You guys, I just can’t even right now. I am pretty sensitive about the RESIDENT EVIL franchise. I have pretty strong opinions on the movies versus the games, and I have been known to be intensely protective of even the lesser loved games in the series (except OPERATION RACOON CITY – that’s on its own). I even did a huge retrospective on the entire RE series. After the release of RESIDENT EVIL 7: BIOHAZARD and the remake of RESIDENT EVIL 2, the bar for Capcom and the games they release has never been higher. But after the announcement of a multi-player RESIDENT EVIL, many longtime RE fans aren’t exactly looking forward to PROJECT RESISTANCE.
For a little bit of time, all we had was a pretty but vague trailer that made it obvious that PROJECT RESISTANCE was going to be a multiplayer game. That in itself made me automatically cringe. I don’t play horror games to play with other people. I play games like BATTLEFIELD when I want to play with other people. Messing with the sanctity that is the RE franchise to make a game simply because it’s popular? Ugh, I threw up in my mouth a little bit. What’s next? RESIDENT EVIL: BATTLE ROYALE? I better not give Capcom any ideas.
According to the Capcom press release, PROJECT RESISTANCE is set to be a 4v1 asymmetrical survival horror. If you don’t know what that is, think of games like DEAD BY DAYLIGHT or FRIDAY THE 13th and that’s literally all there is. Games like that are fun for about 2-3 rounds and then you begin to ask yourself, “Why am I playing this again?” Asymmetrical horror games lack the lore and substance that has made the Resident Evil franchise so damn good. You and three other friends or strangers with fight to survive one “mastermind” who will bombard you with various monsters the franchise has made famous like lickers and Mr. X.
This press release also mentions the Mastermind player being able to control the zombies being released on the 4 survivors, even being able to play as Mr. X for the first time. The Mastermind will monitor the movements of the other players on security monitors to plan their attacks.
Image courtesy of Capcom
I’m not sure how I feel about that. I will say that the cinematic trailer for PROJECT RESISTANCE is really good looking. The graphics are the quality we have come to expect from the RE Engine. I believe that I saw somewhere that this was being made by a different team than the team working on RESIDENT EVIL 8/3 (who knows yet), and I certainly hope that is the case, because I would hate to think that resources were taken from the game people really want to make PROJECT RESISTANCE. Fans of the franchise are willing to wait to get the game that they love. The RE franchise is no stranger to multiplayer gameplay, but this particular brand of multiplayer is new to the series and I’m not sure if it’s a good step to take.
As disappointed as I am, who am I kidding? I am going to play this. I will try it and I will try to love it because this is the franchise that is close to my heart. Am I personally happy about RESIDENT EVIL treading into asymmetrical gameplay? No, but if they make Albert Wesker the Mastermind, well I guess I can get on board with that… maybe. If you are a RESIDENT EVIL Ambassador, you can apply to be a part of the closed beta that will run from October 4th through the 7th.
You can register from now until September 18th, so if you want to participate and see what Project Resistance has to offer, then you best apply. Trust me, I will be.
