Resident Evil was a gamble that paid off brilliantly for CAPCOM. It introduced an engaging gameplay loop that forced the player to consider what they needed to take for each trek around the mansion as inventory slots were often limited and save rooms were few and far between. Resident Evil itself was responsible for giving the genre a solid identity, with elements like non-linear level design, puzzle-solving, resource management and tough decision making. Shinji Mikami has often cited Sweet Home as the inspiration behind Resident Evil, implementing a lot of elements from that game into the game we recognize today. Survival Horror as we recognize it wouldn’t be what it is without Shinji Mikami’s work on Resident Evil 1.

It’s not really a game that you could recommend to most people save for the novelty of experiencing an up-and-coming genre at its infancy. While Sweet Home is often considered the progenitor of Survival Horror, introducing elements that many associate with the genre today.

Enter The Survival Horror Resident Evil 1 (1998) on the PlayStation 1

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