Resident Evil 7 P.T is the epitome of what new REs should be.

[Grind and Click]

I understand people compare Resident Evil to P.T a lot with hopes and ideas, but genuinely wanted to bring to the surface what nuance shined in this particular- and really unrelated game demo.

To set premise, I'll use one of the smallest, yet valuable details from the demo... In P.T when you walk down that corridor over and over, notice the pacing of the character, their movements and the atmosphere are way more deadpan and real, compared to the arcade direction RE is currently pursuing and now well renown for.

As you make it round the corner to the front door area where the radio is, when looking to your right and up you see the most realistic and coldly presented spider crawling over it's web in dim light, and this tiny detail is only one of the little cold immersions that are exactly what RE started out portraying, and could now surely explore, pretend you're in the Spencer mansion at that point.

Another atmosphere example would be in the original RE1, as you enter the first dining room where Barry finds blood at the fireplace, all you hear is a ticking clock, and the mystery plays out with an ebb of lonely discovery. It's you, pretty much alone in that mansion as you creep around, with little presented to you.

This is what I hope for the next RE, the largest yet size (I mean look at Fallout 4's content) but with the pacing and icy "you figure it out" sinister psychological tone P.T has.

Just you, in the biggest mansion yet, lightning perhaps flashing through the windows every now and then, but feel in first person, and as P.T showed, an FPS can be slower and not as arcade, making use of blurring and distanced focus to immerse you in the world.


Que below original RE 1 intro ...."Huh?...WHUA?!...HUHHAAAAH!! ......RESIDENT EEEEVIL..."

 

[La Femme Fatale]

This is probably a dumb question, but what's PT?

 

[Cheer]

This is probably a dumb question, but what's PT?

Its a playable teaser of Silent Hills i think

 

[Flipqy42]

I personally think it's ridiculous to compare Resident Evil and PT (Silent Hill). They both have completely different approaches to horror, with SH focusing on psychological/supernatual horror and RE dealing with biological/man-made horror.

But, saying that, I think RE could benefitt from some of the atmospheric touches PT had. And perhaps a slightly slower pace.

 

[bSTAR_182]

R.I.P. P.T. :sad:


I personally never had the chance to play through P.T. but just watching the walkthroughs alone freaked me out. It really is pretty groundbreaking in its own right. I'm still so bummed that the actual Silent Hills game will never come to fruition.

Here is the second part if anyone is interested... I personally like watching this walkthrough every so often- it's like a short film to me.

But I completely agree with @Flipqy42, they are two totally different animals despite both being survival horror- though maybe Capcom could/should create a similar, uneasy atmosphere for future instalments. Just imagine walking down a corridor and suddenly coming across a monster and then the lights go out completely- that sort of thing would make any player hesitate and freak out.

I think they are probably redoing a lot already with RE7 because of the backlash received with RE6. Someone even said that they are looking to games like The Last of Us for inspiration. Its funny because RE essentially paved the way for survival horror video games (including Silent Hill which was released a couple years after), and now here they are with an identity crisis.

 

[Turo602]

Flipqy pretty much nailed it. They're both vastly different so it doesn't really work. I mean, Resident Evil can definitely be scary if done right but mimicking P.T. isn't exactly the way to go about it. That's not to say psychological horror can't work in a Resident Evil game but it definitely shouldn't rely on it. Also, Resident Evil in first person, no thanks.

Honestly, monsters were never scary. The placement of the encounter, consequential death, lack of preparation, the loud music that told you sh*t was getting real, and the fixed camera that kept you on your toes whenever you can hear an enemy but can't see them because they're JOHN CENA! That's what made the games scary. Lately though, there really aren't any enemies you can't dispose of easily. The games are just really straightforward with things just placed here and there to give the illusion of survival horror.

I really think this series should redefine what exactly Resident Evil brings to horror. The stories were always cheesy but the horror came from the gameplay. Now we just have a cheesy story with lots of epic action. They should really get some better writers and focus on the science gone wrong side of it while tackling important themes rather than it just being about some random person gone mad with a stupid cause and unleashing a random virus. Put meaning into the story and characters. Everything is just so simple now. Chris may have said Wesker gets all his ideas from comic book villains but that's exactly what this series feels like now, a comic book.

