For example, both the Silent Hill and Resident Evil series boast copious amounts of fan projects attempting to revive the charm of earlier games for a new generation. In a world where publishers like Konami repeatedly mistreat beloved franchises (even outside the horror genre), it’s kind of heartwarming to see fans band together and produce experimental titles on their own terms.
These games might not be as impressive as officially licensed productions, and their legality is sometimes dubious, but there’s definitely something to be said about fans getting together to celebrate their favorite stories and characters with no real expectations of fame and fortune. However, there’s more to gaming than just AAA releases and big-name publishers, so today I’d like to discuss the weird world of horror fan-games and how they’ve helped to keep franchises alive through sheer passion for their spooky source material. Unfortunately, years of quality control issues and rushed cash-grabs have tainted the public perception of licensed games, and with the exception of a few recent online titles and the occasional DLC character, the days of video game adaptations for nearly every major theatrical release are behind us now.
Since the very dawn of gaming, titles based on pre-existing IPs have bet on the popularity of famous franchises in order to boost sales and attract fans who might not have been that into gaming before.