20 Essential Video Games You Must Play Before You Die

12. Resident Evil 2

While its predecessor Resident Evil might have coined the term "survival horror", the sequel was the game that defined the entire genre. Taking the player back to the nightmarish setting of the zombie infested Racoon City, the player once again battles the victims of the deadly T-Virus and the agents of the shadowy Umbrella Corporation.

What took Resident Evil 2 to the next level though was its extensive and inventive focus on exploration and puzzle solving, with a vast improvement on the unsettling atmosphere that aided the success of RE1.

The saves were limited, the ammunition scarce, and every human and creature in the city had designs on your flesh. Countless other games have come along since (even in the same series) but nothing's quite found the right balance between the survival and the horror elements.