From Ants to Zombies: Six Decades Of Video Game Horror

by Bitmap Books

Genres: Video Games, Nonfiction, Horror, Gaming

664 pages, Hardcover

Published September 3, 2024

Reviews

[Eric Nagurney · Rating 4 out of 5]

I’m a little annoyed by how often it forgoes critical analysis in favor of creator interviews, as I don’t think one is really a substitute for the other, but aside from that, this is a wonderful deep dive exploration into video game horror.

[Alessandro Casaburo · Rating 4 out of 5]

"From Ants to Zombies" è il viaggio di un appassionato nell'orrore nei videogiochi (e non videogiochi dell'orrore: l'elemento horror qui ha diverse forme e sfumature, e non tutte puntano a far saltare il videogiocatore sulla sedia). Per ognuno dei più di cento videogiochi presenti nella raccolta, l'autore fornisce una contestualizzazione sociale e tecnologica, sottolineando perché sia rimasto nella storia sia come impatto culturale, sia per come impiega l'elemento orrorifico, sia per gli escamotage tecnologici e relativi risultati quando console e PC non erano ancora così performanti come oggi. La piacevolezza della lettura sta nel fatto che potrebbe essere benissimo un monologo di un appassionato in una serata davanti ad un boccale di birra, arricchito ogni tanto da interviste degli autori. La classificazione è particolare, in quanto è una categorizzazione un po' arbitraria e, come specificato nell'introduzione, anche un po' flessibile (esempi: survival horror, profondità oceaniche, shooter su binari, ecc.). Non c'è niente di male in questa scelta, anzi, rende la lettura più interessante (sarebbe stato un po' noioso averli in ordine cronologico, ad esempio, dato che si sarebbe cominciato con una serie di giochi vetusti e meno interessanti per un lettore più giovane), ma è difficilmente perdonabile la scelta di aver lasciato fuori alcuni videogiochi come "Silent Hill 2", "Resident Evil 4", o "Parasite Eve" e tutta una serie di videogiochi ispirati al lore lovecraftiano come "Call of Cthulhu - Dark Corners of the Earth". Di "Silent Hill" e "Resident Evil" compaiono i capostipiti, ma i capitoli menzionati hanno avuto un impatto culturale quasi confrontabile: "Silent Hill " si può considerare il migliore della serie, in quanto ne ha perfezionato molti aspetti; "Resident Evil 4" ha rivoluzionato la serie, per quanto sia più action. CoCDCotE non era un gioco perfetto, ma è stata forse una delle migliori trasposizioni dirette dei miti di Cthulhu. Insomma, alcune di queste scelte sono molto opinabili, ed inficiano un po' il giudizio finale di un ottimo libro, che rimane validissimo.

[Oliver Bateman · Rating 5 out of 5]

All of the Bitmap Books offerings are good, but this one is otherworldly. There is simply no good reason that Alex C. should have thrown himself into this work the way he did, writing nearly all 600+ pages of this behemoth. From Ants to Zombies reads like an accessible cultural-studies dissertation, with all the good and bad that entails (game recognizes game the moment he's "qualifying" the horror-story contributions of Horace Walpole). Lots of the selections seem stretched beyond recognition to fit one man's narrative, embracing lots of ZX Spectrum and Amiga games that almost certainly sucked (ditto most of the "indie" games in the concluding section, but including them was a smart move because it's easy to get those developers on the record), relatively speaking, while omitting other generational offerings (no Five Nights at Freddy's, no Kentucky Route Zero, and so on...but are these even horror games? perhaps not in Alex C.'s estimation).

In the end, what's here is incredible, a masterpiece of the "crapper john" genre of literature. I read 90% of this on the toilet, perhaps more, just like I did with BMB's King of Fighters and JRPG books. As I pinched loaves and worked to keep my IBS/hemorrhoids under control, I continued turning the pages and marveling at how sharp the images were, how smooth the prose was (within reason, given the constraints of what he's working with (he has to write about a crapload of games), and even when I was disagreeing vehemently with what was written...and of course disagreement is precisely what you want from something like this). I'm currently reading through a bunch of other BMB books, on CRPGs and side-scrolling fighters and so on, and while they're all very good in different ways, none are as delightfully pretentious. Highly recommended.

[Marina · Rating 3 out of 5]

A great collection of games, albeit one that could never be "complete". There are a lot of older titles in here that benefit from being talked about again, keeping them alive in some way.

Some of the entries are not critical enough of the game in question, doing little to analyze it, and others don't even bother, just letting a designer or developer do the talking. This is interesting but I'm not convinced why those sections had to lose any of the analysis that *is* there - the chapter on Forbidden Siren just being one page from Keiichiro Toyama was particularly frustrating, given how much there is to discuss regarding that game.

In short -a fun book for horror game aficionados, but not one laden with any particular critical analysis or insight. Good for a broad overview and a history of the genre that at least doesn't focus solely on all of the regularly discussed classics (though most of them are in there).

[Justin · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've been in love with horror in games, ever since a mummy lurched out in front of me from around a corner in Dungeon Master, and scared the crap out of my 8-year-old self. It was great seeing games I grew up with, but also discovering intriguing, unfamiliar titles that I may never have heard of otherwise (Anatomy, Deadeus, etc.). Some of the inclusions struck me as a bit odd (Sewer Shark as horror? Really?), and a few omissions are downright criminal (leaving Lost in Vivo out of the "New Retro" section), but overall it's a nice slice of horror gaming history. Whether you grew up with some of these, like me, and want a trip down memory lane, or you just want to get a feel for the games that laid the groundwork for modern horror, From Ants to Zombies is an excellent place to start.

[Michael D Jedlowski · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pretty good book. The quality is above reproach. Great coffee table book. The design, look, and feel of the book is all top notch as to be expected with Bitmap Books.

As a horror game aficionado, myself, I found much of the information quite handy. As a opinionated gamer I found some of the information a little too gushing over what I would consider over-rated games, still that's to be expected.

I also mostly enjoyed the interviews with some of the game designers. Wish there would have been more.

Great read for Halloween or anytime, and I can't stress enough what a gorgeous book this is, quite a conversation piece.

Some may balk at the cost, but the quality is well worth it.

[EgoOrb · Rating 5 out of 5]

As if I didn't have a large enough backlog already.

[Adsun22 · Rating 4 out of 5]

Dobra książka, ale niestety liczba opisanych gier jest bardzo ograniczona.

[Travis · Rating 3 out of 5]

Well put together but with lots of puzzling inclusions and omissions. The author defends their choice but I'm still left wondering about a few.

[Yury Popov · Rating 4 out of 5]

600-страничный альманах видеоигр хорроров. Несколько скриншотов, описание, интервью разработчиков и критический анализ. Читал по работе, отличный справочник для интересующихся и фанатов.

[Paul Moynihan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Book 6 of 2024 complete! This was an absolute mammoth of a read, Bitmap Books are the best publishers of video game books in the world and the sheer size and scope of their books is massive. Their latest release FROM ANTS TO ZOMBIES chronicles the best horror video games of all time, many of which I've played and loved and many I had never heard of. That's the great thing about these books though, and I look forward to checking out those titles in the future. The presentation is as brilliant as ever, with loads of nice screenshots from the games. Highly recommended reading for fans of horror games!