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‘Resident Evil 2’ Remake Producers Talk Game Difficulty, Music
We’re all hungry for more news on the Resident Evil 2 Remake, and in an interview with VG247, producers Yoshiaki Hirabayashi and Tsuyoshi Kanda dished out a few tidbits on the game, which is due out next year on January 25th for PC, Xbox One and PS4 (in case you didn’t already have that circled on your calendar).
For starters, the game will be using an adaptive difficulty system that’s been a series staple since Resident Evil 4. “In terms of the standard difficulty, it does adjust based on player performance,” says Hirabayashi. “I’d like to believe that you were doing really well and so the difficulty ramped up even more. [laughs] But we have it tuned so that no matter how well you’re doing, there’s always going to be that sense of dread and tension there.”
Kanda also chimed in to say that with the return of the ink ribbons, on the higher difficulty “we do have the ink ribbons with a limited number of uses for those who really want a true challenge”.
As far as the tension, and how when compared to Resident Evil VII where you had that sense of power buildup by the end of the game that changed the tone for some players, Hirabayashi stated that “the Resident Evil franchise is all about overcoming your stress, gaining that satisfaction of overcoming obstacles.” Hirabayashi says to not worry, as “there’s definitely those moments where players will feel empowered and satisfied by overcoming huge challenges. But also, we’re definitely trying to keep that tension curve so you won’t ever feel completely safe; we’re very aware of that.”
With regards to the game’s music (which if you pre-order the game, you’re given the option to switch to the original 1998 soundtrack), Kanda said that because of Resident Evil VII‘s first-person gameplay, the team paid more attention to the types of sounds you hear, and the immension factor, in lieu of the music. With the RE2 remake, because this is a third-person camera, “we’re not incorporating the exact same techniques, but what we’re doing this time around is we’re trying to focus a lot on combat with zombies. Around that, we’re doing whatever we can to make sure the audio elements really enhance that tension and immersion with those elements that we’re trying to stress in RE2.”
And yes, since it only makes sense with the pre-order option, original composer Shusaku Uchiyama is back to score the game, with “his vision of what the audio should be for RE2.”
January is so far away.
The best part about engaging with collaborative genre fiction on the internet is that anyone can get in on the action, with worldwide accessibility often resulting in absurd story beats that wouldn’t be possible if any single person was responsible for the entire narrative. And while Kane Parsons’ Backrooms film is definitely the young filmmaker’s own unique take on the infamous creepypasta, it’s fun to see other creators join the Backrooms sandbox now that the big screen adaptation is getting ready for a record-shattering opening weekend.
As if cleverly timed releases like Puppet Combo’s The Backrooms game weren’t enough (not to mention that Scary Movie poster poking fun at Parsons’ flick), McDonald’s official social media accounts have now released an analog horror video of their own celebrating the liminal terrors of the McRooms – complete with a familiar purple surprise at the end of the footage.
While it’s funny enough to see the world’s most recognizable Fast Food giant engage with internet-borne Found Footage thrills seemingly out of the blue, the video is actually referencing a long-running gag among the Backrooms fandom where creators jokingly talk about there being a fully functional McDonald’s restaurant hidden somewhere in level 0 of the infamous liminal labyrinth.
Now, would it be too much to hope for a moist-carpet-flavored McShake to tie in with the film?
Backrooms is now playing only in theaters from A24.
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