This brief demo is an alternate take on the opening area of RE7. It returns the series to its horror roots after a decade of action games, and switches to a first person perspective, rejuvinating the franchise while capturing to the spirit of REmake in a way that I’d argue no other sequel ever has. It takes place in a disgusting, claustrophobic house which is overflowing with atmosphere and packed solid with secrets. It doesn’t make its connection to the series clear here beyond the game mechanics, giving it an air of intense mystery. There’s a surprising amount to dig into here — I’ve never seen SO MUCH packed into a tiny free demo before — they even kept updating it with new content. You can finish this demo in 15min, but it’s very replayable and actually scary. Many of the main game’s mechanics are barely even introduced in this demo, so it may not give you the MOST accurate picture of what you’re in for, but it certainly succeeds in making you want to buy the full thing. There are several possible endings here, and it’s quite difficult to get the best one, which will unlock an item for you to use in the main game. Getting the best ending involves solving a crazy puzzle to solve which reminds me of 90s adventure games — I can’t remember the last time I played something new which holds your hand this little and isn’t called Dark Souls. There’s virtually no combat, and you can avoid it entirely depending what order you do things in — you may not even encounter an enemy at all. If you do, it’s contextualized in way that makes it harrowing. This seems to share a lot of similarities with Silent Hills PT, which I lamentably never got to play (and I guess I never will at this point). I think I recall reading that both games shared an art designer? The main game unfortunately doesn’t feel quite as obscure and mysterious, but it’s still got a ton to offer.
RATING: 9.5/10 network TV con artists
[First posted 5–22–2017]
