Be afraid, be very afraid – or not? Looking ahead to some upcoming releases in the horror genre for PS4, which ones will have you quaking with horrific glee and which will leave you bone-chillingly cold?
Until Dawn
If you’re of a sensitive disposition, well, for starters you’re probably not reading this article. Moreover, however, the name Until Dawn could easily conjure up images of happily sleeping couples, or sweet Disney-style birds singing everyone awake. If you’re a fan of horror-genre gaming, on the other hand, the idea of a game where 8 characters can either make it through the night or every one of them can die may be a more appropriate association with this title. Don’t be fooled by the oh so familiar starting point – 8 friends visit an isolated mountain retreat; they eat; they drink to excess and proceed to have sex… If anticipatory accounts are to be believed, this has all the makings of a brilliantly twisted party game which zeroes in on the idea of consequences. The release date is scheduled for Summer 2015.
Kodoku
Makers Carnivore Studio are keeping everyone hanging waiting for the release date of their exploration-based horror game, Kodoku. Set on a deserted Japanese island, players will need to summon strategy skills and guile galore in order to evade all the Lovecraftian creatures – all inspired by Japanese folklore, not to mention modern art and Butoh dance – that live on the island. The creators have been inspired by the Siren series, so expect to see that influence when you finally get your hands on the game (release date tba).
Soma
A game which has been in the pipeline since 2010, gamers may be eagerly awaiting the arrival of Soma. Teaser trailers were released in October 2013 and April 2014, yet still we await the final release of this science fiction survival horror game. From the creator’s website, we learn that ‘Reality is that which, when you stop believing in it, doesn’t go away’. When the reality in question involves machines which are taking on human traits and alien constructions which have started to interfere with routine, it sounds like Soma is going to be a game as successful as the company’s previous series, Amnesia and Penumbra.
Doom
Who remembers Doom? The last release, Doom 3, was way back in 2004, but it is rumoured that the next in the series – simply referred to as Doom, as opposed to Doom 4 – will be released this year. It has been in production since 2008 and it appears to have been a path beset with obstacles and setbacks for the makers. However, it will surely have been worth the wait if it is true that the latest version will indeed feature the ability to rip someone’s arm off and use it to open a biometric security door.
The Forest
The Forest harks back to the days of our childhood when we would play outside, build dens, camp out… with added cannibals who would very much like to eat your for breakfast, lunch and dinner. There are no missions in this game; as the makers Endnight Games say, ‘We think the best stories in games are the ones that occur on their own, the ones you experience naturally in the world’. Hopefully, most of us haven’t encountered cannibals in the real world, but the premise of this game is enticing and seems set to appeal to lovers of open world games.
Grave
Finally, let us anticipate the release of procedurally-generated first-person horror game Grave. Not a lot has been revealed but what we do know will surely whet the appetite: another open world survival horror game, your character is killed in a home invasion. Instead of being an immediate ‘game over’, successfully completing Grave will require you to find your killer, whilst escaping a host of deadly creatures intent on ensuring you fail your mission.
Silent Hills (cancelled)
You should note that this title was officially cancelled very recently. Could this title be resurrected? One look towards all of the online petitions and you never know. Let’s hope so. Creators of Silent Hill, developed the ingenious idea of a Playable Teaser, which gave a small taster of just how terrifying the full game could have proven to be. The Teaser begins with an unknown protagonist waking up in a house, which gradually reveals increasing signs of its being haunted. An indication of the quality of this game is the fact that just the Teaser was directed by Hideo Kojima and Guillermo Del Toro. It created more than just a stir, so it would have been fascinating to gauge its reception when it was expected to release later this year. Not only has P.T. disappeared from the PlayStation Store (permanently), but Hideo Kojima’s expected departure from Konami is considered the main reason why the game was cancelled.
It appears 2015 could indeed be a vintage year for horror-genre releases. That is, if the creators get their acts together and announce the release dates for many of the games mentioned above!
MaryAnn Davison is an old school gamer who is a qualified Archivist and information manager. She loves to write in her spare time.