Capcom shocked fans on Monday when it unveiled the latest entry in the long-running Resident Evil franchise, Resident Evil 7: biohazard. The game promises to do more than go back to the series' survival horror roots — it will straight-up surpass them, featuring a first-person perspective and eerie atmosphere.
Naturally, some were to reluctant to accept the new Resident Evil, as it differed from the original entries and was definitely a far cry from the series starting from RE4. Fortunately, Capcom was aware of this and decided to release a demo called Resident Evil 7: Beginning Hour, so fans could get an idea of what to expect.
That demo went live at midnight, and it certainly introduced players to a Resident Evil they've never seen before. There were no zombies, viruses or B.O.W.s in sight; in fact, the protagonist wasn't even a S.T.A.R.S., government agent or anyone connected to the story thus far, but just some random schlub inside of a seemingly abandoned farmhouse who is tasked with finding a way out.
As is the case with most demos nowadays, Resident Evil 7: Beginning Hour was quite short, taking less than 30 minutes to beat. However, what it lacked in length, it made up for in secrets and other forms of content that left gamers sitting around for hours and pooling their efforts together in an attempt to find them all.
What made some of these secrets, such as multiple endings or an apparently useless finger, so interesting is that these were things never seen before in a Resident Evil game. Has there ever before been a Resident Evil game where you could find a well-hidden item or secret that had no impact on whether you could clear the game? Not likely. However, such secrets were all over the place in a demo for the game that was promised to re-invent the series, leaving many fans to wonder: "If the demo is like this, then what will the main game have in store?"
Unfortunately, such speculation will have to come to an end, as Capcom has revealed that, other than the first-person view, the demo has nothing to do with the full game. The farmhouse where Beginning Hour takes place won't appear at all in the actual game, so the creepy mannequins, ghost girl and other notable tidbits from the demo are apparently meaningless.
So, what will the main game have, then? It will be thematically similar to the demo, but will star a different protagonist and tell a different story.
It's unfortunate that the demo doesn't have much to do with the full game, but it's still pretty enjoyable (even with the glaring similarities to the cancelled P.T.), so hopefully, Capcom is able to capture a similar experience with Resident Evil 7: biohazard when it launches in January.
