Shinji Mikami: “sequels are a big problem in horror”

In an interview with Eurogamer, legendary game designer Shinji Mikami expressed his belief that sequels can be very problematic for horror games.

Sequels are a big problem in horror entertainment. As a horror game series continues you begin to know who the enemies are going to be. Just this knowledge naturally makes the game less scary.

So to capture a wider audience designers add more action. That further reduces how frightening the game feels. Instead of trying to introduce new ideas I want to return to survival horror’s roots. We’ve strayed from that. I want to explore fear again, and that sense of overcoming fear, one that’s unique to games.

He added that he wants to create The Evil Within, his new project published by Bethesda, mainly because he finds that scaring people is fun, and he will be able to do that much better with the enhanced graphics.

 

The Evil Within is currently scheduled to be released for PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, Xbox 360, Xbox One and PC during next year.