As I write this review i felt the need to look over my shoulders a few times expecting something to be standing behind me. Or worse creeping up on me. And even when I went to the kitchen I had this lingering thought of being watched as I slowly made my way into the kitchen via my corridor, which seemed a longer walk than normal. This is how I felt immediately after playing the demo.
So what is the setting? Basically you're a new recruit who is part of a team that deals with paranormal activity. The family is missing. House abandonded for 3 years. Lets go and check it out.
One of the aspects that immediately grasped my attention is the stunning visuals and sinister atmosphere. Its dingy, dirty and scary. The colour schemes used is exactly what you would expect from a horror game. It is dark which all combimed created a sense of dread and insecurity. A definite plus for a game of this type.
This brings me nicely into the lighting of the game which is very well done. Clearly it is daytime outside however the windows are all boarded up. Small rays of sunshine struggle to enter the building creating some of the most gorgeous lighting effects I have seen in a horror game. I can only imagine what the final game will look like.
Now having pretty visuals with a dark atmosphere will be half the experience of a game. The score here is brilliantly done. There is this eerie music constantly playing in the background which certainly adds to the dreaded feel of loneliness. The random noises that can be heard as you traverse through the rooms makes you think twice whether you want to enter it or sit it out.
Despites the positives, there is few negatives that I felt had to be pointed out. Firstly, character facial expressions plainly feels, well plain. Simply put, i did not see any expressions on their faces despite the situation that they were in. I hope the character models are given attention before the final release.
I also felt that there was far too less interactive objects in the demo. Now I have not played any Resident Evil games before but I felt in this day and age with the huge budgets and technological advances, that there will be more interactive objects for me as I lingered in each room looking for further clues.
Despite the few negatives points, I felt the demo achieved exactly what it wanted; make you feel insecure and hesitant to enter rooms. Yet you feel the need to get out of that house and go about your normal colourful life. I was just hoping it would have been a longer experience as it left me wanting more. i can only imagine what the full game will be like especially the fact that it is VR compatible.
Pros:
Visuals
Sounds
Lighting
Cons:
Too short
Character models
Few interactive items