“Resident Evil” is one of the classic franchises in gaming, and even though it’s gone through some tough times with some of its iterations, it’s managed to prevail as a whole and is still going strong. The current interest in “Resident Evil 7” is a clear sign of that, and once Capcom dropped a demo for the game at E3, players quickly swarmed to get their hands on it. The demo was only made available to PlayStation+ subscribers, but that didn’t stop it from becoming the most downloaded game demo within a seven-day period in North America.
That’s quite the record, especially in the context of the subscription required – but how well does the demo actually represent the game, and what does it show us? Download numbers don’t really mean much when players are presented with an exciting sequel to a popular franchise, but their comments in the following days can clearly show how satisfied they are with what they’ve seen.
So far, we’ve been seeing mostly positive feedback for the demo of “Resident Evil 7”, with some players even acting surprised at what the game has to offer. However, we should keep in mind that this demo is a bit disconnected from the actual final game, as it follows the story of a different protagonist. On the other hand, this will ensure that players who’ve already gone through the demo won’t feel bored in the beginning of the actual “Resident Evil 7” once it comes out.
There have also been some worrying reports warning players not to trust the demo too much. According to them, the final game will very likely be quite different from what we’re currently seeing, and players should wait until it’s been released to make a proper judgment. While this is always possible, it’s also something that gamers should be aware of by default at this point, so it shouldn’t prevent anyone from enjoying what the demo for “Resident Evil 7” has to offer.
At least Capcom seem to have the right idea with the basic premise behind the game – the studio claims to be trying to get back to the franchise’s roots, which means less combat and more horror and exploration. Also, we should be getting a lot more bloody, gory scenes with this installment, after previous games in the series toned this aspect down somewhat.
It sounds great on paper, but only time will tell if the actual game lives up to fans’ expectations. A lot of time has passed since the first installments in the franchise, and the horror genre has evolved a lot since then. The original “Resident Evil” games were fresh and inspired for their time, but the formula is too worn out to be repeated literally today. On the other hand, reimagining that old style with some modern changes could be just what this franchise needs in order to get back into the spotlight and make an impression on current gamers.
In any case, most players don’t seem to expect any flashy new additions to the formula, but rather a true, proper return to the roots of the series like we were promised. Capcom can earn a lot of respect from their audience with this release if they pull it off properly, and the studio does seem to have the good intention to see through it all the way. On the other hand, if the game ends up a disappointment, we don’t expect to hear anything else about this franchise in the near future.