A Resident Evil VR title could well be in the works for Oculus headsets, and better yet, it could be announced during the upcoming Resident Evil showcase presentation scheduled for April 15.
The rumor of a VR-oriented Resident Evil originated from last year’s enormous Capcom data leak, which suggested a VR version of Resident Evil 4 was in the works for Oculus Quest devices, scheduled for release in May 2021.
Now, there could be some truth to those rumors. As pointed out by users on Resetera, Oculus’s director of content Chris Pruett retweeted Capcom’s announcement of April 15’s Resident Evil showcase, somewhat implying the VR company could be ready to reveal something in partnership with the developers.
- Resident Evil Village release date, news and more
- Resident Evil games ranked: which is the best Resi game?
- Resident Evil Village PC system requirements revealed
Virtual Evil
If these Resident Evil 4 VR rumors turn out to be true, then, it wouldn’t be the survival horror series’ first rodeo when it comes to VR. Resident Evil 7 featured PlayStation VR support back in 2017, and became something of a killer app for the peripheral.
Admittedly, though, Resident Evil 4 specifically seems like an odd fit for VR. Whereas Resident Evil 7 was built from the ground up to incorporate a first-person perspective - and thus fitting naturally in a VR environment - Resident Evil 4 features an over-the-shoulder camera view at all times. That could lead to a bit of a disconnect when viewing the game through the lenses of an Oculus Quest.
It will be interesting to see if Resident Evil 4 is being reworked with a first-person perspective in mind, or if it will adapt an approach similar to VR support found in The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild. That game was playable with Nintendo’s Labo VR headset (remember those?) via an update, and allowed the player to control the camera rather than Link directly.
The real question, though, is would Resident Evil 4 really benefit from VR support? As an older game, texture quality isn’t the best, meaning a lack of immersion could be an issue there – but wouldn’t challenge the Oculus Quest 2’s modest onboard graphics. RE4’s breakneck pacing and constant camera-whipping could also be to the detriment of players who suffer from motion sickness.
It’s a peculiar choice for a VR adaptation, if the rumors are substantiated. But given Oculus’s expertise in the field, we’d be willing to give them the benefit of the doubt. And who knows? Resident Evil 4 in VR could turn out to be something we never knew we wanted.
- New Resident Evil movie title should delight series fans
