Resident Evil 7, Going Back to Horror Roots? To Be Announced at E3

[Lilseb93]

Resident Evil 7 is in development and will be announced next month at E3 2016, according to Japanese analyst Serkan Toto.

Writing on Twitter today, he also revealed that the game will return to the franchise's horror roots, and that Capcom has hired designer Jordan Amaro to work on it. He's no stranger to big-name franchises, as he also worked on 2015's Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain.

The existence of Resident Evil 7 would come as little surprise. In October last year, veteran producer Masachika Kawata told fans to "stay tuned" for news about the game.

"We're currently not at a state to talk about it," Kawata said at the time. "But please stay tuned."

In October 2013, a reference to Resident Evil 7 was spotted on a contract employee's resume.

GameSpot's Resident Evil 6 review scored the game a 4.5/10, calling it a "messy mix of annoying quick-time events and constant set pieces." Overall, the game was met with mixed review scores. Capcom shipped 5 million copies of the game, but said various "challenges" and "inadequate organizational collaboration" led to the title performing below expectations.

Some have remarked that the Resident Evil series has strayed from its horror origins in favor of focusing more on action. In that 2015 interview, Kawata seemed to agree.

"Since there's been more spinoff titles, I can see how it can be perceived in such a way," Kawata said. "And of course I believe that we should produce titles that bring out the horror. I'm thinking about it and also preparing for it."

Capcom has not announced plans to hold its own E3 briefing this year; historically, the company operates a booth on the floor, but does not conduct its own show.

Interestingly, just recently, Capcom announced that three "major" unannounced games will arrive by April 2017. One of these is expected to sell 4 million copies, suggesting it comes from an established franchise. However, nothing so far has linked it to the Resident Evil series.

The next Resident Evil game is shooter spinoff Umbrella Corps, which comes out in June for PlayStation 4 and PC. Capcom is also planning to release Resident Evil 5 and Resident Evil 6 on PS4 and Xbox One, though release dates for these new-generation ports have not been announced.

2016 is the 20th anniversary of the Resident Evil series. In support of this, Capcom has teased that it is planning a "full-scale offensive" to mark the milestone.

 

http://www.gamespot.com/articles/resident-evil-7-goes-back-to-horror-roots-will-be-/1100-6439896/

 

I really hope so. I miss when ammo was scarce and when there was fixed camera angles. After replaying the Remake and 0 on the PS4, I think this type of genre still holds up. It's probably going to be like the Revelations games though. 

What do you think? 

Edited May 17, 2016 by Lilseb93

[Aranea Highwind]

I read the news a few hours ago. Personally i see the gameplay being something similar to The Evil Within, unless Capcom has created an entirely new gameplay style.

[Lilseb93]

I read the news a few hours ago. Personally i see the gameplay being something similar to The Evil Within, unless Capcom has created an entirely new gameplay style.

 

I hope it's like old school RE, but yah I think it will be a 3rd person shooter like The Evil Within and the Revelations games. 

[smellslikejavier]

after RE6 being a failure among critics and fans of the franchise and the REmake becoming the fastest selling capcom game (at least digitally) in the ps store it was obvious that they weren't going to try for the action route again, let's hope that's true but i'm feeling it will be like the Revelations series: trying to "go back to its original routs" and still having those crappy non-horror action elements from recent entries like kicking and punching enemies, throwing grenades, upgrading weapons, partners (hate them), "puzzles" that can be solved by a 7 years old, checkpoints everywhere, etc

 

"Capcom is also planning to release Resident Evil 5 and Resident Evil 6 on PS4 and Xbox One, though release dates for these new-generation ports have not been announced." ??? RE6 was already released for the ps4 two months ago, and they didn't even mentioned RE4 who is also coming for those consoles.

 

edit: i also read that its being made by some of the people who worked on P.T.?

Edited May 17, 2016 by smellslikejavier

[starcrunch061]

My advice: don't put your faith in Capcom. Because however paradoxical it may be, they will simultaneously disappoint all of you.

