Last week, Capcom dropped the first trailer for its upcoming Resident Evil game called Project Resistance. The upcoming entry in the franchise is a multiplayer co-op game that follows a 4v1 structure similar to games such as Friday the 13th: The Game.
Ever since its announcement, the response of the Resident Evil community was somehow divided, with some fans expressing their disapproval of Project Resistance. Now, Capcom producer Matt Walker has publicly responded to the criticism saying that he understands the point of view of some fans who wants a game that is faithful to the franchise's roots. However, the producer explained that as a company, Capcom also needs "to continue to branch out and try to offer up new gameplay in addition to refining the experiences people expect.
Walker then explained that Project Resistance is the perfect opportunity for Capcom to branch out of its traditional Resident Evil games, and offer a new way for fans to experience survival-horror. As seen in the gameplay overview of Project Resistance that was shown at the Tokyo Game Show, the upcoming title is definitely a vast departure from the traditional single-player survival-horror experience that the mainline Resident Evil games offer.
However, the producer clarified that while the gameplay is new to the long-standing series, it still embodies survival-horror, which is the heart and soul of Resident Evil ever since the release of the first game back in 1996. Amidst the on-going criticism, Walker is hopeful that when players get to experience the upcoming Project Resistance closed beta, people would understand how the game is still Resident Evil, despite venturing off its traditional gameplay.
I can't wait till the closed beta to have more people actually play it and see how it's a refreshing new take, but very surely survival horror at its core. People who have played it have been positive, and I hope during CBT even more people will have fun playing it.
Of course, the sentiments of fans who criticize Project Resistance is understandable given that they want to experience Resident Evil the way they did back in the '90s with today's technology. However, given that the franchise turned 23 this year, it makes sense that Capcom wants to innovate and offer a new experience while still remaining true to the survival-horror genre that made Resident Evil one of the most iconic video game franchises in history.
Project Resistance is currently in development for unspecified platforms.