We don't have a release date or platforms list yet, but it sounds like we can celebrate this early for Resident Evil 7. In an interview with MCV UK, Capcom SVP Michael Pattinson says they are bringing the game back to its survival horror roots.
Actually, that information isn't quite that new, as Resident Evil producer Masachika Kawata has shared the same sentiment seven months ago while promoting Resident Evil Revelations. Back then, he explained that Capcom has learned to accept that survival horror is not going to sell as well as FPS games, but they should keep making games in the genre, basically because Capcom has built a succesful franchise out of Resident Evil anyway. Kawata also talked about how survival horror conventions have already been established so that they should be able to reboot the series and it should still feel the same.
What is new now, is Pattinson is dropping some hints on where the franchise could actually be going. He acknowledges concerns that zombie games have reached saturation point. However, he then points to The Last Of Us and Tomb Raider as examples of games that have similar scenarios, and that Capcom is taking the popularity of these games as a sign that there is still interest in this style of gameplay.
I don't want to speculate too much on what they see in common exactly between Resident Evil, The Last Of Us and Tomb Raider, but I would warrant a guess that it's the strong narrative structure and some particular combat choices. I don't know if seeing Leon play out death scenarios or having a helpful NPC around would improve the game, but we'll just have to wait and see what Capcom comes up with.
Image is from Resident Evil 5.
Source: NeoGAF
