I have not played Amnesia, but I have played and enjoyed Alien Isolation. I would not call Alien Isolation a Survival Horror game, though. I would call it an Action Horror game. Especially the second half of the game, which is more reminiscent of the Aiens action film. While the first few hours has gameplay similar to Survival Horror, it lacks other elements that classify a game as Survival Horror IMO.

Survival Horror as a genre (IMO, obviously) is basically Puzzle game gameplay first with optional combat that the efficient player is intended to avoid (with more than just a singular enemy or “Stalker” enemy). It contains themes and elements of horror as its most prominent story and/or art features. Its design exploits the player’s inability to see or know something that the player character sees or knows (usually via fixed camera angles that obscure enemy positions from the player, even if the design of the level would.indicate that the player character can see an enemy), causing the player to have a higher level of anxiety when they enter a new area.

The combat will feel bad to the player, so that they will be discouraged from trying to combat enemies. Sometimes this is because of story reasons, like Silent Hill protagonists being untrained in the use of weaponry. Other times, the aim, hit chance, and enemy health are obscured to give the player a greater sense of risk like in Resident Evil (the original, as RE2 and later games switched to Action Horror). Sometimes combat is extremely simplified to the point that basically the only thing the player can do is run away and hide, like in Haunting Ground or Clock Tower.

This is where we get to weird cases like Koudelka. Koudelka has many elements of a Survival Horror game, but because of its combat system (a randomly-initiated strategic turn-based JRPG-like combat system, think Tactics Ogre or Fire Emblem combat), and its lack of puzzles in the hours I played, I do not classify it as Survival Horror. I classify it as a Horror JRPG.

While I agree player controlled cameras are more immersive, Survival Horror as a genre is not about immersion. As a game designer for a Survival Horror game, you aren’t trying to immerse the player, you are trying to keep them on the edge or their seat. A great way to do this is to remove information or control from the player. Removing camera control, obscuring health, etc. are all tools that you as a designer can use to increase the player’s anxiety. For example, Haunting Grounds has the “Panic” mechanic, where if the player allows the player character to become too fearful, the game relinquishes control of the character away from the player for a limited time, and the player character will take random actions that you as a player cannot control for that time. A survival Horror game designer should want to build anxiety in their game wusing their tools to do so at various paces throughout the game while not exhausting the player, and through various types of events (such as jump scares, although jump scares should really only be used once and any more than one time is indicative of a bad or lazy designer IMO) you relieve the player’s anxiety so that they do not become exhausted. This is why Safe Rooms in Resident Evil 1 and Dino Crisis have their calming music, they exist as a point for the player to relax and let go of their anxiety so that you as a designer can build it back up through more gameplay.