Summary
Considering how immensely competitive the video game industry can be, it’s inevitable that a few genres will end up being overshadowed over time, with some of them even dying out entirely. On the one hand, there have been a handful of genres that have managed to maintain a steady popularity ever since they were first introduced to players, but some of the moreniche game categorieshave often struggled to carry this level of momentum.
Thankfully, though, there are several well-known games that single-handedly managed to revive a specific genre at a time when it looked like they were on the verge of extinction, raising them back up to their former glory for an entirely new generation of players to enjoy. Of course, for a game to achieve such an impressive feat, it needs to prove why the genre in question is worth keeping around, so the games themselves need to be high quality, as is the case with these excellent titles below, which are all credited for saving their respective genres.
While some will credit games likeDungeons and Dragonsand the classicDiablogames with introducing elements of the hack and slash genre to the world, it was really Capcom’sDevil May Crythat turned the genre into something that could be defined. While the first game in this immensely popular franchise was well received,Devil May Cry 2felt like a huge step down from what had come before, especially due to the difficulty being so easy that even a toddler could complete the game if they tried hard enough.
It’s important to remember that this was a time before developers likePlatinum Gameswere churning out character action games every few years, so ifDevil May Crytook yet another misstep, it seemed likely the genre as a whole would have collapsed along with it. Thankfully, this didn’t end up being the case asDevil May Cry 3improves on everything that made the original game so special. Not only is Dante a lot wittier and and charismatic this time around, but the combat itself was greatly expanded thanks to the Styles system, allowing players to choose a specific playstyle that they can then upgrade and enhance over the course of the story in order to dish out as much damage as possible.
After fighting games took the arcade scene by storm in the 80s and 90s, the bubble seemed like it was inevitably about to burst once modern home consoles began flooding the market. While games likeTekkenandSoulcaliburwould continue to draw in players, the competitive edge that had always been synonymous with the genre felt like it had been lost — that is, untilStreet Fighter 4came along. With a bold new aesthetic and a focus on making the game as balanced as possible,Street Fighter 4is credited by many fighting game fans as bringing the genre back into the mainstream.
More importantly, though, it proved that fighting games didn’t only belong in the arcades, showcasing that they could be just as fun, popular, and competitive on modern systems. Many people refer to the years beforeStreet Fighter 4came out as the dark age of fighting games, but considering they are now enjoying something of a Renaissance period, the game definitely deserves a lot of credit for how it saved the genre.
Back whenJRPGswere first becoming mainstream, many developers began tinkering around with the classic turn-based battle system to create something a little different for fans to enjoy. The idea of a tactical RPG game where players could take more of a strategic approach to the gameplay was popularized with games likeFinal Fantasy Tactics, but just like the turn-based combat system it was inspired by, these games began to lose their luster throughout the 2000s.
With fast-paced action games and chaotic FPS titles becoming the norm, franchises likeFire Emblemwere struggling to grab people’s attention. It got to the point where developers at Intelligent Systems were even told by Nintendo that they would have one last chance to make a commercially successful game beforeFire Emblemwas shut down for good. Thankfully,Fire Emblem: Awakeningnot only saved the series, but it gave the tactical RPG genre a second wind. A major way it achieved this was by making the game as accessible as possible, such as by allowing players to turn offpermadeathto make the gameplay less stressful, alongside being able to team up certain units to help deal extra damage in combat.
There was once a time when thepoint-and-click gameplay formulawas the standard for adventure games, with theSecret of Monkey Islandbeing a very popular example. Once developers had figured out how to give players direct control of their character thanks to the use of different camera angles and control schemes, the point-and-click style of gameplay began to feel a little archaic, but the game that helped to emphasize its place within the modern industry was Telltale’sThe Walking Dead.
While players are able to move the protagonist Lee by clicking on certain items around the environment, they also need to make important split-second decisions anytime the zombies begin to attack. This adds a sense of tension to the moment-to-moment gameplay that allows this traditional formula to feel much more exciting and engaging, with the game becoming so popular that it would spawn a plethora of similar point-and-click adventure games, many made by Telltale, but some by other developers entirely.
BeforeMinecraftwas officially made public in 2011, the survival genre as we know it today was still considered fairly niche. Though there were games likeUnReal WorldandWurm Onlinethat helped to establish what the genre even was, they ultimately lacked the interest or accessibility to reach the mainstream, and considering other genres were already beginning to dominate the market, it was a real struggle for survival developers to find their place within the industry.
Minecraft, however, completely turned this around. Thebright and vibrant visual styleand limitless amount of creative freedom had already made the game appealing to gamers of all ages, but what also made it so much fun was the survival mechanics, specifically the need to fend off monsters while also eating enough food to keep the hunger bar full at all times.Minecraftcontinues to be one of the most popular games on the planet to this very day, and it did an amazing job at demonstrating how enjoyable survival games can truly be when the developers take the time to make them easy to jump into for both new and veteran players — and even people who don’t typically play games at all.
It may be hard to believe these days, but survival horror seemed to many like it was on its last legs in the early 2000s. While the first threeResident Evilgames were smash hits, because of the plethora ofResident Evilclonessaturating the market, alongside Capcom stubbornly refusing to move away from the fixed camera angles, many people began moving over to other genres that seemed more modern and experimental.
In a desperate attempt to change up the formula, Capcom came out withResident Evil 4 —a game that completely defied the rules to launch survival horror into a brand-new era. The biggest change was obviously the switch to a third person camera angle, making players feel much more immersed in the action as they carefully plan each of their shots when taking on a swarm of enemies. The decision to switch out slow-moving zombies for faster, more aggressive Ganado also helped to make the game feel a lot more exciting to play. Considering the staggering number of survival horror games that play so similarly toResident Evil 4nowadays, it deserves all the praise it has received for raising survival horror back from the dead.
