WhileResident Evil 9hasn’t officially been announced yet, there have been plenty of leaks and rumors swirling. The game is expected to be announced this week as part of Summer Game Fest.Resident Evilin general has been the subject of many leaksl, like thenext twoResident Evilremakescoming down the road, but it’s theResident Evil 9leaks that caught my attention.
The past twoResident Eviltrilogies have featured consistent approaches to the camera.Resident Evil 1through3are played from fixed camera angles, whileRE 4through6are played from a third-person perspective.Resident Evil 7andVillageare played in first-person, but according to leaks,RE9will return as a third-person game. I think this is a big mistake, but while I hope these leaks prove to be false, I’m not holding my breath.
Why First-Person Works Great For Resident Evil
Third-Person Plays Better, But Makes It Less Scary
Resident Evil 7: Biohazardrevived the series for a reason, and a big part of that was the new first-person perspective. The first-person perspective was actually planned during the early stages ofRE1, but Capcom decided to use fixed-camera angles instead. This new viewpoint was refreshing, placing enemies right up in the player’s face andmaking the game scarier than anyREprior. The tension is debatably worse than the actual scares, as you’ll always be on the lookout for Molded. Even the brutal Madhouse mode doesn’t let up because the game remixes enemy spawns.
To put things in perspective, I’ve never beaten theNightmare or Night Terror DLC modes because I can’t stand the tensionof bunkering down in that one room, waiting for enemies to come in two separate directions. It’s just too much for me, and I wouldn’t have the same feeling if the game were in third-person. That fear is what makes these first-personREtitles some of thebest horror games you can play right now.
I haven’t playedRE7orVillagein VR, but I’ve heard it’s one of the most terrifying VR experiences out there, and it would be a shame ifRE9lacked a VR option.Resident Evil Village, while having more of anRE4feel, still benefited greatly from a first-person mode, making the ambushes much more intense and the House Beneviento section much scarier. I will admit that I prefer third-personREin regards to controls, as I think it plays much smoother, butin terms of horror, first-person is better in every respect.
Capcom Should Make RE9 A First-Person Game
An Inconsistent Trilogy
WithResident Evil 7andVillageexcelling due to their first-person perspective, it makes sense forRE9to follow suit,but that doesn’t appear to be the case.Dusk Golem, a reputableResident Evilleaker, detailed the followingResident Evil 9leaks via X.
Resident Evil 9appears to be going third-person, an odd choice considering the track record of all previousResident Eviltrilogies. It feels weird to haveResident Evil 7andVillagebe in first-person, but not the concluding chapter of this new saga. Apparently,RE9won’t be the ending to this current trilogy,but rather Leon’s trilogy, due to the recent remakes ofResident Evil 2and4. Those aresome of the bestResident Evilremakes, but it’s more of a quadrilogy due toResident Evil 6, which is absent from Dusk Golem’s post.
Regardless, I feel that switching to third-person is the wrong call, as first-personREis what made me fall in love with the series again.Resident Evil 7is still the scariest title in the franchise, and I’m worried thatRE9won’t have nearly the same impact. Third-personREgames can still be scary, likeResident Evil 2 Remake, butRE7is on a different level. Hopefully,Resident Evil 9stays a first-person game or at least provides a first-person option.
