I Miss Fixed Camera Angles in Video Games

Let’s address the elephant in the room as I will happily admit that I am probably in the minority with this opinion, but I genuinely do miss fixed camera angles in games. I grew up on games with this style of gameplay, but I don’t knowingly believe it is nostalgia that makes me miss them because free-roaming cameras like we have today are amazing in most games. I enjoy the versatility of modern camera systems in 3rd person action-adventure games like Uncharted, God of War, or even modern JRPGs such as Persona 5 or Final Fantasy 15/7 Remake.

Where I crave fixed camera angles is the horror genre. Now I’m not saying every horror game should be fixed camera angles as variety is the spice of life. Games in the series from the original Resident Evil 4 onwards (except maybe 5 and 6) and the Dead Space series have proven how good horror experiences can be created with modern-day free-roaming cameras in the 1st or 3rd person. Changing the camera to 1st person in Resident Evil 7 is arguably part of what “saved” the franchise as it had moved away from horror with Resident Evil 5 and 6 and even with certain elements of the original Resident Evil 4 towards the end even though it is one of my favourite games of all time.

Fixed camera angles when done well can help create a controlled, claustrophobic, and compact horror experience because it allows the option to be able to design enemies to appear and act in specific ways. Not knowing what is hiding around the corner can be used to startle the player the moment the scene changes…