Resident Evil 7 looks like a rebirth for the franchise. After Resident Evil 5 and Resident Evil 6 took the series into a more action oriented direction, Resident Evil 7 seems to be returning Resident Evil back to its survival horror roots.
One of the ways the game can add stakes and tension to the proceedings is via its save system- if it has sparsely spaced out save points, then each death carries a harsher penalty for the player, leading to them being more cautious and wary. It’s the same principle that the Souls games employ. And in an interview with Yugatech, the game producer Masochika Kawata noted that Resident Evil 7, too, will use save points strategically in a similar vein.
“The game is a linear experience, meaning not that there’s only one way through, rather it takes place in a linear timeline, so it’s not divided into chapters,” he said. “However, as far as saving is concerned, there’s an auto-save system, so if you die you can restart not as far back. There will also be rooms to act as manual save points. Just to note, depending on the difficulty situation that you choose, the saving system also varies. If you choose a harder difficulty, the saving system won’t be so nice to you.”
Resident Evil 7 is due out on PS4, Xbox One, and PC in January 2017.
