Critics and fans did not look upon Resident Evil Survivor too fondly when it released back in 2000. Unlike the atmospheric third-person gameplay offered by the original Resident Evil trilogy, Survivor was set entirely in first-person. Over 20 years later, first-person gameplay is a big part of the Resident Evil experience, like with the recent Resident Evil 7 and Resident Evil Village games. The light-gun motif would appear in numerous other Resident Evil titles, including sequels in Resident Evil Survivor 2 - Code: Veronica, and Resident Evil: Dead Aim, as well the later titles, Resident Evil: The Umbrella Chronicles and Resident Evil: The Darkside Chronicles.
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Aydan Watkins has given an update on their project, Resident Evil: Survivor Redux, showing off the game’s opening minutes. From the very start, the changes are clear, as all of the light-gun UI elements are gone, and there being just a simple locked camera angle on the protagonist as he emerges from a wrecked helicopter. Watkins briefly shows off the inventory screen, arranged and fitted with sound effects reminiscent of the original Resident Evil, before encountering the first zombies in the game. Just like the old games, Watkins equips the protagonist with the handgun and fires multiple shots into the zombies, then makes sure they stay down by firing into them on the ground.
Not too long ago did Watkins originally reveal the Resident Evil: Survivor Redux mod, announcing that the demo was then available to play. In this new video, Watkins provides early test footage of the mod, noting in the video’s description that “a lot of polishing [is] still required” like the changing of sound effects and what not. The mod is apparently also playable on the original PS1 hardware, not just through an emulator on a PC. Watkins clarifies the purpose of releasing this test footage in the description, stating, “This video is just to document what can be done with PlayStation mods.”
While the original Resident Evil: Survivor certainly has its fans, Watkins and their team deserve a lot of credit for they have managed to create so far. This project was likely not as easy as just changing the original game’s POV, but a full-scale rebuilding of Survivor using assets from other games. Players can even catch an example of this in the video, as the narrator says “Resident Evil 2” on the main menu screen. Hopefully the project continues to progress smoothly into a state where the entire game is playable.
Resident Evil Survivor is available on the PS1.
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