MonsterVine: "Resident Evil Requiem delivers terrifying visuals, unsettling atmosphere, and a combat-free demo that leans hard into survival horror. Here’s what we saw at Summer Game Fest 2025."
First hand impressions from the SGF 2025 closed door experience showcasing Resident Evil Requiem.
Capcom's upcoming Resident Evil Requiem will bring players back to a familiar yet nightmarish setting for the series ninth main installment
Everything about RE9 so far sounds phenomenal. I can’t wait to see more and play it. RE franchise is GOATED.
Resident Evil Requiem, otherwise known as Resident Evil 9 screenshots have leaked, alongside mentioning a second playable character.
What I don’t get is why game demos at preview events are still locked behind press and influencers. That made sense back in the pre-internet days when magazines were the main way to get news to gamers—but now? Not so much.
Even if developers are worried about early criticism, they could just make the demo available only during the event window and use the feedback to improve the final release.
At this point, it just feels outdated to have all these playable demos hidden away, while the rest of us sit around watching someone else describe their experience. I always hoped these events would evolve to be more inclusive—let everyone get a taste of the game, even if they can’t attend in person.
I think the problem then becomes, the footfall for these type of events would decrease massively
Usually because it's footage just not ready for the public yet, to build hype, and get feedback from influencers. They don't want to show footage that looks horrible else they'll be absolutely cooked for it lol.
I get that, but there were demos for RE9 and Pragmata—so it just feels weird to lock those behind media and influencers, only letting them describe what they played. Like, look at what Nioh 3 did: announce, then drop a demo. That kind of approach should happen more often. It would elevate these events and give fans something exciting to get their hands on, even if it’s only playable during the event window.
People are going to critique based on trailers or secondhand impressions anyway, but giving public access—even temporarily—would lead to better feedback. Developers could actually use that to make smart adjustments. Honestly, I see way more benefit in that than detriment.
Because in a controlled environment, they can massage to the player a bug or give context to why something is or isn't.
If you were working on a high-profile AAA mega-release, would you risk having the messaging of your game be muddied by some random content creator that found a bad bug on a specific version of a demo? Or if the Series S version of the demo is unoptimized ass and the fan-reaction makes your game a prime example of why platform P is better than platform X?
Not to mention the time taken away from real development. Maybe these demos are just the latest build that has a decent playable chunk on one platform and every other platform is a technical mess, and making a demo ready for public consumption would take months to prepare.
I'm sure there are other reasons specific to whichever developer, just like I'm sure there are technical reasons why so many multiplatform games currently only have demos available on Steam Next Fest - as the Hell is Us developer suggested.
I totally get the concern about bugs or platform parity, but I think that’s kind of the point of a limited public demo—it’s not about showing a final, polished product, it’s about transparency and engaging the actual audience who’ll be buying the game.
If a dev is worried that an early build might reflect poorly, that’s a communication problem, not a reason to avoid letting players in. Label it clearly as an event-exclusive or pre-alpha slice, just like plenty of early access games do. Gamers aren’t clueless—we know when something’s in progress.
Also, the whole “random content creator might find a bug” argument goes both ways: press and influencers already highlight bugs or janky moments, sometimes even more dramatically. The difference is, they’re not us. They don’t always represent the broader player base, and their feedback isn’t always aligned with what regular players actually want or experience.
As for dev time, I’m not saying make a perfectly clean cross-platform build. Do what Steam Next Fest does—put one version out, for a set time, with a disclaimer. Use the feedback. Build trust. Hype follows naturally when people feel included.
Locking demos behind press just makes things feel gated. If the goal is to “control the narrative,” then it comes off as more about managing perception than building trust.
Same here. first person makes me nauseas I was already about to skip this game but that info has got me back on board
Oh yeah for sure guys, becase a fucking camera perspective is what makes Resident Evil games Resident Evil right? Jesus christ.
It's cool they've done that, I was happy with whatever because the games were quality and FP was refreshing but it was a divisive issue.
Giving players the choice and presumably going the extra mile to make sure both options are top class shows a lot of respect for their fans.
One of the best announcements last week. REALLY hoping for PSVR2 support. Especially since it will support first person mode.
