Survival horror fans have been eating insanely good for the better part of the last decade, with every franchise, IP, and setting imaginable receiving a terrifying experience for all to enjoy. In the midst of all the Resident Evil and Silent Hill games, it felt like there was one horror sequel missing in the sci-fi department, but now, the wait for Alien: Isolation 2 is almost over, to the relief of fans who have been waiting since 2014. However, the industry has changed a lot in that time, and if this new game is to succeed, then it has to learn from the biggest mistakes of the original and those of the wider genre—that being pacing and length.
In order to keep your players invested and scared for the entire runtime of a game, you need to carefully plan out the narrative arcs and twists from start to finish. That also means that the story has to begin and conclude in a timely manner; if you start crossing over the 20-hour mark without a good reason, the fear factor can dwindle, and the fatigue really sets in. Looking back at the first game, length was often the only major complaint people had about it, and now, with Alien: Isolation 2 on the horizon, I'm concerned that we may end up in a similar situation where the actual gameplay and atmosphere are incredible, but the duration ticks past its expiration date and ends up feeling like a slog rather than a satisfying journey.
Making a good survival horror game is no easy feat, what with all the competition and the high expectations of the fans who have played just about every major release there is to play. You need to have a great hook right from the get-go, interesting enemies and combat, a compelling story, good world-building, and a tidy ending that closes things out before they overstay their welcome. If you manage to nail all of those components, then you end up with a virtually perfect horror game, but if you fail in even one regard, then the whole experience can be soured.
چوونەژوورەوە
بۆ ئەوەی ئیدیعای شوێنی خۆت بکەیت لەسەر لیدەربۆرد!
چوونەژوورەوە
بۆ ئەوەی ئیدیعای شوێنی خۆت بکەیت لەسەر لیدەربۆرد!
That's exactly how I felt about Alien: Isolation when I first played it. I was immediately captivated by the thought of being hunted by a terrifying and intelligent Xenomorph, and while I was a little late to the party, judging by the reviews and the sales numbers, I was hoping for a real home-run finish. Yet, when I got to the middle of the game, having already spent a dozen or so hours exploring and progressing through the station, I started thinking that things were getting a bit repetitive, and when I looked at how much more game I had to conquer, my excitement became nonexistent when I saw I had about the same amount of time to go.
If you start crossing over the 20-hour mark, the fear factor can dwindle, and the fatigue really sets in.
This is the core issue that a lot of otherwise great horror games run into that is only really an issue within this specific genre. The whole point is to keep the stress level high and to subvert the player's expectations, but if you have absorbed the atmosphere and gotten comfortable with the feel of the game over a longer period of time, then it can be a lot harder to feel afraid. And, if the story doesn't have a reason to go on and the runtime is being padded by additional exploration and unnecessary backtracking, then the overall quality of the game becomes a lot lower when you compare how things started versus how they ended.
سەرچاوەی فەرمی بە زمانی ئینگلیزی: https://gamerant.com/alien-isolation-2-survival-horror-game-length-pacing/
