When I wrote about my experiences with the PlayStation VR prototypes last year, I was pretty excited about how much of the experience could be transferred to other games. But I was also really apprehensive about totally embracing the medium – namely how it’ll be usable with more traditional games. I also lamented the lack of opportunity I had to experience the Kitchen demo – months before I even knew it was a prototype of sorts for Resident Evil 7.
The Resident Evil 7 demo was similarly an amazing experience but I couldn’t help but be incredulous when it came to how much the demo was an indicator of how the final game will play. It was a scary affair and one that I probably won’t forget right up until the point that I boot the final version when it releases in January. The change in pace and tone is remarkably different from Resident Evil 6, but I couldn’t shake the feeling that the VR support for the game was totally tacked on. After spending some time with the game in the VR space, I’m not only fully convinced, I truly don’t want to play the game any other way on my first time through.
On a recent visit to EB Expo I was fortunate enough to try both the Kitchen demo as well as the full “Lantern” demo of Resident Evil 7. I started with Kitchen, and I must have had lofty expectations as I came away feeling slightly disappointed. Don’t get me wrong – the situation itself was a frightening one – but coming off of playing the Resident Evil 7 demo it was hard to pretend I didn’t know what was coming. Kitchen was a great experience that really sold the passive experience of VR – I physically winced when the woman in the demo stabbed me in the leg – but it just was a bit too passive for my liking.