[SGF preview] Resident Evil Requiem is the survival horror jolt we all need

I was in the room where everyone was freaking out about Resident Evil 9

I didn’t quite know how to approach writing this preview, mostly because it was a pre-recorded hand-off experience in a small theatre room at Summer Game Fest. It was just a video. What could say that would convince everyone about a video, especially since everyone else will be writing about the same video?

Well, how about I write about the people in the room watching that video with me?

I can’t talk about the reaction without first setting the scene. We’re in a packed theater of about 20-24 people, the lights are out, the glow of the projection on the screen is extremely bright. We’d been told by the PR folk that we can’t record audio or video or take any photos, but we *can* use our phones to take notes. I open my iPhone’s Notes app and see a couple of people do the same. Some are scribbling on paper, but I don’t know how they’ll be able to read their gibberish afterwards.

We had just seen a live-play session of Onimusha: Way of the Sword, but this was to be pre-recorded, captured from a PS5 Pro. This is probably because the typical pace of a survival horror game, especially one in which exploration (and waiting) is so key, doesn’t typically work well in demoes. And RE9 is a return to full survival horror, game director Koshi Nakanishi tells us, similar to some of the early games in the series, and fused with high stakes action. We won’t be seeing much of the latter as the lead character, Grace, has almost no combat experience. She’d rather figure things out than shoot her way out, and it’s set up by how we’re introduced to Grace herself.

The demo starts with a cinematic of her waking up, hanging upside down. She realizes she’s trapped, strapped to a medical gurney, and begins pulling on a wire next to her to break a glass tube. The glass shatters, and Grace grabs a nearby shard to cut the straps on her hands and then her feet. Figure things out.

It’s during these types of game moments that we typically will see something pop out in the game to terrify us, so the tension in the theatre we’re in is already starting to feel a little thicker than normal. Will something come out? Will the door in the corner pop open?

I can see people start to put away their writing utensils and pay closer attention. The demo is in first person, in what feels like a mansion. It has some Victorian touches, but I don’t think that’s the point. In this viewpoint we better see the effects of every stunning detail in front of us, and as Grace walks down hallways and through rooms, we only see lights coming in through the window slats, creating lines on the walls and floors in front of us and reflecting off of the dust in the air. It’s creepy, and by now the audience is feeling a little uneasy. I see some people have started leaning in from their seats, while others sit with their arms crossed in an almost defensive pose. This is when stuff jumps out in a game, when we go through these hallways, so perhaps people are getting ready.

But nothing does jump out. It’s an empty house, with chipped plaster on the walls and a giant horse statue providing our only company. Because it’s so dark, Grace flips light switches as she walks around, eventually finding a gate that’s locked. “Oh, ha. Of course.” someone says behind me. Next to the gate is a fuse box, so that’s our first hint that this is going to require some horrot game searching. Adding to the mood, Grace looks up and sees that something has broken through the ceiling. Uh oh. As she explores more, passing by locked doors and darkened rooms, she finds an ornate key — because of course there would be one in a Resident Evil game.

Walking back from the gate is when we get our first small shriek in the room as we see a hanging light swinging back and forth; something else is here. And suddenly, the tension in the both the game and the theater is THICK. Now we know that something will find us.

Grace uses the key to open up a bathroom, and inside she finds an empty bottle in a cupboard. She eventually finds a lighter as well as a fuse box screwed shut with our missing, working fuse inside.

OKAY. We know what we need to do: find a screwdriver.

Doors are locked everywhere, lights are flickering, and now Grace’s breathing is speeding up. It’s LOUD on the video, and I hear someone in the theater whisper “hnnngh,” though I don’t know if it’s because they’re tired of the sound or possibly being affected by it.

As Grace walks into supply room she sees a door at the end. We’re being funneled this way, so that must mean that we’re close to getting what we need. Grace walks to the door, the screen almost shaking, and all of us ready for something to pop out. And something does! But it’s something lite: a dead body (as lite as that can be) tumbles out. There are audible responses to the jump scare in the room, but they’re quickly followed by equally lite giggles as it’s JUST a dead body. Whew! In fact, Grace check’s the dead body’s pulse and proclaims “he’s dead,” leading to some chuckles in the room. The tension seems to have been broken a bit.

Until.

Until the camera pans down and we see a giant hand grab the body. “WHOA!” and “AHHH!” abounds in the room. The hand is attached to a giant creature, one that decides to eat the head of the body. “AHHHH!” we hear in the room. The monster notices Grace, turns to her, leans in close and opens its mouth, exposing its massive teeth.

Grace runs, the tension has changed to terror, people are now visibly squirming and freaking out, and not being quiet about it. “Hurry!” someone yells.

The hunched beast lumbers after Grace as she runs through the halls, finding rooms to hide in. Finally, after hiding in the bedroom, the monster walks past her in the hallway, leaving her alone. Grace heads to the supply room, finds a screwdriver, makes her way back to the fuse and retrieves it. One last step.

She she starts heading for the gate the monster reappears, bursting through a wall and chasing after her. Eventually it manages to catch her and we’re treated to it taking a massive bite out of her shoulder. “AHH!” and “OH NO!”

As Grace escapes, runs and hides again, she sees the monster has escaped into the ceiling. Now, now is the time. Make a run for it, Grace! She heads to the gate, I hear “go! go!” from the theater, people are giggling out of fright and energy. Lights are going on and off, stuff is popping and breaking behind Grace, but she makes it to the gate and starts putting the fuse into its new home. “Come on, come on!”

The monster comes down from another hole in the ceiling and then…

The demo ends. The screen is paused. People clap. “Wow!” someone says.

“We have one more thing,” we hear.

The demo starts back up in a different spot, but now we can shift it into third person mode, which can greatly affect how someone plays and approaches situations, and how they react to jump scares.

“WOOOO!” and “YESSS!” and “AWESOME!” and clapping. Lots of clapping. People like the third person mode.

So, yeah, I think everyone liked where Resident Evil 9 is going.