Resident Evil is my all-time favorite game series, but I have to admit, I’m seriously creeped out by one of its standout entries: Resident Evil 7. Honestly, I can’t see myself diving back into that nightmare anytime soon. Interestingly, I’ve got the good ol’ USA to thank for that.
In the latest issue of Japanese print publication Nikkei Entertainment!, Jun Takeuchi, a long-time Capcom veteran and producer behind the Resident Evil series, shared some intriguing details about the company’s future plans for the franchise. Although we don’t have direct quotes from him just yet since the interview hasn’t been translated, a reliable fan resource, Project Umbrella Re: Digest, managed to tweet a summary of his points.
It appears Capcom’s strategy for Resident Evil 7 was all about “expanding the series” through a process they call “culturalization.” To nail this approach, the developers took a deep dive into American life, studying actual households to get a real feel for the “living conditions and lifestyles” portrayed in the game.
I’ve never really stopped to ponder what it is about Resident Evil 7 that shakes me to my core more than any other horror game. Is it the gut-wrenching tragedy surrounding Ethan Winters? Or perhaps it’s the terrifying presence of Jack Baker, that towering patriarchal maniac who burst through walls like a crazy freight train ready to turn your head into pulp? Sure, those elements are disturbing, but with this new insight from Takeuchi, I think I’m onto something deeper.
Could it be that the unapologetic realism hits too close to home? Those eerie amber hues, the rundown house, and that creepy, boarded-up motorhome in the backyard—they’re like something plucked straight from middle-of-nowhere America, begging for a perverse curiosity to take over as I pass through rural Prescott, Arizona. While I may not have encountered a police station like the one in Raccoon City, I’ve certainly seen homes that remind me too much of the Baker family abode.
Yeah, I’m definitely going to give that game a pass from here on out.
As director Koshi Nakanishi noted, Resident Evil 7 was “possibly too scary,” with “some people” not being able to handle its intensity. Perhaps that’s part of why Resident Evil 9 features a third-person mode—to make it just a bit easier for those of us with shaky nerves.
“Some people couldn’t handle it.”
Koshi Nakanishi
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Horror Games