The PlayStation 5 has been blown wide open by Sony Interactive Entertainment, and in between all the nerdy technical chatter, there’s an absolute beast of a console lying beneath. While it’s easy to imagine what Sony’s new powerhouse system would do for tent-pole series’ like Uncharted and God of War, we’re pretty curious what the implications are for Resident Evil.
With Resident Evil 8 rumors swimming around the web like a T-Virus infection some poor sod’s bloodstream, we thought it was prime to time to chat about how PS5 may help shape the future for Capcom’s venerable zombie-stomping franchise.
Resident Evil PS5 – What Could Sony’s Console Offer?
Frankly, the prospect of a PS5 Resident Evil game has us salivating like a flesh-hungry zombie. First off, it seems Capcom is going back to its survival horror roots as evidenced by Resident Evil 7, so we can safely assume that the next game will adhere to that template.
Right off the bat, we’ve got a meaty GPU capable of hardware based ray-tracing effects, which can help drive some of the most immersive environments in the franchise to date. Lighting has always been paramount to cultivating Resident Evil’s spine-chilling atmosphere, and the PS5 has the horsepower to take this to the next level.
Imagine creeping around a massive house not unlike the Baker mansion or an abandoned city street, lightning flashing through the window and burning cars illuminating the horde of shuffling zombies just ahead. Sure, the Resident Evil remakes did a great job, but with PS5, it’ll be on another level of pant-wetting, nightmare-inducing goodness.
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Another obvious thing would be the detail to the various mutated monstrosities players will face. Resident Evil 2’s remake set the benchmark for zombies going forward, with gaping wounds and grotesque facial animations bringing the T-Virus victims to life like never before.
PS5 could absolutely up the ante in this respect, making zombies all the more fearsome and realistic, while giving a next-generation makeover to other classic foes such as Hunters and Giant Spiders, the latter of which have inexplicably been given the cold shoulder in recent entries.
Another major evolution for the series on PS5 would be the depth and scale of locations. We’re not about to suggest that Resident Evil becomes an open-world series – that isn’t what the franchise is about – but games like Resident Evil 4 have shown how successful large-scale environments can be.
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Sony’s new hardware could take this to the next level. Imagine an area like Raccoon City that has multiple streets fully explorable with shops, abandoned houses, and other areas? The Last of Us did this pretty well, giving players freedom to explore dilapidated apartments and stores while still funneling the narrative along at a pitch-perfect pace.
We’d love to see a new Resident Evil game on PS5 set in a sprawling urban environment devastated by an unscrupulous company’s virus tinkering, with players facing dozens of grotesquely-detailed undead at once, ducking for cover amidst the remnants of everyday human life, tackling optional activities and scavenging for ammo and other supplies.
Oh, and let’s not forget about the SSD. Thanks to this piece of tech, PS5 will be able to render every blood-splattered location as quick as you can pop a zombie’s noggin’ with a shotgun blast, be it from claustrophobic corridors to massive urban locales.
One thing’s for sure, it looks like we won’t have to wait long until a Resident Evil PS5 game emerges on the scene. Noted leaker AestheticGamer claims that a cross-gen title will launch in 2021, so watch this space.