While many video game franchises get milked with new entries seemingly every year, there are some that unfortunately get left by the wayside. In terms of the horror genre, these dormant franchises even consist of series that were once some of the biggest the gaming industry had to offer, making their absence even more upsetting and puzzling.
There are many dormant horror game franchises that deserve a comeback, but there are five in particular that come to mind that seem to be the most deserving. Whether or not any of these horror game franchises ever come back from the dead remains to be seen, but any one of the ones listed here would likely excite fans of the genre.
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Here are five dead horror franchises that should be resurrected.
The originalDead Spacecould best be described asResident Evil 4in space. The sci-fi survival-horror game allowed players to explore a spaceship as engineer Isaac Clarke, equipped with unique armor and a variety of tools that could double as weapons. InDead Space, Clarke has to survive against horrific alien creatures called necromorphs, which can only be killed by dismembering their limbs. The game was critically-acclaimed and successfully launched an entire franchise for EA, complete with comic books, animated films, and more.
EA followed up the originalDead SpacewithDead Space 2, which earned similar critical acclaim as the original and featured a wide number of gameplay improvements. EA also moved forward with a couple of spin-off games, including the well-received on-rails shooterDead Space: Extractionfor the Wii. However,2013’sDead Space 3was a major departure for the series, eschewing the pure horror of the other games in favor of a more action-oriented approach, microtransactions, and co-op gameplay.
These changes to theDead Spaceformula were not well-received by most fans, and the series has been dormant ever since. It’s been over seven years since the launch ofDead Space 3, and no new game is in sight. But at this point, many fans may settle for a remake or remaster of the original games. And with next-generation consoles on the horizon, now seems like the perfect opportunity to bring the franchise back from the dead.
Dino Crisis
Capcom’sResident Evilgets all of the attention when it comes to the company’s survival-horror games, andREis still going strong to this day, withResident Evil 8set to launch in 2021 for PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X. ButResident Evilisn’t the only survival-horror franchise Capcom has produced over the years. Some fans may recall theDino Crisisseries, which started in 1999 and was essentiallyResident Evilwith dinosaurs.
Dino Crisis 2was more action-oriented than the original game, but was still generally well-received. But then the franchise went off the rails a bit, experimenting with a light-gun shooter that flopped with critics, and finishing with 2003’sDino Crisis 3, a game that was was universally panned.
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It’s been 17 years sinceDino Crisis 3, though, and so it’s safe to say that many fans are ready for a follow-up. And even if Capcom doesn’t want to produce an entirely newDino Crisisgame, maybe the studio could give the originalDino Crisisa similar treatment as theResident Evilremake. Reports have indicated that Capcom has experimented withnewDino Crisisgame projectshere and there over the past 17 years, so there may still be some hope just yet.
Fatal Frame
TheFatal Framefranchise has the reputation of being one of the scariest there is, with players taking photographs of ghosts while exploring eerie locales. The first threeFatal Framegames are widely considered to be the peak of the franchise, but then the games started to be Japan-only releases, with the exception of theSpirit Camera: The Cursed Memoirspin-off that released for the 3DS.
Fatal Framefinally left Japan again withFatal Frame: Maiden of Black Waterfor Wii U, though that game received far lower scores from critics when compared to the first three games in the series. It’s been over five years sinceMaiden of Black Waterlaunched, and there’s been no substantial updates on a potential new game in the long-running franchise. However,Fatal Frameseries producer Keisuke Kikuchi has said that he would be open to developing a new game for the Switch if Nintendo is interested.
Left 4 Dead
Left 4 DeadandLeft 4 Dead 2were huge hits for Valve, with the FPS co-op zombie games standing as two of the most popular titles of the seventh generation. But as the old saying goes, Valve can’t count to three, and so theLeft 4 Deadfranchise hasn’t seen a new release in over a decade.
While aLeft 4 Dead 3may or may not ever materialize,Left 4 Deadis admittedly in much better shape than the other franchises on this list. Since Valve hasn’t released any newLeft 4 Deadcontent for years, the community has taken it upon themselves to release anewLeft 4 Dead 2update called The Last Stand, plus the developers of the original game, Turtle Rock Studios, is working on a spiritual successor calledBack 4 Blood.
Silent Hill
Konami’sSilent Hillfranchise was once one of the top survival-horror game franchises in the entire world, perhaps second only to Capcom’sResident Evil.Silent Hill 2in particular earned acclaim, but like with Konami’s other franchises, recent years have not been kind toSilent Hillor its fans. At one point,Metal Gear SolidcreatorHideo Kojima was working on a newSilent Hillgame, whose potential was demonstrated by thePTdemo, but Konami ultimately scrapped the project and parted ways with the famed game designer. No newSilent Hillgames have been announced ever since.
But while Kojima’sSilent Hillproject was canceled, there is still hope that a new game in the series may be in the works. Reliable leakers have said that aSilent HillPS5 exclusive gameis in active development, and it is expected to be revealed before the year is out. Whether or not there is any truth to that remains to be seen, but maybeSilent Hillwill come back from the dead sooner rather than later.
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