Resident Evil VII (RE7) and The Last of Us vary massively when it comes to their interpretation of the survival horror genre. Both games begin with a similar premise: taking place 20+ years after a viral/fungal outbreak which turns the infected into violent mutants. However, the games diverge in the way they adopt particular conventions of the survival horror genre. While RE7 aims to return to the franchise’s bone chilling and nerve inducing roots, The Last of Us aims to combine horror with elements typical to the action-adventure genre. This causes a contrast in their approach that presents the varying possibilities of the survival horror genre and the creation of tension.
Player Ability
After an entire franchise focusing on protagonists with military roots and ex-Stars members, RE7 places the player in the shoes of the average person, with little to no experience in combat or with firearms. Because of this, the player controlled character, Ethan, has little skill with weapons, making it
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You come to care for each character individually and the world they are in, which makes every combat situation twice as stressful as you desperately fight for their survival.
Both RE7 and The Last of Us stick to the conventions of the survival horror genre, however, they approach them in different ways. While RE7 delves into full horror, including gory scenes, isolation, claustrophobia, and the lack of a reasonable defence; The Last of Us presents a story driven narrative with realistic characters in terrifying sandbox sections of the world, this game lays on the horror occasionally, by switching the playable character from Joel - the skilled alpha male - to Ellie - an inexperienced teenage girl -, moving to more claustrophobic environments, and featuring heart wrenching