The debate between old-school and new-school rages on inResident Evil Requiem. As a series,Resident Evilhas a long history: from the groundbreaking prerendered backgrounds and fixed-camera perspectives of its early games, to the more recent immersive horror and well-crafted settings of its newer ones. Everyone has their preference between the classics and the newer games, and much of that comes down to perspective. I’m not talking about the player’s perspective: I mean the positioning of the camera.
Resident Evil 9, officially titledResident Evil Requiem, was revealedlast weekend during Summer Game Fest after a couple of hours of teasing from Capcom. It was met with immediate fanfare: pretty much every recentResident Evilrelease has been a hit, including remakes and originals both. But, during a closed-doors preview, Capcom revealed another detail about the upcoming release that’s been a little bit more controversial:a change to how cameras work inResident Evil Requiem, and it may not be for the better.
Resident Evil 9 Will Launch In Both First And Third-Person
Players Can Switch In The Pause Menu
For the first time ever,Resident Evil Requiemwill allow you to play in both first- and third-personmodes. You’ll be able to swap between modes on the fly by simply opening your settings menu and picking the one you prefer. In some ways, this is a pretty incredible feature - imagine the potential of switching into first-person when you’re in a tough battle, then back to third-person when you’re watching for enemies over your shoulder. In other ways, though, I worry about the effect it’ll have onRequiem, and I’m not alone. This is already hotly debated within the fandom.
ClassicResident Evilgames use third-person, originally with fixed cameras to create cinematic angles. ByResident Evil 4, the series moved onto a more contemporary third-person over-the-shoulder camera, which you could adjust at will as you moved Leon through the world. Later, withResident Evil 7, the series started using first-person, which, by then, was more typical for both horror and shooter games. AlthoughResident Evil Villageused the same kind of perspective, subsequentResident Evilremakes retained third-person cameras closer to their original presentation.
There’s no longer a hard line between third-person in remakes and first-person in originals.
However, that appears to be changing withRequiem. There’s no longer a hard line between third-person in remakes and first-person in originals. I think part of that stems from the series' abandonment of Ethan Winters as its protagonist: Ethan is designed to be a bit more of a blank slate, an unseen face, for reasons we learn near the end ofResident Evil Village. Now thatRE9has a new protagonist,it makes a little more sense for her to be visible on screen.
What’s really behind this, though, is likelyan effort to appeal to multiple sectors of the fandom. Old-schoolResident Evilfans associate the series with third-person gameplay, while newer fans prefer the more modern iterations with first-person cameras. Now, Capcom is putting the choice in your hands: you may playRE9from whatever perspective you want. But I worry that capcom is stretching itself too thin by developingRE9for two perspectives at once, and the final product will suffer for it.
First And Third-Person Games Have Different Considerations
Even The Smallest Details Could Be Affected
There’s an old Aesop fable about a man and his son heading to market alongside their donkey, laden with their wares. They hear a group of passers-by calling them foolish for not sitting atop the donkey, so they climb into its saddle and keep riding. Another stranger passes, and calls the boy lazy for riding the donkey when his youthful energy would make it easier for him to walk. He gets off and walks alongside. Yet another stranger comes by and shames the father for forcing his son to walk while he enjoys the comforts of riding.
So the son gets back on the donkey, until they pass someone else, who laments the poor, overburdened animal. The man and his son harness the donkey to a pole, and carry him into town - but as soon as they get there, they buckle under the weight, and drop the donkey into a river, where the animal drowns and all their wares are washed away. The moral of the story:if you try to please everyone, you wind up pleasing no one, and I’m worried that’s whatResident EvilRequiemmight be doing.
The way developers approach first-person games is vastly differentfrom how they approach third-person games. Something as simple as the width of a hallway, the height of a door frame might be vastly different in first- versus third-person - third-person level design generally demands more space to accommodate the camera following the player character at all times. Environments designed for one mode might look cavernous and empty in the other, a far cry from the claustrophobic passagewaysREis characteristically known for.
That’s not even to mentionthe differences in gameplay. Third-person games allow for more fluid movement that might look jerky or provoke motion sickness in first-person. Enemies can spread out more in third-person, forcing frantic aiming with the same positioning in first-person. And, of course, it’s a lot easier to see what’s behind you with an over-the-shoulder camera, which could ruin some ofResident Evil Requiem’s jumpscares.
Capcom Needs To Settle On Just One Perspective
The Future Of The Franchise Depends On It
Whatever this means forRE9, in the end, Capcom’s going to have to choose between first-and-third person for each individual game.There are benefits to both perspectives: first-person allows for more intimate, terrifying enemy encounters, where third-person emphasizes the closeness of tight corridors, and can create more of an action game feel. But including both could cheapen Capcom’s creative choices when it comes to crafting an oppressive atmosphere.
Ultimately, it comes down to what each individual game requires. Some games, likeResident Evil 7, simply demand first-person for their more intimate perspectives and rampant jumpscares. Others, likeResident Evil 4, have a greater focus on action and large enemy hordes, and so third-person works best. I wouldn’t begrudge Capcom for swapping between the two from game to game in future entries, but having both inResident Evil Requiemseems like overkill.
