Although the genre is built mostly around avoiding combat and staying away from enemies, survival horror isn’t without its own forms of combat. And when it comes to survival horror, melee combat is sometimes where the focus lies. Mostprotagonists in the genrearen’t trained soldiers or fighters, but everyday people.
Survival horror protagonists tend to be ordinary people that are thrown into extraordinary circumstances, so the idea of everyday items being weapons has become a staple. Some games in the genre, however, have some great melee combat systems. These games break the stigma of survival horror having awkward combat. They have proven to be the best in this long-running genre, where using melee weapons to fend off monsters lurking in the darkness is a common occurrence.
Use Melee Weapons Against The Forces Of Darkness
Silent Hill
In Silent Hill, you assume the role of widower Harry Mason, who is trying to get away from the pain of his wife’s loss by taking his daughter on a road trip. After a car accident on the outskirts of the resort town of Silent Hill, you regain consciousness to find that your daughter, who was previously asleep in the backseat, has left–or has been taken–from the scene. To find her, you must go into town and unlock the secrets that linger seven years after a tragic fire scarred the town.The game features formidable monsters, perplexing puzzles, a realistic 3-D town, and, most of all, an acute sense of foreboding caused by Silent Hill’s creative lighting and sound effects. The makers have included four different endings, based on performance throughout the game, so think, be quick on your feet, and hope for the best of all possible outcomes.
Conceived as a competitor toResident Evil,Silent Hillwent in a different direction and studied the complex inner workingsof the human psyche. WhileSilent Hilldoes offer some guns as a way to dispatch the nightmares of the cursed town, the best part of the game’s combat is its melee system.
Thanks to the game’s excellent sound design, with weapons that feature an appropriately dull thud upon impact, the whole thing meshes together in a way that is both fun and perfectly situated intoSilent Hill’sdark examination of humanity. Harry Mason’s swings feel slow and deliberate, the symbol of a man who is fighting for his life for the very first time. Some of the weapons are absolutely gnarly as well, including a rusted pipe and a hammer.
The originalDead Spaceplayed a major role in the revitalization of the survival horror genre. Three years later, the sequel launched and made massive improvements to every aspect of the first title. One of the key areas that Visceral Games focused on was the melee system. The combat was perfectly fine in the first entry, butimproved in the sequel.
InDead Space 2, Isaac’s ability to use his hands and feet against the dark horror of outer space has expanded. The game’s developers at Visceral made his melee range shorter, and removed the Necromoprh ability to block punches. It feels much more physical and brutal than the first, as the sound design and blood effects are expertly done. Elements of it carried over into the 2023 remake ofDead Space, proving that this iteration of Isaac Clarke has had a bit of influence on the series moving forward.
After being acquired by Sony in 2001, Naughty Dog established themselves as one of the premiere developers in the world and one of PlayStation’s most valuable assets. In 2013, Naughty Dog continued to prove they were worth every penny when they launchedThe Last of Us.The game was met with worldwide critical acclaim, much of it directed at the title’s delightfully brutal and violent melee combat system.
Survivors Joel and Ellie make their way through the harshworld ofThe Last of Uswith a limited supply of ammo, but melee weapons of all sorts are abundant. Ranging from axes to machetes, metal pipes to shivs, there’s a wide range of deadly weapons at the player’s disposal. Using a neat system where these melee weapons can eventually break after a set number of uses, it forces the player to be smart with their deployment of these offensive tools.
Eternal Darknesswas developed initially by Sillicon Knights as an N64 exclusive before moving to the GameCube. The game takes a lot of its inspiration from classic horror stories by Edgar Allan Poe and HP Lovecraft. Inthis dark, dreary world, the player has access to a great selection of both firearms and melee weapons. But it’s the way these weapons are used that makesEternal Darknessso much fun.
Using a free-flowing targeting system,Eternal Darknessallows the player to target specific body parts in an effort to gain an advantage over the nightmarish creatures they must fight. With a sword, the player can decapitate and blind enemies, or chop them down limb by limb. It’s a terrific system, one that would do well in a much-deserved remaster for the Switch and its imminent successor.
Condemned: Criminal Originswas a fascinating title from the seventh generation of video game consoles, released as a console exclusive for thelaunch of the Xbox 360. This first-person survival horror adventure features a brutal melee combat system, one that takes cues from the action RPGs of the era.
Players can block with the multitude of available weapons, which showcases a great arsenal that ranges from baseball bats to toilet seats. They can then counter-attack, and it all feels excellent. What helps sell this is that the lead character is an FBI agent, lending some credibility to his use of weapons and helping to setCondemnedapart from others in the genre. It’s a masterfully done horror experience that is still worth revisiting today.