Make us feel like we're killing poor tormented souls that were experimented on. The zombies should feel like people who just lost their lives rather than being cannon fodder on the street. Locations should have as much character and personality as an actual character would. The Mansion, The Police Station, Raccoon City, these all mean things to Resident Evil fans. Tall Oaks, Kijuju, and Sushestvovanie Island don't. I miss reading diaries of the RESIDENTS who have become zombies/monsters. Tell us stories through the environment. Maybe we learn of a child who used to live in the location and as we piece together what happened to him/her as the game progresses, we get a memorable encounter with the first child zombie of the series.

We don't need to constantly be killing hordes of enemies. Keep the player in suspense as they explore an area and solve puzzles in order to traverse any further. Going from point a to point b doesn't allow for much opportunity. I miss getting cocky and backtracking quickly to a puzzle I now know how to solve only to get surprised by an enemy who previously wasn't there. But rather than being a cheap encounter with another standard enemy, there should be things from time to time that alter encounters whether it's a light malfunction, the player being incapacitated by a trap or some other event, or even a brand new enemy type just randomly being thrown at you without any fancy introduction. Stuff like that sticks with you.

 

[Gar Bageman]

P.T. was perfect for P.T. and that's as far as it goes, as far as I'm concerned. There are a handful of 'spiritual successors' in development right now by various indie devs, but none of them really manage to capture what was special about it. And certainly not what was scary about it. This is because what was special about and scary about it was the result of the combination of the three main creative forces behind it; Hideo Kojima, Guillermo del Toro, and Junji Ito. Without that combination, you come up with something that is more reference-y and hollow.

I think a P.T. wannabe RE game would be too flat, just like the other 'spiritual successors' being made. Rather than chasing what made another, outside game popular and unique, Capcom need to take a look at what they have that does and doesn't work and focus on refining those things. Resident Evil escalating the way it has narratively and gameplay-wise actually makes a lot of sense, given the series' themes. Capcom just need to stop being wishy-washy about it and buckle down.

So, I guess this puts my vote in the 'arcade-y' column.

 

[Grind and Click]

I guess you're all taking me completely literally, and so you obviously should.

But on the other hand, in retrospect believe I'm just using P.T as pure example, just the graphics, tone, cold lighting, atmosphere and icy little details like that spider bringing the demo's world to life as a whole, along with the pacing in general could be what I'm really referring to rather than what the soul centre of P.T's identity was.

 

[HELLBOY1980]

STUPID IDEA !!!! MAKES NO SENSE AND I FOR ONE WANT NOTHING TO DO WITH A FPS SHOOTER RESI

 

[Flipqy42]

I take it you didn't like Survivor or Dead Aim?

 

[MartinMilk]

Uh no, Resident Evil should NOT be like Silent hill

 

[bSTAR_182]

STUPID IDEA !!!! MAKES NO SENSE AND I FOR ONE WANT NOTHING TO DO WITH A FPS SHOOTER RESI

Uh no, Resident Evil should NOT be like Silent hill

Yep they are taking you literally, @Grind and Click...

I think Dead Space would be the best game for Capcom to get inspiration from. Despite the action and big weapons that you can use, that game freaks me the heck out. It's the sounds both from the monsters as well as the environment, the design of the dark and eerie environments, and the design of the monsters themselves that makes me think twice about even playing the game because it freaks me out that much.

 

[meg5493]

I would love to have a RE game thats actually scary. Everything about Silent Hills was shrouded in mystery and actually terrifying something both Silent Hill and Resident evil have been lacking for a long time. It's shame the game was canned and Resident evil is moving towards a more action shooter based crowd

 

[ResidentDevil]

I wouldn't mind at all if RE 7 turned 180 degree into super scary game like PT. Just keep it third-person and obliterate co-op/AI partner.

 

[JujuLodestar]

I have changed how I see Horror now and I'm assuming "arcady" means like casual or easily accessible?

So, Horror recently has in a lack of words. Been completely pathetic recently. Horror now is just jump scares which is just a **** way to scare players/watchers. Horror to me should be that the longer you play or watch something the more fearful you get of what to expect.

A Bad Example: The Evil Within'- I found the game generic and atrocious while riding the RE4 type horror train even further into the earth's crust because a certain someone wants to relieve the golden days. It honestly looked like it ripped off Silent Hill, Amnesia, and Outlast, while putting in some RE elements to it.

A Good Example: Silent Hill 2 and 3-They bring the type of horror where the longer you play it the more tense and scared you get. Additionally there was the "Devil House" scene in SH4 that was VERY unnerving and so unexpected that you don't know what to expect.

