As confirmed in last night’s RE Showcase, Ethan will turn his face away from the player when the camera is turned. A demo of the game has been released ahead of the expansion release on 28th October, so I was keen to see this for myself. Watch on YouTube Resident Evil Showcase | 10.20.2022 Third-person mode is selected at the start of the game, but can be changed at any point in the options menu. Cutscenes, however, are still shown in first person as originally intended. This could potentially be jarring, but in the short demo the transitions are smooth. It does mean you still get that in-your-face experience of Lady Dimitrescu licking your wrists. Yum. The demo takes place in Castle Dimitrescu and offers a short slice of gameplay. Though the demo is timed for 60 minutes, it actually ends automatically just ahead of a certain miniboss fight - I accidentally ended up whipping through in about 15 minutes. Though much of the castle is dark, I immediately headed for the nearest light source to get a better look at Ethan’s face. You can just about make out his profile if you turn the camera, but he’ll turn his face away and then, at a certain point, shuffle around. As DLC director Kento Kinoshita said in the showcase, the third-person mode was included for those wishing to reduce the fear level, or those who experience motion sickness in first-person games. I do fear the experience may ring a little hollow compared to other Resident Evil games without a clear lead character to view, but it’s a welcome alternative all the same. The demo is available to download now across all platforms. For everything else at the RE Showcase, including the Resident Evil 4 remake, check out our rundown.
