I downloaded the demo from the Japanese PlayStation store and played through it. Thought it was really cool. It's pretty short (I finished it in about 15-20 minutes), but it's a really good teaser. It feels like the exploratory parts in early Resident Evil games made in the style of PT. It was really tense, can't imagine playing it in VR. Not sure how the full game is going to go, because there was no combat, but the exploratory stuff was pretty great.

As far as the story goes: At the end I got killed by a guy that said "Welcome to The Family." The Family is the organization in RE behind a lot of major events such as the bombing of Raccoon City. Simmons from RE6 was the leader of The Family at the time, so this game at first seems to be building off of that.

What did you all think of it?

I'll let you know when the damn store updates. All links leading to the demo don't actually let you download it.

I hope the "Beggining Hour" title isn't an implication of how long they expected people to take beating this thing because it's like 10 minute long, 15 at the absolute maximum. Still it was kinda neat, and look pretty dang good so far. I can't help but feel I have the exact same questions I had after PT, of wondering if this is actually what this game is going to be. Like are they seriously gonna make a pure psychological thriller out of Resident Evil? They said the whole thing is gonna be playable in VR so does that mean it's entirely first person?

I had to stop playing because of sleep, but I was freaking myself out more than the game because I kept thinking something was going to pop out at me. Stopped playing after the video sequence finished.

I'm kind of conflicted. I appreciate the return of tone and slower pace that the older Resident Evils had, but it feels a little too much like Outlast. It's early and I like the foundation set by the demo, but I'm curious what the final game will be. Will there even be combat? There was a quick select for items on the d-pad so I'm sure it'll become more involved. Tonally it's atleast better then the schlock of RE6.

The first person perspective really takes away any feeling of Resident Evil. But I was actually pretty spooked, which hasn't happened since RE4. I didn't have to worry about ghosts with RPG's jumping out of a closet so I got really immersed into my surroundings.

But the demo is short. I thought people meant P.T. short, but no, it's maybe 10 minutes at the most. I was also disappointed to find your movement gated, as I wanted to follow Andre to see if that would lead to a different event happening. There is an invisible wall in the kitchen that keeps you from moving forward until you are supposed to. A little disappointing. But the fact that the last major RE game was about large scale BOW warfare(Extra emphasis on the war part), this is a refreshing take.

Once you get caught by the spooky monster and see he's just some guy, the spookyness goes down by about 99%. This is just a demo of course, but for some reason this guy looked like some kind of crazy mutated monster for that time you see him walk by, so to see he's just a guy in green is a bit weird.

Also the girl with the knife appearing out of thin air from the video after the demo is over is pretty strange. Made me wonder if they were introducing supernatural elements to RE, but it'll probably turn out she was some kind of BOW and this house is a cover for a secret underground facility. It might be a completely different approach to a Resident Evil game, but it's still a Resident Evil game.

Color me intrigued. So many games I see and hear about and I've pretty much made up my mind in a short amount of time. This one? It could go either way, and I am very excited to see how it turns out.

I also don't know if I should have spoiler tagged any of this since it's a 10 minute demo. But let's play it safe.

So something interesting is up on the store page for the game it mentions "Pre-order Resident Evil® 7 biohazard today to receive Survival Pack DLC". So perhaps they aren't straying too far from the traditions of old RE games.

Just so people know, there is more to it than the initial part. It will differ as you replay the demo, at least on the second time. Late so I am gonna go back to it tomorrow and see how deep it goes. If anyone is wondering what I mean after you do the initial ending with the dude going "Welcome to the family" after you open the door you can start the demo again. I am not sure if this only happens if you don't view the tape, I didn't my second time, but when you pull the handle inside the chimney and go into the hidden area there is now a fuse you can use on the fuse box in the previous room, allowing you to search the upper level.

Didn't give me PT spooks or anything but did feel a little creepy. That is how I want my RE though, not scary but kind of creepy. Keep you on your toes but not dreading opening the next door.

