Classic RE Fans Might Be Disappointed
Though the upcoming Resident Evil 2 remake has been met with a mostly positive reception from both critics & fans, there was some concern over the game’s over-the-shoulder (OTS) perspective due to some fans feeling that this perspective turns Resident Evil into an action game. Now, a recent interview has confirmed that this POV is the only one that’ll be available in the remake.
“We’re really focused on our new over the shoulder camera, so we’re not really thinking about alternative camera options,” answered producer Tsuyoshi Kanda when he was asked about a fixed camera perspective being in the remake. “It’s not going to be a ‘shooter’ over the shoulder game, it’s going to be a tense claustrophobic camera that still really brings the horror experience even though it’s a new style for Resident Evil 2.”
Another producer, Yoshiaki Hirabayashi, explained that the team chose this camera perspective so that the remake would have “up close” and “claustrophobic” zombie encounters. Hirabayashi added that with a fixed camera perspective, players would be able to see both zombies and their player character “but it’s more zoomed out and not as intense.”
“For me the over the shoulder camera gives you that intense struggle between both the character and the enemy,” Hirabayashi said.
Kanda also explained how (with the new OTS perspective) they’ve redesigned classic enemy encounters such as whenever the playable characters fight a mutated creature called a “Licker“.
In the original RE2, Lickers couldn’t attack the player from many different angles due to the fixed camera but the OTS perspective gives Lickers full use of their 3D environment. “It allows for much more elaborate and interesting enemy AI and behavior,” Kanda said.
Resident Evil 2 will come out on January 25, 2019 for the PC, PS4 & Xbox One.