'Resident Evil’ Turns 20: Reflecting on the Survival Horror Godfather

If you are a gamer in any way, shape or form, chances are you’ve played games where your sole purpose is to survive some sort of horrible scenario; a demonic town, a hellish prison, the now-standard zombie apocalypse. Today—March 22, 2016—marks the 20th anniversary of the game that created the genre known as survival horror, and left a lasting imprint on everyone who played it back in '96. 

That’s right, it’s been 20 years since we entered the dark, zombie-infested hallways of Resident Evil (or Biohazard, as it’s known in Japan). Since the franchise’s inception it has sold over 66 million copies worldwide, spawned a successful feature film series (the sixth and reportedly final flick is due in 2017) and inspired a litany of games that owe their existence, and by extension their success, to the very first Resident Evil.