While it doesn't look much like RE boy does it feel like it to me. The inventory and "A fuse is missing" messages and stuff totally give me old school RE vibes. The ability to map items to the dpad also makes me wonder if there will be weapons of some type in the game, that or at least maybe tools. Doesn't seem needed when the game brings up your inventory when you press X on a area that uses an item if that was the only purpose.

@zella: There's apparently some other less obvious stuff as well, for example. During the videotape sequence You can find a lockpick behind the microwave and use it to unlock a drawer also in the kitchen. Then when you get back to the present there is an axe in there you can use as a weapon. No one seems to know what it's for yet though.

Really hoping this game has a PT style tail where it's like hours of people beating their heads on it to figure it out. But it's hard to see where there could be much else.

It's not even up on the European store it seems... Nevermind, found it. Annoying how it didn't show up under search and can only be accessed under Demos.

I have a low tolerance for horror so let me make myself clear that the ghost lady can fuck right off.

Is RE7 PS exclusive? I missed that part.

@bill_mcneal: Coming to PS4, Xbone and PC.

@bill_mcneal: Demo is a PS4 thing right now, final game is coming to PS4, PC and Xbox One. The VR version of the game is exclusive to PSVR.

Thanks! Amazon only has the PS4 version listed and I was curious.

I highly doubt ''the family'' is referencing the secret society they (barely) referred to in RE6. This more so sounds like a literal family of psychos. Anywhoo this is... odd. I like how it's taking it back to what appears to be a single, potentially large location - the simpler, smaller scale is what this series really needed. Although it almost appears as if there's a psychological element to it, with the mannequins moving about, and how the house you explore during the tape is different in some ways to the house you wake up in. The backdoor you escape from isn't the same kind of door as when you first entered, and the fuse box is in a different place on the wall, too. Seems very starkedly different to the more grounded approach with previous RE games. I mean, grounded in so much it's all the cause of viruses and shit. The psychological aspects honestly brings to mind the hookman build of RE4, to which was scrapped partly because of how Mikami thought it was too ''supernatural''.

I like the idea behind sequence-breaking certain things when you have the prior knowledge of hidden switches and stuff, to which could possibly lead to different outcomes? Though I was really disappointed to find that there was an invisible wall stopping you from following Andre when he leaves the kitchen... Also, finding Andre standing up against a wall gave me a very big Blaire Witch project sort of vibe.

Has a very found footage-y vibe, and the PT and Outlast inspirations are pretty blatant, especially since the designer of PT is working on this for one thing. No combat, but looks like there may be, given how you macro items to the directional pad, but all of what you find is only key items that can't be used outside of their intended context.

Honestly I think it's really strange that this is ''Resident Evil 7'', given how much of a departure it is. Even RE4 didn't change things up quite this drastically (the first-person perspective changes so much), so why they felt the need to see this as a continuation of the series (they've already confirmed it's set post-RE6 for one thing) is confusing. I do certainly appreciate the focus on exploration and collecting items, though. That you can move items around feels very reminiscent of the adventure elements of classic RE. I also noticed that there's a photo next to the ringing phone of a helicopter with an Umbrella logo - an easter egg or a reference to the bigger picture?

It was all very creepy at the very least. Isn't too big on jump scares either which I appreciated, just the ever building feeling of dread and suspense as you turn the camera around behind you and open each door. I think it's safe to say this is what this game is also, given how close to release it is. So, it's not quite the same situation as PT to which was sort of a test case for what Silent Hills could maybe resemble. I'm certainly interested all the same, but I don't know if I'm entirely pleased with this new direction, even if it's still a far more appealing tone and style of gameplay to RE6. Really makes me wonder what the Hell the RE2 remake will look like. I think it's safe to say RE7 will be releasing long before that one.

