survival horror
Terrifying resource scarcity
Survival horror is a video game genre emphasizing vulnerability and dread over combat prowess.
Players typically face monsters or supernatural threats with limited ammunition, health items, and save opportunities, creating persistent tension.
The genre emerged with games like *Resident Evil* and *Silent Hill*: I've been playing survival horror games since the PlayStation era.
The term sometimes extends to films with similar atmospheres of helplessness and resource scarcity.
Left behind completely
- desolateBleak and abandoned
- strandedLeft without means to leave
- secludedSet apart, private
- remoteDistant or controller
silence · emptiness · lonely · cut-off · quarantine · deserted · forlorn · solitary
Intense anticipatory fear
- terrorExtreme, overwhelming fear
- panicUncontrollable sudden fear
- anxietyPersistent apprehensive distress
- nightmareFrightening dream causing wakefulness
foreboding · ominous · eerie · creepy · haunting · macabre · sinister · apprehension
Act of escaping detection
- flightAerial journey by aircraft
- pursuitAct of chasing something
- hidingStaying out of sight
- sprintBrief maximum-speed effort
bolt · dash · scramble · elude · outwit · stealth · crawling · barricade
Reanimated dead body
- creatureLiving, sentient entity
- mutantGenetically altered organism
- abominationLoathsome, detestable thing
- bioweaponPathogen deployed as armament
ghoul · infected · horde · shambling · grotesque · transformation · outbreak · carrier
Apparition of the dead
- poltergeistDisruptive supernatural entity
- apparitionVisible supernatural manifestation
- specterGhostly threatening presence
- phantomInsubstantial apparition
possession · haunted · séance · exorcism · demonic · curse · occult · ritual
Large, stately home
- asylumShelter from persecution
- hospitalMedical treatment facility
- laboratoryFacility for scientific investigation
- undergroundBelow ground or countercultural
dilapidated · decrepit · industrial · sewers · morgue · cabin · ship · village
Catalog of held assets
- flashlightPortable electric lamp
- puzzle-solvingFinding answers to challenges
- explorationTraveling through unknown regions
- typewriterMechanical printing keyboard
herb · backpack · crafting · checkpoint · journal · map · unlockable
abandoned
Left behind completely
remote · silence · emptiness · lonely · cut-off · quarantine · deserted · forlorn · solitary · claustrophobic
dread
Intense anticipatory fear
- terrorExtreme, overwhelming fear
- panicUncontrollable sudden fear
- anxietyPersistent apprehensive distress
nightmare · foreboding · ominous · eerie · creepy · haunting · macabre · sinister · apprehension · trepidation
evasion
Act of escaping detection
sprint · bolt · dash · scramble · elude · outwit · stealth · crawling · barricade · flee
zombie
Reanimated dead body
- creatureLiving, sentient entity
- mutantGenetically altered organism
- abominationLoathsome, detestable thing
bioweapon · ghoul · infected · horde · shambling · grotesque · transformation · outbreak · carrier · mutation
ghost
Apparition of the dead
- poltergeistDisruptive supernatural entity
- apparitionVisible supernatural manifestation
- specterGhostly threatening presence
phantom · possession · haunted · séance · exorcism · demonic · curse · occult · ritual · otherworldly
mansion
Large, stately home
- asylumShelter from persecution
- hospitalMedical treatment facility
- laboratoryFacility for scientific investigation
underground · dilapidated · decrepit · industrial · sewers · morgue · cabin · ship · village · castle
inventory
Catalog of held assets
- flashlightPortable electric lamp
- puzzle-solvingFinding answers to challenges
- explorationTraveling through unknown regions
typewriter · herb · backpack · crafting · checkpoint · journal · map · unlockable
- horrorterror, fear, dread, haunted, bloody
- video gamesvideo games, gameplay, Fortnite, mobile game, arcade
- scary storiesghost story, scary story, spine-chiller, campfire story, haunted tale
- violent mediaslasher films, slasher movies, gore, snuff films, exploitation films
- Zombieszombie, zombies, undead, walkers, walker
- 90s GamingFinal Fantasy VII, Resident Evil, Tomb Raider, Crash Bandicoot, Spyro
survival horrorpower fantasy
Fiction celebrating protagonist's dominance
Devil May Cry · beat 'em up · run and gun · arcade shooter · first-person shooter
survival horrorAnimal Crossing
Life simulation franchise
life simulation · casual game · sandbox game · Kirby · puzzle game
survival horrorpower creep
Gradual competitive obsolescence
bullet hell · horde mode · unlimited ammo · god mode · boss rush
survive, horror, survival, surviving, survivor, horrific, horrify, horrifying, horrified