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How Do You Feel About Multiplayer in Horror Games?
For the longest time, multiplayer and horror games were two things that should never, under any circumstances, be brought together. That’s no longer true, as it seems like every other horror game has some sort of multiplayer component. Seeing otherwise great games (Condemned 2, Dead Space 2) get multiplayer modes forced upon them so a publisher could check another box on its list of features had some horror fans understandably upset.
The tides began to turn when games like Dead Space 3, Dead Island and Left 4 Dead were able to use the maligned feature in ways that benefited the experience. Now, the idea seems to be pretty widely accepted.
Asymmetrical multiplayer is a term I’ve started to use more often here as a growing number of developers turn to it as a nifty way to add a multiplayer element to their game without sacrificing how terrifying it can be. It basically means each team has different objectives.
When it comes to horror games, the term usually means one player is being pit against a team of players. Evolve, Depth, Damned, The Flock, Last Year and the upcoming Friday the 13th game are all examples of this.
Multiplayer horror is here to stay, but that doesn’t mean you have to be excited about it. I’d understand if you weren’t. That’s why I’d like to ask you this simple question:
How do you feel about multiplayer in horror games?
In the grim darkness of the far future there is only war, but it was a cheerful illustrator from England who helped to define the terrifying war-torn imagery that inspired what we now know as Grimdark (a hybrid genre combining horror with sci-fi/fantasy).
Unfortunately for fans of Warhammer 40,000, Trench Crusade and countless other sources of Grimdark thrills, veteran artist John Blanche passed away this week after struggling with health issues for the past few years.
While the artist retired back in 2023, he leaves us with an enormous legacy of iconic artwork that continues to inspire gamers and storytellers around the world to this very day.
The news is especially gloomy as it was only last year that Daniel Lowman and Napoleon Dynamite himself Jon Heder released The Grim & the Dark: The Search for John Blanche, a documentary following Heder’s exploration of the Grimdark genre culminating in a heartwarming encounter with Blanche in his own home.
Below is one of my favorite pieces by Blanche, his highly influential depiction of Warhammer 40k’s God-Emperor of Mankind on his Golden Throne.
We send our deepest condolences to John Blanche’s family, friends, and fans.
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