This is a turn in the right direction in my opinion. Going back to a slower pace and hopefully a bigger, single location to explore and gather items, keys is what i've wanted for what seem like forever. Speaking of items, maybe it's a minor thing but this really bothers me every time it happens in games like this, it's stupid that i can't just open the item menu when standing in front of the chained closet and use the bolt cutter on my own but that i have to be told "hey you should use an item here" context stuff.

So far it looks really good. I just hope it won't turn out to be another Amnesia or Outlast.

I can't wait to play the demo tonight! Any news on whether it'll have VR support on PC?

This does not look much like Resident Evil to me. Much more Silent Hill, but not even a ton like that either. It really does look like Outlast or PT. A Japanese horror game from Capcom taking some much from PT after that got canned is funny to me though.

Has anyone figured out what the dummy finger is for yet?

@fazzle: Not that I've seen. I feel like if someone can figure out what the axe is for, then they will also figure out what the finger is for. I feel like there's another ending hiding somewhere in this thing, other than the door and phone variants.

I don't have a PS4, so I haven't actually played the demo, but I'll just say that my initial impression is that I might be done with Resident Evil.

After the tepid reaction to RE6, it makes sense to change things up a bit, but I'm not sure I'm on board with this particular direction they've chosen. I wouldn't mind going back to something with more of a focus on survival horror with pacing, setting, and tone more like the first RE, but this seems to be going well beyond that by becoming something more akin to PT, Outlast, and Amnesia. I know a lot of people like those games, so I'm sure RE7 will find an audience. However, some segment of fans of the previous RE games are probably going be cut out by this shift.

We still haven't actually seen all that much of this game though, so it's possible that I may be jumping to conclusions.

Haven't been able to get the demo thus far.

@chaser324: I wonder if this might be going more Condemned, actually. There's a melee weapon you can find in the demo, and apparently someone found something mentioning the HUD in the options that refers to a crosshair, which is not there when just exploring. Guessing that means there is straight up combat/guns in the game, but they just aren't showing it yet.

That's exactly what I was thinking of from seeing the material for this game.

I'm curious to see if they'll try to keep this serious "supernatural" tone for the real game or if we'll eventually collect trinkets for abstract puzzles that open nonsensical passageways.

Also anyone taking bets on how many bathrooms this new mansion will have. If I remember correctly the Spencer mansion only had 1 bathroom in its main building.

The switch in the fireplace gives me hope this new mansion (or plantation building to be more specific) will have all of the requisite hidden pathways and eagle crest depressions ect. one would expect! And cranks, Lord let there be cranks.

I want cranks that I can turn using the Vive. Give me VR cranks. I also want my herbs back. It's not Resident Evil if I can't smash a green herb with a red herb together to fix these bite wounds.

This style of game isn't quite my cup of tea. I like Resident Evil for the characters and the action and I think last year's Revelations 2 was the perfect kind of Resi game.

I gave the demo a single run and assumed that was it, but after reading this thread it's nice to hear that there are reasons to play it multiple times.

I assume the family is a reference to, perhaps, some kind of Las Plagas infection? After all, Biohazard, as the name implies, has always been about organic enemy terror and not the supernatural. In fact, there's been several projects to bring Resident Evil in a supernatural direction, that was either turned into the Devil May Cry series or completely cancelled like the infamous Resident Evil 3.5.

Since it has a January date, I guess they are committed to bringing Resident Evil in this direction.

It seems fine, a little cliche, kind of like Outlast. (although it has an inventory so hopefully there's more to it) Doesnt feel like a Resident Evil game though. (of either variety)

Alright, there was just a Capcom Unity stream with the producer and here's a few things he confirmed:

• This isn't a ghost story. It's still Biohazard and it will make sense in the end
• There are no quicktime events at all in this game

Positive news!

Slightly off-topic question, who is the producer for RE7? Is it Masachika Kawata again?

It was also confirmed that this demo is not a part of the actual game. So they really did just go straight P.T. with this thing.

