Capcom says that the horror in Resident Evil Village has been balanced after RE7 was deemed “too scary.”
While speaking to Axios Gaming [via VGC], producer of Resident Evil Village, Tsuyoshi Kanda said that he doesn’t want players to be in constant fear and wants anybody to feel comfortable playing.
“When we develop a new Resident Evil game, our goal is not always to make it scarier than the previous title, but find a balance to deliver a scary but fun experience for players,” said Kanda.
“Some of the feedback we received regarding [RE7 was] that it was too scary to play,” he added. “In one regard, that’s exactly what we were striving for, so it’s a huge compliment for us.
“But at the same time, it’s always our goal to create something that anybody can feel comfortable jumping in and playing, so we eased up on the tension curve [in RE Village] relative to Resident Evil 7: Biohazard, so that players aren’t in constant fear.”
To be fair, I can relate to what Kanda is saying. I love Resident Evil 7, but while you’re in the Baker house you practically have no time to explore, which is something I like to do in a Resident Evil game.
As great as Jack Baker was, especially with his epic one-liners, being constantly pursued by him gave players little time to breathe, at least when in the Baker family home.
Though at the same time, I expect a Resident Evil game to be scary, something that was perhaps lost with Resident Evil 5 and 6. So there’s certainly a fine art to getting that balance just right.
Kanda went on to say: “Something we also always have to pay attention to is the tension curve. We also find that people grow immune to fear if they’re consistently pitted up against a tense situation or environment.
“Those moments of solace act as a buffer to make sure that people aren’t completely desensitized to the horror. The save rooms that you often see in many ‘Resident Evil’ games is a great example of that, where players can take a deep breath and know that they are safe.”
Resident Evil Village releases on PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, and Google Stadia on May 7th.
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Featured Image Credit: Capcom