Once thought to be as dead as the reanimated corpses it often features, the survival horror genre has seen a stellar return to form in recent years. Games like Resident Evil 7 and the original Outlast helped to reinvigorate horror in the gaming space after critical duds like Resident Evil 6 and Silent Hill: Downpour tarnished it, and upcoming titles such as Scorn and the recently-revived STALKER 2 could serve to further the reach of the semi-niche genre. Additionally, retro-inspired indie horror titles are also receiving renewed attention, and a Reddit thread regarding a possible Xbox port of Blazes Games’ Rabbit Hole has earned the interest of many Microsoft loyal.
In a post submitted to r/Xboxone, Redditor gambidivide asked for fans' opinions on a possible Xbox port of the game. Responses were mostly positive, with many advising the developer to check out the ID@Xbox program which allows certain indie developers to self-publish their games on the Xbox One. Others voiced their interest in seeing the game added to Xbox Game Pass in the future, though that doesn’t seem like a particularly likely scenario at the moment.
Touted as something of a tribute to classic survival horror games such as Resident Evil and Silent Hill, Rabbit Hole is a solo-developed title that’s garnered a mostly positive aggregate review score on Steam. Though it undeniably bears the mark of independently-developed titles that make heavy use of pre-purchased assets, it evokes that same sense of dread felt when first exploring the town of Silent Hill or the Spencer Mansion. It also joins recent indie horror outings such as Post Trauma and Summerford in aping the Silent Hill aesthetic.
Xbox platforms have long been a bastion for indie gaming. Xbox Game Pass is rife with niche indie hits, and it’s likely turned many gamers on to titles they may not have experienced otherwise. This tradition dates back to the late 2000s and the prevalence of the Xbox Live Arcade which brought to the forefront smaller titles such as Bastion and Super Meat Boy. Microsoft may not take on all comers as Valve’s Steam platform does, but it has managed to cultivate an environment friendly to independent developers.
That being said, if Rabbit Hole is to come to the Xbox One, this may need to happen sooner rather than later. Recent rumors suggest that a new Silent Hill game is currently in development, and, should the series see its first new installment in a decade, interest in games that imitate it may drop significantly once the real deal returns.
Rabbit Hole is available in early access on PC.
Source: Steam