Resident Evil Village VR, we tried the scary demo for PlayStation 5

We knew this. We knew Capcom would choose He Stage to show Resident Evil Village VR. The virtual reality version of the horror game was undoubtedly the main attraction of Tokyo Game Show 2022, especially since the press present at the show had their first opportunity to try it out. PlayStation VR2.

Those who want to take a chance Try the Resident Evil Village VR demo they were in line an hour before the show started and rushed straight to the Capcom booth as soon as the doors opened. We were one of them, but the shortness of breath you hear is not due to running (okay, it’s for running too) but the short and breathtaking experience in the game.

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There Resident Evil Village VR demo predictably, it opens to the outside. Dimitrescu Castle. It couldn’t be otherwise, given that the mansion’s imposing architecture and detailed rich interiors represent a breathtaking scenario to explore in virtual reality. If the castle already looks huge in the original game, the feeling is bewildering when you have a spectator above your head and you feel tiny when walking under an arch or looking for the top of the tallest tower.

Inside, the situation does not change: PlayStation VR2 allows for a level of detail and clarity that we rarely see in other viewers on the market, and therefore lingered on the details of every picture hanging in every room and every hallway. wall or each shot glass on a small table. Entering the main hall, looking around and climbing the ornate stairs is a strange feeling: as if we were visiting it for the first time.

However, we have already visited that place and when we start to remember what will happen next, we feel a strange tingling in our head. A real tingling followed by the buzz of insects. It wasn’t imagination: the PlayStation VR2 viewer first began to flicker slightly around the head, then more insistently, a swarm of bugs began to swarm our faces and then transform into a hooded female figure. Indeed, they are two. The feeling is not pleasant when Lady Dimitrescu’s daughters throw us upside down and drag us down the halls of the castle. The eyes see our body lying on the ground and being dragged by its legs, but the body reminds us that we are standing in the middle of a video game fair. The audience shakes wildly to simulate Ethan’s head repeatedly hitting the ground. Fortunately, the discomfort lasts for a few seconds, but when they let us go, we find ourselves in front of them. Lady Dimitrescu all in handsome size.

Trust me, if the stewardess has frightened you before, she’s as impressive as ever in virtual reality. We had already experienced the same scene, we knew how it would unfold, but this first encounter in VR created a mixture of uneasiness and embarrassment. As this giant brings his face close to ours, he takes our hand and sucks the blood from the wound. With an audience at its head, this sequence is so engaging and believable that it almost seems like it was designed specifically to be enjoyed this way. There will be other compelling scenes, settings, and characters throughout the adventure, but this particular moment is the perfect business card to showcase Resident Evil Village in VR.

Still shaking from the meeting, we treat the wound with a medicinal liquid. this left controller We begin to throb slightly to indicate shock in the hand, armed with gun and knife, we seek the exit from the castle. In line with other action games in VR, the controls are based on several intuitive movements: you grab the gun with your right hand (but left-handers can reverse it) or grab it with the other hand while reaching for the blade on the left forearm. reloads magazines and gun. For those who have never played a VR shooter before, it will take a few tries to learn how to unload, replace and reload, but after a while it becomes a fluid and natural movement.

this watch the audience and the controllers almost always work fine, but there have been a few cases where the hands have moved on their own for a few minutes; in one, even the camera was out of alignment with Ethan’s body, we were looking in one direction while we were looking in the other. He’s right, considering we’re talking about an imprecise hardware version of the game that will definitely receive another improvement before its release next year.

The demo has been slightly modified compared to the original game to pass through certain rooms and corridors, but above all so that the player can use infinite bullets (which will already change in the final game). Aiming and shooting in a few fights was very satisfying: the controllers are sensitive, light, and you forget to hold them after a while. While we haven’t been able to find a second weapon in the current short time, Capcom has already confirmed that it will be possible to use it. two guns at once and use each hand to target multiple enemies at once. We took a little more effort to throw the blade, plus thanks to the fact that the controllers don’t have analog triggers on their sides, but two simple buttons: it’s probably just a matter of habit, but grasping and holding seemed less natural. Objects at hand for a long time.