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Games Like Resident Evil: Survival Horror to Play Next

Resident Evil is the template for survival horror: explore a dangerous place, count your bullets, solve puzzles with what you carry and decide which monsters are worth a fight. These games keep those rules, from big remakes to small indie games made the old way.

The games

  1. Extreme close-up of Elster's shadowed face with glowing red eyes against a deep red background, drawn in a pixel anime style PsychologicalSIGNALISA six-slot inventory, scarce bullets, locked doors and puzzles in a PS1-era style: the closest feel to the early games, with a stranger story.
  2. Dead Space key art: Isaac Clarke in his engineering suit, the helmet's slits glowing blue, in a gloomy ship corridor SurvivalDead SpaceThe best match for the modern remakes: an over-the-shoulder camera, a ship you learn room by room and monsters that only stop when you cut off their limbs.
  3. James stands with his back to us in the middle of a fog-filled Silent Hill street, abandoned cars and shopfronts fading into grey mist PsychologicalSILENT HILL 2The genre's other pillar, remade: scarce supplies and puzzles in a fog-bound town that mirrors one man's guilt.
  4. Tormented Souls key art: a twisted figure stands in a red-lit corridor lined with suits of armour, glowing light behind it SurvivalTormented SoulsA direct homage to the 1996 original, with fixed cameras, tank controls, limited saves and a hospital-mansion full of puzzles.
  5. Crow Country art: low-poly Mara stands by a crow-topped ticket booth between two crow mascot statues SurvivalCrow CountryPS1-style survival horror in an abandoned 1990 theme park, with puzzles, a small arsenal and monsters in the dark.
  6. The Evil Within key art: a man's bloodied face wrapped in barbed wire SurvivalThe Evil WithinDirected by Shinji Mikami, creator of Resident Evil: scarce ammunition, traps and grotesque enemies you must burn to keep down.
  7. Tormented Souls 2 key art: Caroline, in an eye patch and leather jacket, holds a yellow nail gun and a lit lighter between a moonlit church and a candlelit room hung with chains SurvivalTormented Souls 2The sequel keeps the fixed cameras and limited saves and moves to a remote Chilean town with a nightmare other side.
  8. The Evil Within 2 key art: a pale, monochrome Sebastian Castellanos with a cable at his mouth among dark tendrils PsychologicalThe Evil Within 2Mikami's series opened up into a broken town you scavenge, sneak through and fight in.
  9. Dead Space 2 key art: Isaac Clarke's helmet with its glowing green visor lines in darkness SurvivalDead Space 2A faster, more action-led sequel on a city-sized station, still built on careful aim and upgrades.
  10. Alone in the Dark key art: Emily Hartwood and Edward Carnby with weapons in front of a masked, hatted figure PsychologicalAlone in the DarkA reimagining of the 1992 game that came before Resident Evil: an asylum of puzzles and eldritch creatures with scarce ammunition.
  11. Hollowbody screenshot: Mica aims a pistol at a pale, skinless creature in a ruined, dark room SurvivalHollowbodyA recent indie survival horror of scarce resources, puzzles and fights in a sealed exclusion zone.
  12. Cronos: The New Dawn art: the Traveler in a dented diving-style helmet with a shoulder lamp, a dark tower under a red sky behind SurvivalCronos: The New DawnThird-person survival horror with heavy, careful combat and creatures that grow stronger by absorbing the fallen.

If you want the classic, fixed-camera Resident Evil of the 1990s, start with Tormented Souls and its sequel Tormented Souls 2. Both put Caroline Walker in a sinister mansion-like hospital and then a remote Chilean town, with fixed camera angles, optional tank controls, limited saves and puzzles built from items you combine. Crow Country does the same thing in the style of the original PlayStation: an abandoned theme park in 1990, a small arsenal and monsters in the dark, with an optional mode that turns the fights off.

Signalis is the indie pick for players who loved how tight the early games felt. Its inventory has six slots, bullets are scarce, and the facility you search is full of locked doors and puzzles, but its story is stranger and sadder than anything in Raccoon City.

For the over-the-shoulder Resident Evil of the remakes and Resident Evil 4, play Dead Space. Its remake turns a mining ship into a maze you learn room by room, and its monsters only stop when you cut off their limbs, so every shot counts. Dead Space 2 is faster and more action-led. The Evil Within comes from Shinji Mikami, the creator of Resident Evil, and plays like a darker cousin of Resident Evil 4 with matches to burn the dead; The Evil Within 2 opens it up into a broken town you scavenge.

Silent Hill 2 is the other pillar of the genre. Its remake keeps the scarce supplies and puzzles but makes the fear personal, a town that reflects one man's guilt. Alone in the Dark (2024) reimagines the game that came before Resident Evil, an asylum full of puzzles and eldritch things, and Hollowbody and Cronos: The New Dawn are recent survival horror games with the same rhythm of scavenging, puzzles and careful fights.

If you only try one, play Signalis for the closest feel to the originals, or Dead Space for the closest feel to the modern remakes.

Questions

What is the closest game to the original Resident Evil?

Tormented Souls is the most direct homage, with fixed cameras, tank controls, limited saves and a mansion full of puzzles. Crow Country and Signalis are close too, in a PS1-era style.

What game is most like the Resident Evil remakes?

Dead Space (2023) is the closest: an over-the-shoulder camera, scarce ammunition, a place you learn room by room and enemies you must aim carefully at.

Did the creator of Resident Evil make other horror games?

Yes. Shinji Mikami directed The Evil Within, a survival horror game with the same mix of scarce ammunition, traps and grotesque enemies.

Are there Resident Evil-like games on Switch?

Yes: Tormented Souls, Crow Country and Signalis are all on Nintendo Switch.

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