I think that the action elements are here to stay, because it's a quick salve for laziness. You need a real hook to make otherwise-empty exploration fun. Instead of trying to discover that hook, expect Capcom to go the easy route, with peon enemies, partner dialogues, etc.

Edited May 17, 2016 by starcrunch061

[Xugashi]

My advice: don't put your faith in Capcom. Because however paradoxical it may be, they will simultaneously disappoint all of you.

I think that the action elements are here to stay, because it's a quick salve for laziness. You need a real hook to make otherwise-empty exploration fun. Instead of trying to discover that hook, expect Capcom to go the easy route, with peon enemies, partner dialogues, etc.

 

This man speaks the truth people,I mean just look at SFV! It also wouldn't surprise me if the RE2 Remake sells more than RE7. Now I'm just crossing thumbs for a DMC5 at E3 this year with the return of the real Dante!

[NetEntity]

Uh-huh. Sure. As much I would've liked to believe it and anxiously await the "true", once more horror-focused RE, I just can't.

I remember absolutely raving after seeing that first, blurry screen with a black misty "6", hearing the very same promise about "going to the roots", and blindly hoping that the oh-so familliar "black mist" nature of the "6" is a reminder of long dead RE 3.5 (which I'm always will be bitter about). I left the once dearly beloved series after the 5, briefly returning only for Darkside Chronicles, and the early rumours about the 6 left me feeling hopeful, as the small part of me still wanted to come back.

Well, after seeing the disaster that was the RE6... Fool me once, shame on you, fool me twice, shame on me. Kain was right - hope IS bitter, and I don't think I want to try how it tastes again.

[Lilseb93]

Don't get me wrong. RE is my favorite franchise. I also love several other franchises under Capcom. I know better not to get my hopes up anyways. Especially when it comes to Capcom. I've been disappointed with the direction of RE for quite a while so I'm used to it. I'm not going to all of a sudden put blind faith in them.

 

But I like what I'm hearing so far. 

[Welmosca]

Gotta say this ain't good news,as much as a RE fan that I am I don't like this...I'd rather not have RE7 after the garbage that RE6 was,gotta say gamespot was even generous with that score.The problem in all this is believing capcom...I mean sure it looks like they learned the lesson bringing Revelations 2 and past RE games recently but its capcom,one is never enough wary with capcom lol.I do hope I'm wrong though...would really like to see RE back in good shape.

[chrisy21]

Really don't think they call pull it back. The whole story & gameplay is a big cluster fuck. Needs a complete overhaul. Used to love the Resident Evil series but I gave up on it a long time ago. Just give us the RE2 remake & be done with it.  

[Daniel_Shadow170]

The exact same thing was said for RE6 word for word sorry capcom not falling for it twice.

[Lilseb93]

Yah the whole story got convoluted. I never liked how they tossed aside Umbrella and introduced a bunch of other companies and organizations with a ton of new viruses and monsters. 

Edited May 17, 2016 by Lilseb93

[smellslikejavier]

Really don't think they call pull it back. The whole story & gameplay is a big cluster fuck. Needs a complete overhaul. Used to love the Resident Evil series but I gave up on it a long time ago. Just give us the RE2 remake & be done with it.  

what you said about the story is true, maybe its just me but the story of recent entries seems so complicated, gimmicky, running-out-of-ideas, unrealistic in the way of creating more and more companies and new viruses every time, etc...

 

the stories of the first games were so simple: RE1: a mansion with a virus and everyone has turned into zombies and wesker was the bad guy all along, RE2: a guy on his first day in the police comes to a city where everyone is zombie, RE3: another girl in that same city trying to escape from a monster that is trying to kill her, etc

 

meanwhile RE revelations 2: some cops kidnaps a girl and they bring her to an island (for a second time, what a coincidence for nostalgia purposes...) and a woman talks to that girl who have her some bracelet that monitors her fear alongside the daughter of one of her friends and they must escape from a facility which was turned into a SAW game by that mysterious woman.... wtf

Edited May 17, 2016 by smellslikejavier

[Undead Wolf]

I'd love it if this turned out to be true. The old Resident Evil games are some of my all time favourites, so it's sad to see how far the newer games have strayed from true survival horror. I'm not saying we need fixed camera angles and tank controls again, as Resident Evil 2 Remake will cater to that I'm sure. I'd be happy if they made a true sequel to Resident Evil 4. None of this co-op or action set-piece BS. Give us a proper Resident Evil game. I want to be excited about this series again.

