Cinematic cutscenes were all the rage in 1998. Konami had just dropped Metal Gear Solid, adding more nuance to stealth-based games, along with codec-guided cutscenes that helped bring protagonist Solid Snake to life. Meanwhile, survival horror like Resident Evil 2 leaned heavily on atmosphere, combining puzzles, combat, and branched storylines to bolster pre-rendered cutscenes that heightened the feeling of being stranded in a zombie apocalypse.
