For all of the hype and excitement swirling around Resident Evil 7, the new, back-to-basics sequel in the works at Capcom, there are precious few story details currently available online.
Gamescom brought forth a spooky new trailer, though it favored a ‘show, don’t tell’ approach as viewers were invited into a dilapidated abode with only a malevolent spirit and a series of twisted tapes for company. But now, thanks to a listing from the Entertainment Software Ratings Board (ESRB), we have some tangible story tidbits to go on.
First spotted by Gematsu, the description reveals that Resident Evil 7 will find players in the shoes of Ethan, a man on the hunt for his estranged wife. It’ll take place in a “derelict mansion,” too, which ought to please those fans of old-school Resident Evil games – the seminal ’96 original in particular – hoping that the sequel will swap the scope and action-oriented nature of RE6 and RE7 for a more focused affair. Expect thrills and spills aplenty.
Here’s the official ESRB description:
This is a survival-horror game in which players assume the role of Ethan, a man searching for his missing wife in a derelict mansion. From a first-person perspective, players explore the environment and use pistols, shotguns, flamethrowers, explosives and chainsaws to kill mutant creatures. Combat is accompanied by realistic gunfire, screams of pain, and exaggerated blood-splatter effects. As players progress through the story, cutscenes can depict instances of gore and intense acts of violence: a character’s arm dismembered by a chainsaw; a man’s leg taken off at the knee with a shovel; a character impaled through the face with a shovel. Some areas also depict mutilated corpses with exposed organs/viscera. The words “f**k” and “sh*t” are heard in the dialogue.
Resident Evil 7 will slither onto PlayStation 4, PC and Xbox One on January 24, 2017. It’ll be playable from front to back in virtual reality via Sony’s PlayStation VR, which may go some ways to explaining why it’s been considered too scary for even employees at Capcom.
