After the breakthrough global success of Monster Hunter World, the tasteful handling of Mega Man’s return and the course correcting for Resident Evil – which, in the remake of 2, artfully managed to blend Resident Evil old and new, resulting in perhaps the greatest series entry yet – we now have this. A team-based shooter that leans heavily on asymmetrical play, and pushes the Resident Evil formula to odd extremes.
And, having played Project Resistance for a couple of hours, I can say, hand on heart, that it’s by no means a bad game – even if it does initially conjure up grim flashbacks to the miserable Operation Raccoon City and Umbrella Corps (and of course Resident Evil Outbreak, which is a slightly kinder comparison). You can sense a slight nerviness about Project Resistance at Capcom, and the reveal is accompanied by a number of caveats.
First, that word ‘project’ in the title is there for a reason. This is a prototype, being made in the RE Engine by an internal team alongside the Taipei-based NeoBards Entertainment, a studio that previously worked with Capcom on Onimusha Warlords. It’s a project that, they’re openly saying, might never even make it to release – there’s a closed beta running from October 4th to October 7th on PlayStation 4 and Xbox One later this year, after which opinion will be gauged and a decision made as to whether there’s enough here to justify pushing through to release.
