PREVIEW – During Sony’s press conference at E3 Capcom decided to unveil its latest triple-A game project (besides Dead Rising 4) which was Resident Evil 7. The trailer they showed off seemed to be similar to P.T., but with even more VR attached to the initial idea for a final product.

The original concept for this game demo came from a VR game called „The Kitchen” in which you are tied to a chair, and a lovely demon lady starts torturing you. It seems that the concept was then advanced to another „Project” which is what we see today in the form of Resident Evil 7 Beginning Hour. The project was playable on E3 with a VR headset, but for those who were not at E3 could try out the game once it was uploaded to PSN.

Resident Outlast

So what does the future of Resident Evil show us? Well not much, before we begin we have to make a few things clear. First off this demo has nothing to do with the main game. Nada zip, not even the characters will make an appearance in the main game. So what is this demo good for then other than a P.T. type experience. Well according to the developers we get to experience the general tone of the new game which will be more horror focused, instead of the common action shooting that occurred for the past three mainline Resident Evil entries.

I was a bit worried that the entirely new game would end up being a copy of Outlast or Amnesia: Dark Descent. Luckily this is not the case, but we will see more puzzles, and horror in Resident Evil 7 than in previous games. Hopefully, no forced co-op so that we finally get some actual tension in our Resident Evil game.

The story is…. familiar!

The story of the demo is you trying to get out of the house. All the while trying to piece the puzzle together regarding what is the house, and who is trying to kill you. You also have the ability to manipulate „time” in a way to effect the past and the present.

Sadly the story is not much, as no matter what you do or which „ending” you pick. Still it is a fun time to explore the house, and try to figure out if any mystery is left. I do like some of the mechanics such as the puzzle solving and the idea of changing the past to affect the present. Still we do not know where the game will take place or who will be the main character.

Unfortunately due to the nature of the game we cannot provide an accurate assumption on what the actual game will be like. If it can keep this version’s horror with some extra action in the mix for the full game, then we will have a heck of a time.

Online communities such as Neogaf, and Reddit have been scouring the way to see if there are any extra endings, but as of 18th of June 2016, only four endings have been found. If there are more, the way to trigger them is harder than in P.T.

Next time on Resident Evil

The producer of the game did confirm a couple of thing for the new entry. It will be in the first-person mode, so no over the shoulder action moments like in Resident Evil 4-6. Herbs will make a comeback, and the most important of all: VR is entirely optional, and it is not a separate product. The game has been in development long before even P.T. was announced, and presumably, the two dev team did not know of each other’s projects. The enemies will, well they won’t just be zombies (maybe ghosts?), but there will be combat so luckily it is not an Outlast type of game where we have to run around all day.

However just because we will have combat does not mean that we will have rocket launchers, and miniguns to handle. It will be a more sensible arsenal this time around probably such as pistols, and shotguns, plus maybe a few melee weapons like an axe, or a knife. It is a grand departure from the epic weaponry from the previous games.

Leon? Claire? Mr. No Name!

A significant departure from the mechanics means a departure from the old lore right? Nope. According to the producer, the game takes place four years after Resident Evil 6. The main character has not been revealed as of yet, but it will be an entirely new person. This is done not to lull the player into a sense of safety.

It means: „Oh it’s Leon or Chris again, hell does not matter what happens they will live.” Now since a cast of newcomers are announced, we should not be so sure if everyone makes it out alive. Though it has been confirmed that there will be subtle easter eggs for the people that love the Resident Evil lore. So stay on the lookout.

Will it be worth the wait?

Who knows? At this point, the game sold the concept, but I wonder if the content will be there. They confirmed that there will be more than one location, so hopefully it is not just one big mansion that we get to roam around. Let’s just hope the wait will be worth it.

Resident Evil 7 will be released on the 24th of January 2017 for PlayStation 4.

-Dante-

Publisher: Capcom

Developer: Capcom

Genre:  Action-adventure, Survival

Publication: Jan 24, 2017