The survival horror genre has evolved significantly over the last 30 years. Alone in the Dark (1992) was a pioneer of the genre, implementing many of the aspects that are common place in the most popular survival horror games. Players explore an environment with minimal direction, solve puzzles, and are relatively powerless against the host of threats that lurk in the dark, all ideas that would develop in the original Resident Evil and Silent Hill games, though in quite different directions. In the present, the upcoming Wronged Us looks to tap into the horror roots of these iconic franchises and make an experience like none before.

Many games nowadays can rarely be sorted into a single genre, with the mixing pot of the video game industry constantly influence the projects of developers. In addition to Resident Evil and Silent Hill, Wronged Us is also taking inspiration from the Golden Joystick Awards' Ultimate Game of All Time, Dark Souls. While FromSoftware's Souls series is often recognized for its difficulty, its strides in world design are still being felt to this day, encouraging players to explore its world but rarely assisting them in their adventuring. With a haunting story like Silent Hill, gameplay reminsicent of the modern Resident Evil games, and an open world inspired by Dark Souls, Wronged Us is an amalgamation of multiple influences.

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Wronged Us and the Otherworldliness of Silent Hill

wronged us silent hill comparison

Silent Hill as a franchise has fallen on hard times, but its impact on the survival horror genre will forever be important. Due to the game's forboding atmosphere, whether its the demonic creature design or the prolific usage of fog, Silent Hill feels like a place beyond reality, making it hard for the player to determine the realness of the game's events or whether to trust certain characters. What's more, the series often takes an introspective turn with the enemies, plot beats, and puzzles of the rust-ridden, industrial underground of Silent Hill, as all are representations of the faults and problems of the protagonist.

From the Wronged Us trailer, there is nothing quite overt as a second world that is clearly distorted, but there is certainly an off-putting atmosphere already present. The trailer gives glimpses of the protagonist walking down garbage-laden streets with abandoned cars lining the sidewalks, and ghastly NPCs watching from their porches, clearly caught in the desolation as well. Likewise, from the tall It Follows-inspired enemy to the haunting, headless couple holding hands, the enemies quickly reinforce the eerie world Wronged Us is creating. With Silent Hills no longer happening, Wronged Us may be the next best thing.

Wronged Us and the Gameplay of Resident Evil

wronged us resident evil comparison

Resident Evil has appeared in multiple gameplay styles in its long 25 year history. The early Resident Evil titles built dread through their locked camera angles and tank controls, but all of that would change with the seminal Resident Evil 4, putting the camera behind the player and makes the tension much more personal. In its most present form, Resident Evil has alternated between more modern third-person action gameplay like with the remakes of Resident Evil 2 and Resident Evil 3, and first-person action gameplay like with this year's Resident Evil: Village. A combination of fearsome enemy design and item management helps make these games terrifying regardless of the perspective used.

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This aspect of Wronged Us is perhaps the most easily identifiable influence of the three. As mentioned, all of the gameplay shots see the player-character being able to control the camera and look at what they want. However, when the action heats up and the player-character must fight, the camera jumps behind them, allowing them to aim and shoot. Although not shown here, there could be a resource management mechanic involving ammunition like in practically every Resident Evil game, forcing the player to choose between fighting, running, or finding other means to take down their enemies.

Wronged Us and the World Design of Dark Souls

wronged us dark souls comparison

Completing every quest and finding every secret in Dark Souls (or any FromSoftware title for that matter) often requires a guide due to the game's cryptic world design. Without waypoints or navigation markers, or any sort of quest tracking system, players must be very thorough and analytical when playing the games as to avoid getting lost and managing their objectives. Characters can change locations arbitrarily, potentially attacking the player if they performed certain actions, and the player can even kill NPCs and lock themselves from content. These features offer players multiple ways of progressing through the game, while also increasing the game's replayability if secrets were missed.

Compared to the aesthetic and gameplay elements of Wronged Us, the world design is probably the hardest influence to identify in this first trailer. Many different locations are shown, from the neighborhood streets, to many decrepid interior locations. Assuming the game retains the freedom of exploration most Souls titles present, players may be able to access many of these places right from the start. Additionally, it looks like in one scene the player is told, "You won't make it," by a bloodied NPC, which is exactly the foreboding statement a random character in a Souls title would say. While it is unlikely that this NPC will randomly invade the player at the worst possible time, the dialogue and locations do give off a bit of a Souls vibe. If the three influences highlighted by developer Delusional Studio are brought together successfully, the game could be one to keep an eye on.

Wronged Us is planned to launch in 2023 on PC and console.

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Source: Delusional Studio