PlayStation has managed to spark controversy once again by promoting a game widely described as a “Resident Evil lookalike”, with the strangest twist being that Ebola Village actually enjoys strong ratings on Steam. Released on PC last May, the horror title has drawn criticism from players mainly for its use of AI and its very transparent inspirations.

The PlayStation Store has recently found itself under scrutiny due to the presence of games whose quality many users consider questionable. There has been ongoing debate about the PS Store featuring titles that closely copy successful Steam games, such as REPO, or projects that deliberately mimicked the visual identity of The Last of Us to drive sales. This time, however, the Japanese company surprised part of its community in a decidedly negative way by showcasing Ebola Village on its official YouTube channel, a first-person horror game that many players are already labeling a Resident Evil knock-off.

The trailer was not posted on an external website with PlayStation branding, but was instead uploaded directly by the company to its official YouTube channel, immediately igniting backlash. Viewers were quick to point out the AI-generated cover art, the striking aesthetic similarities to Capcom’s iconic series, including the font choice, and visuals that many consider outdated even by low-budget standards. On top of that, the overall look and animation style evoke productions from more than a decade ago.

The situation becomes even more puzzling when considering that Ebola Village is not a brand-new release. The game launched on PC several months ago and belongs to a line of titles produced with extremely limited resources, closely imitating other projects that never managed to stand out or gain significant media attention. Despite this, PlayStation chose to give the game visibility through one of its official channels, a decision that many players find difficult to justify.

The comments section beneath the trailer clearly reflects the community’s discomfort. Reactions range from the meme-inspired “We have Resident Evil at home” to concerns such as “it’s worrying that the official PlayStation account is promoting a shovelware rip-off”. Other users took a more humorous approach, mocking the game’s title and joking about hypothetical sequels like “COVID City” or “Tuberculosis Town”. Ironically, the game itself is already a sequel, serving as the fourth entry in the Ebola series that began back in 2019.

Ebola Village Is Surprisingly Well Received on Steam

For now, the trailer remains online and includes a confirmed release date for both PS5 and PS4 on January 23. That said, the game may not be as bad as it appears at first glance, at least judging by Steam, where it maintains a solid 80 percent positive review score, a level of approval many big-budget titles would be happy to achieve.

Source: 3djuegos