Resident Evil 7

Resident Evil VII: biohazard Coming to Xbox One on January 24

Capcom’s Resident Evil has set the standard in survival horror since it debuted back in 1996. And while Resident Evil 6 took the venerable zombie-blasting series in exciting new directions when it released four years ago, the next entry, just unveiled at E3 2016, looks to be a resoundingly creepy return to those jump-scare mid-‘90s roots everyone remembers. And the best part? It’s coming a whole lot sooner than anyone expected. Resident Evil VII: biohazard is hitting Xbox One on January 24th, 2017.

Evoking a simple-yet-frighteningly effective “don’t go into the basement” aesthetic, Capcom’s gameplay trailer showcased an abandoned, dilapidated house possibly located in Louisiana – if the flashes of a newspaper headline exclaiming “GHOSTS SIGHTED IN BAYOU” are anything to go by. Presented in a brand-new, first-person perspective for maximum fright immersion, the gameplay snippet featured a man picking up a phone (one that would look right at home in the ’90s, might we add) with a Southern-voiced woman on the other end.

This mysterious lady had an ominous warning for our protagonist: “If you don’t get out of there, they will kill you! Get out now!” From there, it was eerie scare after eerie scare, whether it was an ominous figure walking past the hallway or a videotape conspicuously placed in the middle of a table – and, clearly, nothing good can come from watching that piece of ’90s throwback technology!

The game’s subtitle, biohazard, also evokes a return to the classic entries in the franchise. biohazard is the Japanese name of the series, so does that mean this entry will have a connection to the well-established Resident Evil lore, or is this a reimagining of the series that will redefine survivor-horror as well know it? We only have seven months to find out – and we can’t wait for what already looks like one of the most thrilling, chilling Resident Evil experiences to date.