Roll the List: Fear is the Great Destroyer of Lasagna
Behold the dark and mighty return of the Joe personality! I’m back with a new Roll the List article and I’m incredibly, unreasonably excited about this one. This week, I am guessing the top three Survival Horror Games of renowned comic book author Jim Davis! Yes, I’m taking a shot at figuring out what the beloved creator of Garfield secretly loves to fear. This is of course done with the greatest love and appreciation for Mr. Davis, in honor of his birthday. Happy birthday, Jim Davis! Alright, let’s get this horror show rolling!
To be fair, it gives them more incentive to kill you.
FNAF’s is an amazing Jump-Scare engine designed by a developer who failed at making Bible Games and found his true calling. I really enjoy this game, mainly because I love to be scared. Some people call the Jump-Scare a cheap move for the horror genre, but I think Five Nights does a fantastic job of creating a suspenseful environment where all the odds are against you. I like to imagine that after a long day of drawing and inking and coming up with goofy situations for Garfield to antagonize Odie with, Mr. Davis may spend an hour or two playing through Night 3 trying to keep Foxy from ripping his face off. I’d also like to think Jim hired a developer to mod the music to constantly loop the theme from “Garfield and Friends.”
“At the end of the day, all that matters is friendship.”
“…Shut up, Bill.”
In my opinion, this is one of the greatest co-op/multiplayer survival horror games out there. Teamwork is the name of the game here, where victory is assured only for those who can effectively communicate with their teammates (and not keep startling the goddamn Witch, CARL!) The Versus mode is incredible, two teams pitting their wits, tactics and strategies against one another, with a small element of random luck to factor in. I picture Jim Davis getting online with a few other cartoonists like Bill Waterson to jump into a Versus match as the Infected. Maybe he specializes as the Hunter, lurking over the survivors as they are manipulated into position by a Boomer/Smoker combo, a mad cackle threatening to escape as Francis lines up for the perfect pounce.
Better than a lock pick, not as good as a rocket launcher…
Resident Evil is the game that defined Survival Horror. Alone with only your wits, a handgun and a lighter/lockpick, you battled the undead horrors and failed experiments of a corporate madhouse. Ammo and health was scarce, the puzzles were bizarre and danger threatened to bite your throat out at every turn. But as you struggled, you overcame the odds and stood up to every zombie, every toad-like hunter, every sudden (but inevitable) betrayal and took down the tyrant that was Umbrella Corp! Also, the tyrant is also a Tyrant. I think Mr. Davis would appreciate the solitary feeling that Resident Evil brings you. Even when you meet other characters and get help, your survival is entirely in your hands. As an artist and cartoonist, everything Davis does falls directly into his own hands. All the pressure to survive in the realms of both the cartoon industry and Resident Evil rest totally on your actions, your decisions, and whether or not you’ve got enough herbs in stock.
So there’s my best guess for Jim Davis’ favorite Survival Horrors games! Of course, I mean absolutely no disrespect for Mr. Davis and his work, I’m a big fan of his work. In the meantime, I’m going to go load up my save file on Resident Evil. I got a date with Plant 42. And a plate of lasagna. Maaaaaybe not at the same time…
If you want to check out what our other writers had to say check out them out here:
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