The Resident Evil series has seen a rampant decline with the scares and lacklustre terror seen in the 6th main instalment.
“Resi 7” therefore has a lot to live up to if it hopes redeem the reputation that the granddaddy of horror rightfully deserves. Thankfully this teaser shows more than a little promise.
It is impossible to go into this demo and not be reminded of the demonic experience of P.T, a horror experience created by Hideo Kojima as a teaser for the now cancelled Silent Hills game. The similarities to the style of horror and control of the games are very similar and with the praise that P.T received, that may not be such a bad place to draw inspiration from.
Beginning Hour starts off with a short cut scene in which the player is given very little context to our character’s ordeal. We can though ascertain they are not in the best of situations when they are locked in an old, rotting house in a very SAW like scenario. After the brief scene we are finally given control and are presented with our objective, “Get out of the house”.
Unsurprisingly, leaving the house won’t be as simple as going through the front door. To escape this horror the player most collect clues and items to help them uncover what happened in this house and find a way to exit the residence.
One of the most defining differences between this and other franchise titles is its first person perspective: The creators wanted to get away from the staple “heroes” of the franchise and focus more on the everyday victim and with the new perspective it makes the player feel like they are exploring this not so friendly home.
The house is filled with spooky scenery, most noticeably the hanging voodoo dolls and mannequins that like to move when you’re not looking. The scenery may be creepy but it’s the sound effects that will make you put down the controller for a second to ponder what will happen when you turn the next corner.
Halfway through the teaser the narrative takes a refreshing twist. You acquire an old tape that reveals a bit of the background on what has led up to the events of the present day. The best bit is you don’t just get to watch this tape; Oh no, you get to play it! You act as the cameraman for a low budget supernatural investigation show and on this episode everything goes wrong. It is in this section we have different characters to interact with and we get to hear some of that cringe worthy dialogue that we horror fans love so much. This section is vital to solving the present day puzzles and with its help you might be able to escape.
So let’s say you make it to the end, you might have noticed a few things you didn’t do or never had to use, so you play it again and find something completely different. Beginning Hour is full of secrets to discover and multiple runs are encouraged; even now the community is working to find out if there are any more secrets to be found, as some items appear to have no use such as the dummy finger. The teaser also cleverly conveys concepts that will be used in the main game such as how combat may work, as you are able to acquire an axe that you can swing and aim but at present have nothing to attack it with.
The question still remains, is it scary? Personally I would say it’s more tense than scary. This is only a teaser and is meant to give but a taste of the atmosphere and style of horror we are going to venture into. In that sense Beginning Hour does succeed. My one glaring criticism with this demo is that there is a great build-up of tension, but the release of this at the end of the teaser does not live up to the suspense. This then leaves the player confused rather than shaking in their boots.
At present the demo is live only to PlayStation Plus subscribers and the full game is to be released in late January 2017. Hopefully then we will learn more about this mysterious evil the closer it gets to being unleashed.
Feature photo credit: Robert Wilson
