A Resident Evil fan is working on remaking the first game in the series in first-person, replacing the original's famous third-person perspective. The project, while in the early stages of development, is already playable in part, and should provide a unique and perhaps more terrifying experience for fans of the original Resident Evil.
Resident Evil first released in 1996 and quickly became one of the horror titles that made fixed camera angles a staple of the genre. The game's use of third-person viewpoints, combined with fixed shots to keep players in suspense as they explore, has been used throughout the earliest games of the series, as well as in other survival horror games such as Silent Hill. Resident Evil left its third-person roots behind for 2017's Resident Evil 7, which introduced both a new protagonist and a new first-person perspective. This continued with the latest release in the series, 2021's Resident Evil Village, and is expected to continue in Resident Evil 9, which is set to complete the story of hero Ethan Winters.
As spotted by PCGamer, Resident Evil fan Richard Aiken is remaking the first game in the series in first-person, and the current build is available to download for free via itch.io. Aiken isn't giving their interpretation of the game a new-gen spin, instead choosing to recreate the 90s game as intended, staying faithful to the pixelated graphics of the original. The Resident Evil project isn't yet complete, but fans can explore parts of the Spencer Mansion and encounter zombies, as seen in Richard Aiken's YouTube video below.
Watch the video on YouTube here.
Aiken isn't the first person to recreate Resident Evil in first-person. Earlier this summer, a similar project from indie developer MoonGlint hit the headlines. Unlike Aiken's version, MoonGlint's Resident Evil 1 remake doesn't use graphics akin to the original game, instead favoring a modern modern look similar to the official Resident Evil remakes from Capcom. MoonGlint's version isn't playable, so fans looking to test out a first-person RE 1 might want to check out Aiken's to get their fix.
The Resident Evil series has seen success with its official remakes of earlier games, with both Resident Evil 2 and 3 remakes being well-received by fans. While Capcom hasn't fully remade the original for new systems, an HD remaster of the 2002 GameCube version of the game released in 2015, giving a more modern look to the classic. Whether or not the game will ever receive a full from-the-ground-up remake similar to 2 and 3 remains to be seen, as rumors suggest a Resident Evil 4 remake is the next game to come from the developer.
Source: itch.io/perroautonomo, YouTube/Richard Aiken (via PCGamer)