Any fan of horror in gaming can recognize the big-name franchises that have garnered dedicated fans over the years—Resident Evil, Silent Hill, and Fatal Frame are just a few among the most well-known. In the niche corners of horror, however, exist some of the most iconic titles that feature a unique gameplay feature: point-and-click survival-horror. Games like Phantasmagoria, I Have No Mouth, And I Must Scream, and Clock Tower exist here and have huge cult-followings–for good reason.
Currently, there is a big emphasis on the first-person perspective in the horror genre—the upcoming Resident Evil: Village is representative of this trend, following the pivot of the Resident Evil series from its traditional third-person perspective for 6 games in its main series, to first-person perspective with Resident Evil 7: Biohazard. This can largely be attributed to developers experimenting with Virtual Reality (VR), which is a great new venture for the horror genre in itself.
But while horror games continue to follow this trend, the fact remains that it will eventually reach a point of redundancy, and innovation will be necessary to keep the genre fresh. This is the time that point-and-click survival-horror can creep out from the shadowy corner in which it’s being neglected.
Point-and-click immerses players into games in ways that traditional gameplay perspectives simply cannot. Whereas first-person and third-person gives the player complete control over the character, point-and-click pushes the notion that the fate of that character is up to the guidance of the player, and not direct control.
In horror, this can be chilling in ways that aren’t explored often. The lack of control adds an entire layer of pressure and anxiety that often requires less action and more thought to escape dangerous situations. Perhaps the most popular pure point-and-click survival-horror games are the first few entries of the Clock Tower series, in which players must utilize hiding spots and items to escape the clutches of Scissorman and others that chase after the characters.
Also Read: 10 Horror Games That Deserve a Remake
Looking at the entire environment in real-time, one can’t help but feel immense pressure as they use a cursor to try and direct the character somewhere safe and Scissorman slowly inches towards the character with murderous intent. Oftentimes with first-person perspective horror games, the only indication of being chased is auditory cues following the player as they turn away from danger. Sure, it’s frightening to know that you are being chased and to directly run away in first-person, but it’s a different type of fear watching it all unfold from a removed perspective, knowing that your decisions are the only thing stopping the character from being killed within seconds.
Furthermore, the lack of direct control leads to further nuance that puts the pressure on the player. For example, players can direct Jennifer in Clock Tower to use an umbrella to strike Scissorman, or to hide underneath a couch from him. But players don’t know how Jennifer will use the umbrella, or how obvious the hiding space will be until after they’ve directed her to use them, and Scissorman could easily knock the umbrella out of her hand or spot her under the couch. The lack of direct control culminates into an experience that is engaging, unpredictable, and high-pressure: perfect for a horror setting.
In addition, point-and-click can also incorporate elements of direct action to maintain the feeling of being up-close-and-personal with assailants. Telltale’s The Walking Dead series is a prominent example of this, being largely point-and-click, but incorporating quick-time events when Clementine is faced with direct danger. This is an effective way of allowing the player to feel removed from the game in some instances and directly involved with the survival of the character in others.
In keeping the genre relevant to the current climate of the gaming industry, point-and-click could also work very well in a multiplayer setting. The spin-off title Resident Evil: Resistance has already experimented with the possibility. In keeping with the appeal of asymmetrical multiplayer survival-horror games such as Dead By Daylight, Friday The 13th: The Game, and Last Year, Resident Evil: Resistance found a way to incorporate third-person perspective gameplay for survivors, and point-and-click gameplay for the “mastermind” (with the occasional first-person perspective gameplay when the mastermind takes control of a zombie or mutation).
As the mastermind, players observe survivors through surveillance cameras to spawn traps and enemies. This is a great example of point-and-click gameplay being used in a unique way, and is indicative of what may be a trend of games in the future adopting features similar. There could just as well be an asymmetrical multiplayer survival-horror title that puts survivors in point-and-click control, and killers in first-person–or even both in point-and-click.
This all points to the fact that point-and-click survival-horror has immense versatility, latent with possibilities not yet explored by big titles. Recent indie titles such as Jorry and NightCry have returned to the roots of point-and-click, but it may be a while until we have another AAA game that fully incorporates it into its gameplay.
However, there is a vocal trend in horror gaming right now that is celebrating games that align more aspects of survival and less with pure action. The success of games like Until Dawn, and the call for another Silent Hill title reflects this trend, and it may only be a matter of time before developers realize that point-and-click is the perfect avenue for a refreshing take on the genre.