[Lilseb93]

what you said about the story is true, maybe its just me but the story of recent entries seems so complicated, gimmicky, running-out-of-ideas, unrealistic in the way of creating more and more companies and new viruses every time, etc...

 

the stories of the first games were so simple: RE1: a mansion with a virus and everyone has turned into zombies and wesker was the bad guy all along, RE2: a guy on his first day in the police comes to a city where everyone is zombie, RE3: another girl in that same city trying to escape from a monster that is trying to kill her, etc

 

The realism and simplicity ended with RE4. RE4 is my favorite game, but in terms of the story in the RE franchise it got too away from the realism. You had things like Leon running up a wall and a parasite that can control people. Then you have Wesker becoming a comic book villain and trying to take over the world. They never show or explain how Wesker rose in power. He was working in the shadows in all the games, but it's never explained how and what he was doing, and who he was working with. And instead of just being a former Umbrella employee who wants his own power, they add this whole Wesker Children dynamic that is really convoluted. Then they kill him off and the franchise scrambled to find a new antagonist. After RE5, I swear there is a new evil organization, company, and virus every game. Now it's a total clusterfuck of things everywhere. 

Basically, Capcom hasn't had a good replacement for Umbrella and Wesker. They have had to keep adding new antagonists and organizations that don't live up to how great of antagonists they were.

Edited May 17, 2016 by Lilseb93

[NullRay85]

I won't be having high expectations but it better be a damn good one.

[smellslikejavier]

The realism and simplicity ended with RE4. RE4 is my favorite game, but in terms of the story in the RE franchise it got too away from the realism. You had things like Leon running up a wall and a parasite that can control people. Then you have Wesker becoming a comic book villain and trying to take over the world. They never show or explain how Wesker rose in power. He was working in the shadows in all the games, but it's never explained how and what he was doing, and who he was working with. And instead of just being a former Umbrella employee who wants his own power, they add this whole Wesker Children dynamic that is really convoluted. Then they kill him off and the franchise scrambled to find a new antagonist. After RE5, I swear there is a new evil organization, company, and virus every game. Now it's a total clusterfuck of things everywhere. 

Basically, Capcom hasn't had a good replacement for Umbrella and Wesker. They have had to keep adding new antagonists and organizations that don't live up to how great of antagonists they were.

yeah, the problem is that starting with RE4 they began to implement too many characters in only 1 game and that later led to the messy stories of later entries.

personally i love leon's look from RE4, but they changed his personality too much from RE2, from being a somewhat realistic looking guy like the ones from the silent hill series to being your typical unrealistic badass looking action movie hero who survives every impossible situation starting with RE4 again.

and talking about that, they keep bringing the same old characters who apparently were touched by god since they keep surviving every single dangerous apocalyptic situation that they face.

it surprised me when they finally decided to permanently kill someone from the franchise (wesker), of course we all know that none of the heroes will die, ever, until a reboot is made, and they will all come back again

 

i think the series NEEDS a reboot, since the story is very worn out by now.

Edited May 17, 2016 by smellslikejavier

[Superbuu3]

I'm not gonna hate on Capcom. I doubt they'll live up to my expectations of making a game scary, but i dont doubt that I'll enjoy it. I did enjoy RE6 despite its flaws in some areas, but RE5 was a solid title for me either way as has been every main line series game.

[JayvionAlexander]

Honestly, I love the resident evil games. No complaints here. ^-^

 

I cant wait to see 7. 

Edited May 17, 2016 by JayvionAlexander

[PREDRAG-K]

I doubt they ever go back to full survival horror, like the original games. At most, they'll make it more like RE: Revelations. That is my favorite RE game, because it had the perfect mix IMO, so I'd be fine with that.

