When the Resident Evil 7 trailer was shown off for the first time, many people were surprised at the new direction of the series, focusing more on horror than we’ve seen in the past. With the trailer and demo providing a lot of information about the title, we’ve taken the time to cover what we know of the new Resident Evil, and what fans can expect from the next installment in the long-running franchise.
The developers behind the Resident Evil always try to evolve the franchise and bring something new to the table when they get the chance to work with new hardware. You can see this in the history of the series by simply comparing the first two Resident Evil games to Resident Evil 5 or 6. In fact, gamers who just got into Resident Evil over the last console generation would probably be taken aback by how the first few games in the series play.
Resident Evil 7 is the first new title in the series on current generation consoles. The development team is using this to take the series in a new direction that’s move focused on the horror side of the genre. While the first few Resident Evil titles had more horror elements than some of the more recent games in the series, this new Resident Evil is more comparable to the P.T. demo for the now canceled Silent Hills game.
For fans who have played the demo, it should be made clear that you were not playing a portion of Resident Evil 7. The demo was more of a test bed to show off the tone of what the final game will be like. What you played in the demo will not be in the final game, but it should give you a good idea of what to expect when the game releases.
While horror will be a focus of the game, everything fans have come to love about the series will be included in the final product. You’ll have plenty of enemies to fight, a lot of exploration and puzzle solving, as well as resource management and other major elements of previous games in the series. What you played in the demo is how the development team plans to bring the horror elements of the first Resident Evil into modern gaming with Resident Evil 7.
Resident Evil 7 runs on a new engine that was built specifically for the upcoming title. With the new engine comes a new first-person perspective. While it’s a departure from the normal camera angle of previous games in the series, the developers felt that Resident Evil in first-person helps to capture the horror and sense of fear in the environment like never before.
One question fans have had about the new Resident Evil is which characters will be playable. Resident Evil has built a long history of fan favorite characters, but the new title won’t feature anyone you already know as playable characters. The new character is an ordinary person that has to deal with the extreme situations featured in the game. You won’t be a combat specialist or have special abilities like some of the main characters in the past.
While some have assumed that the new game is a reboot for the series, the developers have confirmed that it does continue the story from previous games in the series. It may look like a completely different world, but as you progress through the game you’ll find out that there are ties that link the story directly to the previous games.
Of course one of the biggest additions to the Resident Evil series is the fact that the entire game can be played using the PlayStation VR headset. It’s the same game whether you play normally or in VR, but the experience will differ thanks to the additional immersion you get with VR. In fact, the horror elements are kicked up a notch that’s to that immersion.
We’ll have more on Resident Evil 7 in the coming months as the January 24, 2017 release date swiftly approaches!
