From the unrelenting atmosphere to the it’s-available-to-play-right-now moment at E3 2016, comparisons were drawn between Resident Evil 7 and P.T., the bloodcurdling playable teaser released by Hideo Kojima and Konami two years prior.
Any similarities were purely a coincidence though, according to RE7 Producer Masachika Kawata, who told Eurogamer that Capcom’s back-to-basics horror sequel entered development long before Konami’s playable teaser – one that initially introduced the now-cancelled Silent Hills – loomed onto PlayStation Network.
“When PT surfaced we were already into development and we were surprised to see it. I’m worried about how my jokes come across but I hear Brits like black humour. So, out of everyone, we were the most relieved when PT didn’t come out,” he laughed.
It seems that Resident Evil‘s dark, putrid roots have taken priority for Capcom, with Game Director Koushi Nakanishi noting that the development team is aiming for a concentrated horror experience: “As for the fact there are corridors and such, well, we had that in Resident Evil 1 in 1996. For us it’s about going back to our roots. All of these things were going to be in the game.”
Finally, Kawata-san touched base on the franchise’s transition to virtual reality, and how Capcom plans to minimize any potential VR headaches (literally) before they arise. Looking to the Kitchen demo for inspiration, which was built using the same game engine, Kawata revealed that:
“Looking at what others are doing with VR, if you want to deal with the comfort issue – because some people do get sick – the most extreme solution is to just not have people moving, to be fixed in place. We saw that with our Kitchen demo last year, when you are strapped down and other things go on around you.”
Resident Evil 7 will hope to usher in the third era of Capcom’s horror icon when the publisher’s sequel/franchise revival debuts across PS4, Xbox One and PC on January 24, 2017.