[Lord_of_Ra]

I'll have some trust in these guys after the critics of the game speak:

 

No.1: http://www.cinemablend.com/games/Action-Oriented-Resident-Evil-Can-Sell-Like-Call-Duty-Says-Capcom-Producer-40794.html

 

No. 2: http://gamingbolt.com/capcom-looking-to-attract-call-of-duty-fans-with-resident-evil-6-action-route-makes-sense

 

It's a trend that started in RE4 and got degenerated with further entries. No matter how you look at it, that's at least three games down following this idea, overall 5 if you count ORC and the new one coming. I highly doubt they will go back to survival-horror routes, especially since the survival horror market is smaller and more volatile to succeed (see the mixed news about The Evil Within or Alien Isolation for example).

 

I found an Alien Isolation one, but Bethesda claiming it was disappointed with The Evil Within sales was taken down.

 

http://www.ign.com/articles/2015/05/11/sega-laments-weak-sales-as-alien-isolation-shifts-21-million

 

Bottom line, Capcom states the Survival-Horror market isn't as profitable as an action market. I'm more inclined to believe they might go back to a mix between horror and action at best.

 

Trusting companies with a terrible antecedent is one of the worst ways to build your hype.

Edited May 17, 2016 by Lord_of_Ra

[spacemonkey3k]

Aaw no, you done fucked up with RE6 Capcom. Not even giving another one of your RE games the time of day after that atrocious mess. I ain't going back!

[Dreakon13]

Oh c'mon.  The people who think RE6 is "garbage" are just hopeless (hyperbole deserves hyperbole).  Whether it's a good Resident Evil or not, it's far from a bad game.  Infact, it's a damn good coop action game... one of the best I've played.

 

I wouldn't mind if RE7 went back to it's roots (though even I'd second guess Capcom's interpretation of the franchises "roots"), or continued following in RE5/6's footsteps.  Either way I'm anticipating an enjoyable game

Edited May 17, 2016 by Dreakon13

[smellslikejavier]

especially since the survival horror market is smaller and more volatile to succeed (see the mixed news about The Evil Within or Alien Isolation for example).

 

and what about games like until dawn, resident evil remake HD, outlast, P.T. teaser, etc which were a success on sales (except PT since it was free), having great reviews and being hugely popular on internet sites like youtube and twitch? they might not sell as many copies as games like uncharted 4 but they are far from being something that its barely popular, yes last gen the horror game genre saw a decline thanks to action franchises like COD, RE's action route, etc which started to rapidly gain popularity because it was something new and exciting, but then people got tired of seeing and playing only mindless action games and that's why in this new gen the horror genre saw a revival once again with the games i mentioned above.

 

funny that "capcom said the survival horror isn't profitable" when later they claimed that the RE1 remake remaster became their fastest and best selling game (at least on digital) on the ps store and that they were very happy with its sales, which later led to them wanting to remaster RE0 and claiming that they would remaster many more of their old games (since it seems they can't make a proper new survival horror game no more, so might as well remaster the good old ones)

Edited May 18, 2016 by smellslikejavier

[Gamer-Girls-FTW]

Oh c'mon.  The people who think RE6 is "garbage" are just hopeless (hyperbole deserves hyperbole).  Whether it's a good Resident Evil or not, it's far from a bad game.  Infact, it's a damn good coop action game... one of the best I've played.

 

I wouldn't mind if RE7 went back to it's roots (though even I'd second guess Capcom's interpretation of the franchises "roots"), or continued following in RE5/6's footsteps.  Either way I'm anticipating an enjoyable game

 

It's good to see that I'm not the only person to actually enjoy the updated games. I absolutely loved re6 and don't understand why so many people hated it. It was really fun for me and my friends. I might also be the only one who would dread going back to the tank controls and the camera angles that got you chewed on for absolutely no reason at all in the older games. Either way they choose to go with the franchise, I'd always be on board as I am a diehard fan that thinks that variety is amazing.

Edited May 18, 2016 by Gamer-Girls-FTW