The Resident Evil franchise has returned to its glory since Ethan Winters shared some delicious food with the Bakers in Resident Evil 7 biological hazard. Ahead of release RE9 it will also return to mobile devices next year as Resident Evil Survival Departmentwhich is scheduled to be released worldwide in 2025. We had the opportunity to play the demo at the Brasil Game Show – and get the answer to the question of how many Claires, Jills and Leons it takes to make a good Resident Evil.
Survival group developed by JOYCITY for iOS and Android. As the unnamed protagonist, players follow a parallel timeline to the key events of Resident Evil. It's a base-building strategy game where you send a group of Resident Evil characters from across the series on various missions. Despite this, Survival group is Resident Evil in name only and bombards players with references to other, better games. It's a bit like a little child wearing his parents' clothes to pretend to be someone else.
The build we played during the Brasil Game Show put us at the very beginning of the game. Our protagonist wakes up in a hospital gown and must explore dimly lit hallways and abandoned rooms. To move forward, we had to solve a puzzle and restore power to the area by fixing the electrical panel. Opening the door, we finally went outside, where we were saved from a wave of zombies by Claire Redfield.
Survival group doesn't try to reinvent the Resident Evil formula and directly references the earlier games in the series. You have a traditional fixed camera. Not a very charismatic white male protagonist. Puzzles and zombies! The whole thing screams “Resident Evil.” But the problems are depressingly simple. Finding a missing metal object did not require extensive research and was more like hard work. Zombies seem like decorations placed in the game to give it personality. Combat and multiplayer are central to the game's strategic gameplay loop. Survival groupbut we did not have the opportunity to see them in detail. We played the first fight, which had no room for difficulty. It was basically pressing a couple of buttons and watching Claire blow up zombies.
Survival group takes an unconventional approach to the horror side of the franchise. Producer Shinji Hashimoto explained that the team designed the game to be played in short sessions, making traditional horror tedious and strategy a more appropriate genre. “Horror arises in situations where you feel: “Oh, I didn’t know that,” “This is something new! How can I deal with this? or “I made a mistake, now my strategy is not working.” Especially when you play in multiplayer, when you make mistakes and other guild members lose because of you, this is also a very interesting and terrifying situation.”
More than horror or strategy Survival group This is a fan service game. The segment we played unceremoniously winks at longtime Resident Evil fans at every turn. The loading screens feature the classic door opening scene. The first zombie you encounter feasts on a body on the floor and turns its head towards you threateningly. You exit the building into the street, where abandoned cars, screaming victims and zombies are everywhere.
Resident Evil Survival Department plays fast and loose with canon, allowing you to team up Claire, Jill and Leon into one group and buy weapons from the infamous Trader from Resident Evil 4. There are merits to games whose sole purpose is to celebrate the original material and not take themselves too seriously, but Survival group falls short of a serious Resident Evil experience.
