When Resident Evil 7 emerged from the shadows in January of 2017, it broke new ground for Capcom’s time-honored horror series.
Not only was it the first mainline title to feature a fully playable VR mode, but it also marked the franchise’s transition to a first-person perspective – two gameplay mechanics that amplified the atmosphere and unrelenting terror to the nth degree. It’s small wonder, then, that RE7 (known simply as Biohazard in Japan) has sold more than six million copies worldwide, prompting talk of a bona fide sequel entering development at Capcom. It’s really a question of when, rather than if, Resident Evil 8 will become a reality.
Indeed, a new report from Twisted Voxel suggests that Capcom is already beginning to make serious headway on the untitled RE8, which will seemingly “take place on a recently-abandoned island where the secret laboratory is located,” in which players must uncover “the truth behind the creation of Eveline and more of similar bio-weapons.” Perhaps most interesting of all? The game will reportedly revert back to the third-person perspective of old.
If you’ve been swept up by the excitement of Resident Evil 2, you’ll know that Capcom’s series has always been built around the third-person perspective, thereby allowing old-school tank controls – that is, you must stop moving completely before you’re able to turn – to crank up the tension.
Whatever the outcome, we know the runaway success of RE2 has sparked interest in a rebooted Resident Evil 3 (and perhaps Code Veronica X?), so even if Resident Evil 8 is in active development, it’ll likely be some time yet before Capcom is ready to showcase its undead wares. More on this story as it develops.