Now, I may be biased but don't ask me why but I just ADORE Re5 and Re6's feel. It does feel like a revamped arcade style game style. Both can be really casual or really tense. Which is good in my opinion. But it doesn't really have horror in the good sense either since it's predictable from the very beginning.

So, If it can somehow become less generic and manage something that can blend multiple sources without ripping them off completely we might be in business. But if not I would honestly just revert to Re5's stages and go from there. (The Beta would be a GREAT horror game and I just can't let that go.)

Hell, Even Operation Raccoon City had the potential to be a great horror game. They didn't make it with that intent but you can see potential in it.

 

[johnny_mercury]

As a gamer who loves survival horror, arcade-style shooters and deeper fps, I think RE7 should definitely stay true to the single player, atmospheric survival horror style of gameplay that made them so enjoyable. However, they've already stepped into the water (fps, arcade shooters) and as a business I don't see them going back. Let's hope they can find that magical balance that'll please us original RE gamers and keep the newer fans engaged.

I think it would've made more sense to have an Umbrella Corpse style multi-player offering as either DLC or unlocked content as part of a RE story/campaign. I think you'd get both crowds. A lot of gamers will go straight to MP and the others to the story. I play the story then hit MP.

 

[Capcomplicated]

I had the unfortunate gusto to play p.t. and occasionally still have reoccurring nightmares from the damn thing (that ****ing baby fridge). I feel like the set up for p.t. works because there is no weapon involved. Although I absolutely love the walking mechanics and the creepy atmosphere; if there was a way to capture that with an over the shoulder or fps set-up I believe that would be a resident evil worth playing.

I think a more destitute approach would work very nicely to a new installment...(less enemies, less ammo, less health items) the horror of being alone is almost as dense as the horror of jump scares and enemy based action. And that's what made the p.t. demo work so well. Plus having less action gives way to more story atmosphere and tangible break away from cliche action/horror.

In the case for having a more pt version of re I'm for it.

 

[meg5493]

I think alot of people don't understand the fact that Silent Hills wouldn't be in first person. The whole reason P.T was in first person was basically to show off how real the game was and the Norman Reetus reveal once you finally beat it. Like you got a well known actor on board as the main lead why wouldn't you show that off?

 

[BeatTheGG]

P.T. was certainly scary. It was gunning to be something quite interesting and it sucks that it wont be a thing now. If you mean for Resident Evil to have subtlety, slow paced growing horror with the feeling of isolation and engrossing atmosphere like P.T. then I agree (and to an extent the old Resident Evil had this actually.) However if what people want is for Resident Evil to become the next Silent Hill (I mean the original 4) then I say that wouldn't work.

The old Resident Evil and Silent Hill games where great on presentation and well known for having memorable locations that tell their own stories thanks to the monster encounters, variety of set pieces, memos/notes laying around and being important enough that the game doesn't rush you out of it just to get to the next scene with the currently location meaning nothing in the end. Anyone who's a fan of both games can tell you such. However the similarities pretty much end there. What made Silent Hill scary was the something that I can only describe as... foreign, isolated and very perverse (I'll go into detail later) What made Resident Evil was more straight forward and cinematic however it's execution made it work. Things like Lisa Trevor are a great example of old Resident Evil doing horror the best it can. No BS subplot about (if I may rant) --Lisa's great uncle working with a government agency of wackos who happen to be housing a farm of animals that are infected with their new virus but the only signs of infection are the ones who are bitten by said animals. They plan to ship them to multiple zoo's around the world to infect other animals and have them all go out of control, infecting all the park entries and later the world! Lisa being the first test subject to see how it would effect the animals and-- bla bla bla. NONSENSE!

No I think less is more in Resident Evil's case.

 

[Capcomplicated]

If you mean for Resident Evil to have subtlety, slow paced growing horror with the feeling of isolation and engrossing atmosphere like P.T. then I agree

Imagine if you will (for those that have played P.T.) entering the first door, gun holstered, creeping around the place in a cautious and alert shuffle. Only taking out your weapon when you need it more of a toggle like the first resident evils had. Adding more melee elements and having the ability to use more of your local surroundings to aid you (cracking vases on zombie heads, throwing chairs, lifting up tables to add space between you and your enemy, really making the game about survival not putting ammo caches and enemies dropping bullets randomly. I think a game like that would be what the resident evil series needs. At that point they really wouldn't need abstract over the top enemies to face....the straight horror of zombies and zombie dogs alone would become a fight for life. You could create a much more immersive story that way also I believe.