Resident Evil: 10 Reasons It's The Best Horror Franchise Of All Time
9. Playing With The Power Vs. Helplessness Balance
With your inventory packed full of healing and ammunition, the monsters of Resident Evil aren't particularly dangerous. There isn't a single one of them that you can't take down easily.
Except, it's rarely just a single one of them that you'll be facing. You could be lining up the perfect shot when a zombie grabs you and drags you to the floor, crawling on top of you and getting ready to sink its teeth into your neck. You could be weaving between slower undead, faster than they can react when something reacts to the noise and drops on you from the ceiling.
The game gets in your head when you're first playing you don't know when the next terrifyingly huge boss is going to trap you in with it. You find yourself wondering if it's worth using the heavy ammo now or saving it until later. Should you heal now when you can take another weak hit, or not risk it when a heavy one may come from nowhere?
Capcom know that this constant questioning of your tactics is in most players' heads, they know it makes those players make mistakes, and they build the game around that feeling.