Resident Evil Village Game Producer Tsuyoshi Kanda recently shared a pretty interesting tidbit about the development of the game particularly on how it got “balanced.”
According to Kanda, the upcoming title was actually balanced by the developers after the feedback they got from Resident Evil 7 Biohazard. Some players found it too scary and they wanted to make the sequel a bit more approachable for everyone.
“When we develop a new Resident Evil game, our goal is not always to make it scarier than the previous title, but find a balance to deliver a scary but fun experience for players,” Kanda shared. “Some of the feedback we received regarding [RE7 was] that it was too scary to play. In one regard, that’s exactly what we were striving for, so it’s a huge compliment for us.”
“But at the same time, it’s always our goal to create something that anybody can feel comfortable jumping in and playing, so we eased up on the tension curve [in RE Village] relative to Resident Evil 7: Biohazard, so that players aren’t in constant fear.”
RE7 had closed spaced, which made people feel like the walls were closing on them, instigating claustrophobia or the fear of close/confined spaces. RE Village has open environments, but the tension will be done differently.
“For Resident Evil Village, we took an entirely different approach with the openness of the village and players not knowing what might be lurking beyond the trees,” Kanda stated. “Something we also always have to pay attention to is the tension curve. We also find that people grow immune to fear if they’re consistently pitted up against a tense situation or environment.”
“Those moments of solace act as a buffer to make sure that people aren’t completely desensitized to the horror. The save rooms that you often see in many ‘Resident Evil’ games is a great example of that, where players can take a deep breath and know that they are safe.”
Resident Evil Village launches on May 7 for PlayStation 4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, and PC.
Source: Axios Gaming via VGC
