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E3 2016 Preview: Resident Evil 7

Resident Evil 7 is, so far, a very loose Resident Evil tie-in.

At the very best, Capcom should have sold the latest in the long-running franchise as a spiritual successor to Konami’s P.T. or Silent Hills to us instead. Under a very different name.

What we were offered today, by way of a PS4 demo, is not Resident Evil. What unfolded on my television screen has the capacity to scare, sure — well, maybe — but possesses none of the trademark elements of the franchise that I adore.

No Umbrella Corporation. Or Tricell, or whoever Capcom cooked up last. (Okay, upon a second playthrough, I was wrong on this point.)

No zombies. Or at least, no traditional zombies.

Zero gunplay in the trailer. And, worst yet, zero connection to the character you play as.

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Most importantly, none of that classic B-grade camp.

I finished the PS4 demo of the game in under 15 minutes. Our full first playthrough is directly below:

While it might be different all kitted out on PlayStation VR (and that’s what can be experienced on the E3 2016 show floor), I didn’t feel scared at any point in the limited playthrough. Jump scares were choreographed from a mile away. Objectives were overly simplified, somehow more linear than linear itself (though, admittedly, I never tried the stairs — I’ll go back and do that soon). The entire affair was just… well, quite simply, boring. And this is all from a person who was ready to give Resident Evil 7 game of E3 2016 just based on its Sony press conference teaser.

No, really.

The fact of the matter is, Resident Evil 7 is nothing that I would expect from a Resident Evil game. Sure, it’s a franchise that has been dying, bit by bit, but this complete reinterpretation of its core makes it another beast entirely. One that I might have enjoyed under another name, but with all these nostalgic ties behind it, I feel cheated.

Worst yet, it was almost a year to the day when I booted up the P.T. demo — or, rather, P.T., the Silent Hills demo — on my PS4. I couldn’t finish Kojima’s opus in one go because I screamed — repeatedly — like a little girl at its utter creepiness. Resident Evil 7 clearly wanted to capture that feeling, but fell completely short. P.T. had layers and really got under your skin, while Resident Evil 7 think it’s scary cause it’s set in a dark, spoooooky house. Like, really spooky, you guys — there’s chicken carcasses and stuff lying around! Oh, and Blair Witch-type stickmen. SCAAARY stickmen.

It’s not all doom and gloom. There’s obviously more at play than we’ll be able to delve into with this demo — or at least, in one playthrough — but that means Resident Evil 7 is more of a mystery than a thing of horror. That’s not bad in and of itself, but it’s not great for the latest iteration of a franchise that’s been about horror — survival or action or otherwise — all its life.

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I desperately hope the finished product, available in January 2017 on Windows PC, Xbox One and PS4 (alongside PlayStation VR) surprises me, though my levels of hype have gone from 1,000 to -20 in less than four hours. With multiple goes at the game, I appreciate it more and more, but as a ghost-based mystery game moreso than a Resident Evil one. I ultimately feel cheated.

Have you tried the Resident Evil 7 demo? If not, you can learn about it — and grab it — here. When you’re done, come back and tell us what you thought of it.


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About the author

Steve Wright

Steve's the owner of this very site and an active games journalist nearing twenty (TWENTY!?!) years. He's a Canadian-Australian gay gaming geek, ice hockey player and fan. Husband to Matt and cat dad to Wally and Quinn.