Yup.

Hmmmmmmmm.

Huh, so yeah, it indeed seems that this demo isn't even apart of the main game, and you'll be playing as a different character at that. Makes me wonder just how representative of the full game this demo is then. Will it even be in first-person?

You are the house!! Spooky!!

@yummylee: Full version is still labelled as having PlayStation VR support, but that could just be a first-person part of it?

There are third-person VR games after all, but then even the trailer that appears to show the actual house you'll be exploring in the main game is shown exclusively in first-person, so I guess it's likely. That's not a bad thing necessarily, but I would have personally preferred the over-the-shoulder view, if not the classic camera angles. Least it seems that there'll be combat after all. For as happy as I am to see RE actually trying to be a horror series again, I wouldn't want it to go too far in that direction to where you're having to constantly hide everywhere. I've always thought of Alien: Isolation as having the perfect balance for this style of game.

What if when you are outside of the house it goes into 3rd person and when you are in the house it is 1st person?

I think there's some misinterpretation with their comments. I believe the demo is very indicative of the game, but they are just saying this is an exclusively created prelude to the game, as opposed to an actual segment from RE7 proper. It still is in first person, as advertised on the official website and all of their talking about the game.

The RE7 website says that the game will be first person, and be more horror focused. One of the devs said that this is the third phase of RE the way that RE4 was the second. So this is likely indicative of how the game will play, but settings/characters/enemies will be different.

There's talk of a German Capcom page that has hinted that the next step in "solving" the demo is using the axe (which you control like a weapon not a puzzle piece so combat will almost definitely be in the full game) somewhere upstairs. It also involves looking at the helicopter photo multiple times.

I really like the direction they've gone with this. They certainly took notes from Outlast and PT, and I'm cool with that because those are both terrific games. But I think we'll see that fused with RE1 gameplay, with a lot of inventory management, weird puzzles, hidden passageways, etc.

My only worry is that the trailer they put out seems to be entirely from this demo, and the full game is out in 7 months - though maybe we'll see a trailer for the full game when we "solve" Beginning Hour, like PT. Still, something seems off, like when the full game comes out it will feel incomplete or something. Any news when development started?

@donutfever: Development was said to have started in 2014, so it's had some time put into it.

https://twitter.com/maximilian_/status/743114043859181569 now i'm looking at the purpose of the finger

It's fun watching people dig through this like PT - most recently, people seem to have found that the finger can act like a compass pointing toward interactive objects under certain circumstances - but it really seems like there isn't anything more to it beyond extensive teasing.

...it does seem to be a good way to kickstart your streaming channel, though, so maybe I'll fire it up in a bit lol

It seems cool for what it is, but it`s not really what I am looking for in a Resident evil (or any other game for that matter). If this really is the way they are going forward with the main series I really hope they will make some more Revelations games. The second one was really good and just what I want from a Resident evil game.

So have we cracked the secret ending yet? Do we know what to do with the finger and axe? Has anyone found all the ghost locations? ANYTHING?

@frostyryan: There are symbols, including one very distinctive circle/ring, revealed on one of the walls in the phone room in the attic when you cast the shadow of the axe held in front of you over it. As I don't own a PS4, the most I can do is throw out opinions to those who do.

I've seen people walk around and try to use the finger on virtually everything. Running theory is that it's meant to be flammable/meltable.

Still have no idea what the headphones do in VHS land.

I don't think there is a secret ending. P.T. was very wacky, but it had a consistent pace with it. You just kept moving forward. In this game, once you get to the axe you hit a hard wall and nothing makes much sense anymore.

The seven dolls disappear every time you find a ghost. There HAS to be more. The finger especially can't be for nothing.

The bolt cutters have the same weird 'moving on their own' thing sometimes, so I'm really wondering if the finger thing is actually just a glitch with viewing any items.

I played for about a minute and said NOPE and shut it down.