Over the last 30 years, the Resident Evil franchise has introduced a lot of deadly, gruesome monsters. And many of those signature monsters have been of the stalking, unstoppable variety. Nemesis is perhaps the most obvious, but consider Mr. X, Ustanak, or, more recently, Jack Baker and Lady Dimitrescu. Not to be outdone, the developers of Resident Evil Requiem have introduced their own unbeatable stalker, which featured heavily in the demo at New York Comic Con this past weekend.
The demo, which lasted roughly 20 minutes and scared the hell out of me despite the fact I was in a crowded, well-lit area surrounded by a dozen other convention-goers, takes place in some sort of medical clinic. You control FBI agent Grace Ashcroft, the game’s protagonist, who is suspiciously bound to a gurney. Once she frees herself, quite bravely and inventively I might add, you take control. You’re left in a bright room without many hints at all. So you must venture into the desolate, dimly-lit hallway, in search of clues.
The demo wasn’t very large in terms of space — a single corridor with several connecting rooms — but it felt much longer and more intimidating due to the darkness and a pervasive sense of impending danger. At one point the inky, impenetrable blackness in one room pushed me backward, so I visited another area where I found an old-fashioned lighter. Using its faint light, I returned to that darkened room, only to be met with a jump scare: a desiccated corpse that fell out from behind a door.
Like the best magicians, however, the Capcom programmers were practicing misdirection. While all eyes were trained on the lifeless husk of a man spread out on the floor, a much more dangerous foe lurked nearby. I won’t spoil here the introduction of this new villain, but know that it’s one of most heart-stopping, unnerving appearances in any Resident Evil game.
For the remainder of my 20-minute demo, I simply tried not to be devoured by this creature: a 10-foot tall monstrosity with bulbous eyes; a square jaw; thin, limp hair; large, flat, greasy teeth; long, claw-like hands; and the posture of Quasimodo. Like so many Resident Evil antagonists, she was more or less invincible; all I could do was run and sneak. But I did discover one weakness. After retreating to that first room of the demo (the one with the gurney), I turned and faced the door, waiting for my attacker. She entered, but then something strange happened: her skin began to burn. She quickly pulled back and I learned that light was my ally, in more ways than one.
Ultimately, however, I had to leave my sanctuary and do those typical Resident Evil things: explore rooms, collect items and keys, and find the right tool to push forward. Interestingly, I could swap my perspective on the fly at any point during my wandering, from first-person to third-person and back again. For those franchise fans turned off or disoriented by first-person action, I’m happy to report the third-person option is totally viable. It’s clear from the demo that Capcom didn’t simply shoehorn this option in as an afterthought. There are actually unique character animations in third-person that add to the drama and suspense.
Still, the first-person perspective is the default for a reason. It’s the superior option, at least in this small slice of the game. There’s a scripted scene toward the end of the demo where the hulking monster scrapes its claw across a window right in front of your face. It’s difficult to recreate the sense of dread you feel in that moment in the wider, less intimate third-person viewpoint.
No matter the perspective, I enjoyed my time with the Requiem demo. It was scary, unsettling, and atmospheric. That said, it’s difficult to extrapolate from those 20 minutes. I’m unsure how the final game will compare to recent entries, or where it will land on the survival horror spectrum — in large part because I suspect this demo was created specifically for conventions and doesn’t feature in the actual campaign. If nothing else, though, it provides a glimpse into the game’s mood and tone (which are pitch perfect) and previews one of the most physically intimidating, visually haunting monsters in Resident Evil history.
Full Article – https://www.vgchartz.com/article/465975/resident-evil-requiem-introduces-a-terrifying-new-monster/
