Silent Hills is dead. Survival/horror purists are heartbroken. They can hope for a sequel to The Evil Within or perhaps another Outlast but that's about it.
And why? Because these purists haven't been happy with the direction their beloved Resident Evil series has taken. Well, many are torn: They say the the smaller off-shoot productions like Resident Evil: Revelations are actually very good, but the main series installments – like 2012's hugely controversial Resident Evil 6 – have gone astray.
It's quite the sensitive topic for the fans in question. Trust me on that. However, perhaps the demise of Konami's anticipated project opens the door for Capcom: Maybe now is the time to redefine the nature of horror with Resident Evil 7 . I had extreme difficulty reviewing RE6 primarily because it lacked any sense of identity. I really don't think it had any idea what it wanted to be. If Capcom can hone in on what made the iconic franchise great in the first place, this is a golden opportunity to bring Resident Evil back to the forefront of interactive horror.
It should be clear to them that, given the positive response to survival/horror titles over the past few years, that style of gaming isn't dead. In other words, Capcom should realize that Resident Evil doesn't have to go the "twitch" action route to survive. People still want the slow-paced, tension-building experiences, and we could – theoretically – get that with RE7.
I wonder what the fear lovers have to say about all this.
Related Game(s): Silent Hills
