to follow. Any doors that aren’t critical to the game’s story remain firmly locked and are purely decorative. You have to move through the game’s locations via just one pre-set route. If you try to explore, you’ll just find dead ends (and the occasional jump scare). And, yet, despite all of this, it is still a surprisingly compelling and ridiculously scary horror game.
So, how does “Outlast” (2013) manage to be both linear and good? There are a few reasons for this – the first is probably that it actually has skill-based gameplay with the possibility of a fail state. In other words, there is actual suspense – a lot of it – because you can get a “game over” if you mess up during the game’s stealth segments and/or chase sequences. These segments also have a bit of challenge to them too, preventing the game from feeling like a boring interactive movie.
A great example of another game that does something vaguely similar is probably the action-horror game “Resident Evil 4” (2005). Even though this game follows a relatively linear path compared to older “Resident Evil” games, the game’s action elements are frantic and skill-based enough to keep the game feeling like… well… an actual game. You have to aim carefully, choose which weapon to use, run away sometimes etc… It actually has proper skill-based gameplay.
This is a screenshot from “Resident Evil 4” (2005) showing the main character, Leon, frantically reloading his pistol whilst a zombie-like villager charges at him. The thrilling fast-paced action gameplay in this game really helps to take the player’s attention away from just how linear the level design actually is.
Yet another example of this sort of thing is possibly the indie horror game “Korpus: Buried Over The Black Soil” (2020). Although this game has a very linear path and some gameplay-free “walking simulator” segments, the designers actually made sure to include at least a few skill-based segments where the player can get a “game over” if they mess up. This makes the game so much more suspenseful and compelling than the average “walking simulator” horror game.
Secondly, another reason why “Outlast” is still a good horror game despite being ridiculously linear is because of clever level design. Not only do some segments sometimes loop around to earlier areas, giving the impression of non-linear level design but the game also knows when to make the level design a bit more free-form too.
In short, whenever you’re in a place where someone is chasing or hunting you, the level sometimes opens up just a little bit. There are hiding places, multiple corridors to go down and stuff like that. The game actually gives you a bit of room to sneak around in. Again, this makes the game feel less linear.
This is a screenshot from “Outlast” (2013), showing the main character escaping from an angry monster via a narrow passageway. This whole segment of the game takes place within a large room with a few corridors and a couple of valves that you have to open. Even though it’s just one area, the fact that you’re given a bit of a choice about which valve to open first, plus a few passageways and hiding places, makes the game feel a bit less linear.
Needless to say, “Resident Evil 4” (2005) also uses this technique too. Sometimes, there will be arena-like areas where you have to fight larger numbers of monsters. Sometimes, you’ll return to slightly earlier areas or have to find a key of some kind. The layout of the game is still fairly linear, but there are enough loops and open areas to make it feel a bit less linear.
Finally, variety can do a lot to make a linear horror game feel gripping rather than boring. “Outlast” (2013) includes several different monsters and/or villains that the player has to avoid, not to mention a good mixture of “quiet” and “frantic” segments of the game too – even if the locations can look a bit monotonous sometimes.
Likewise, whilst you’ll… mostly… be fighting zombie-like enemies in “Resident Evil 4” (2005), the game’s designers prevent this from becoming dull or repetitive by including both visual and gameplay variety. Not only are there quite a few different character models for these enemies but – especially later in the game – they will also be designed in a way that requires the player to use different tactics (for example, some will turn into even more dangerous mutants when decapitated, some will wear helmets that protect their heads, some will be armoured everywhere except their heads etc…). All of this adds interesting variety to the gameplay.
So, yes, a good linear horror game will often have skill-based gameplay, clever level design to disguise how linear the game is and also a decent amount of variety too.
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Anyway, I hope that this was interesting 🙂
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