What’s the oldest horror game that can still make you jump today, or send that acidic tingle of unease up your spine? Dogs bursting through the windows in the original Resident Evil spring to mind, while the PC faithful may point to another glass-breaking moment – the first monster you encounter in the original Alone in the Dark. The last notable horror game before that, Sweet Home on the NES, probably finds itself just on the wrong side of the 1990s to maintain much impact today. But in that overlooked period between 1989 and 1992, a British studio in the quiet town of Sutton Coldfield made some serious horror headway. Adventure Soft, founded by father-son team Mike and Simon Woodroffe, rebranded itself as Horror Soft, and over the course of three years released four first-person horror games that culminated in the beautifully gruesome Waxworks.
These games straddled a technological leap in PC gaming, introducing new ideas to the then-stagnant genre that left a sanguine blood trail for other developers to follow.
DEVIL IN THE DETAILS
The shockingly detailed death scenes remain as brutal to behold today as they did 30 years ago, while its grimy labyrinthine levels foreshadow the ‘helpless horror’ subgenre popularised by Amnesia: The Dark Descent, as you’re often forced to flee from the Eldritch creatures, zombies and mobs that twitchily stalk you through porous walls of darkness.
Horror Soft’s father-son development team was an unusual dynamic, but it didn’t impact the development process – no filial door-slammings or paternal tellingoffs. Over time, father Mike gravitated towards the business and finances of the studio, while Simon became the creative and designer.
この記事は PC Gamer の December 2020 版に掲載されています。
7 日間の Magzter GOLD 無料トライアルを開始して、何千もの厳選されたプレミアム ストーリー、9,000 以上の雑誌や新聞にアクセスしてください。
すでに購読者です ? サインイン
この記事は PC Gamer の December 2020 版に掲載されています。
7 日間の Magzter GOLD 無料トライアルを開始して、何千もの厳選されたプレミアム ストーリー、9,000 以上の雑誌や新聞にアクセスしてください。
すでに購読者です? サインイン
A New Dawn - The rise, fall and rise again of PC Gaming in Japan
The so-called 'Paso Kon' market (ie katakana's transliteration of 'Pasonaru Computa') in Japan was originally spearheaded in the 1980s by NEC's PC-8800 and, later, its PC-9800.
MARVEL: ULTIMATE ALLIANCE
Enter the multiverse of modness.
SLIDES RULE
Redeeming a hated puzzle mechanic with SLIDER
GODS AND MONSTERS
AGE OF MYTHOLOGY: RETOLD modernises a classic RTS with care
PHANTOM BLADE ZERO
Less Sekiro, more Wo Long: Fallen Dynasty
STARR-MAKING ROLE
Final Fantasy XVI's BEN STARR talks becoming a meme and dating summons
THIEF GOLD
Learning to forgive myself for knocking out every single guard.
HANDHELD GAMING PCs
In lieu of more powerful processors, handhelds are getting weirder
FAR FAR AWAY
STAR WARS OUTLAWS succeeds at the little things, but not much else shines
FINDING IMMORTALITY
Twenty-five years on, PLANESCAPE: TORMENT is still one of the most talked-about RPGs of all time. This is the story of how it was created as a ‘stay-busy’ project by a small team at Black Isle Studios
