After they canceled Silent Hills and turned Resident Evil 6 into a generic co-op shooter, I pretty much gave up hope that Capcom would ever be able to create something interesting again. With that in mind I hope you can now understand how surprising it was for me to realize that Resident Evil 7 is not only an actual horror game, but one that appears to be actively avoiding all of the issues that plagued the last few games.

Just have a look at the three recently posted gameplay previews. They don't show much in terms of gameplay mechanics, but they do feature a gloomy atmosphere and a sense of inescapable dread - something I haven't seen in Resident Evil for a very, very long time! But enough rambling from me, here are the videos:

Besides the presenter roleplaying as the biggest idiot in the universe, what with all of the "I'll run into a dead end, they won't ever look for me there!", the gameplay seems to be pretty damn solid. The enemies are simple enough that they can be avoided relatively easily, but much like the Nemesis from previous Resident Evil games they just don't stop coming! This might not sound like much, but having these sort of enemies goes a long way towards keeping the suspense at an all time high, even when there's almost nothing to be afraid of in your current location.

How this will work in the release version once real players get their hands on the game, I have no idea, but I must admit I'm looking forward to seeing it for myself. And speaking of release dates, you can expect to see Resident Evil 7 on January 24, with a playable demo this December 19. If you're interested in learning more, or just checking out some creepy screenshots, head on over to the official website.