Koshi Nakanishi and producer Masato Kumazama, part of the development team behind Resident Evil: Requiem has made an unusual admission. After years of working on the upcoming survival horror title, they’ve become so desensitized to their own creation that they can no longer judge whether it’s genuinely frightening.
“We’re too close to the material to objectively assess the game’s scariness after prolonged exposure during development,” team members explained in a recent interview with IGN.
The candid acknowledgment highlights a common challenge in horror game production—when you’ve seen the same jump scare a thousand times, it stops making you jump. This phenomenon, known as familiarity blindness, affects creators across all horror media.
Game developers who spend hundreds of hours designing monsters, scripting scares, and fine-tuning tension lose their ability to experience these elements as players would. What terrifies a fresh player might barely register for someone who’s been staring at wireframe zombies since breakfast.
The Requiem team is addressing this challenge through external playtesting. Fresh eyes and nervous players provide the feedback developers can no longer trust themselves to give. One industry veteran noted that teams typically become desensitized “after like, the first 10% of development,” making outside testing essential for calibrating fear levels.
Alongside this admission, the developers revealed their creative direction for Requiem. They’re “firmly swinging the scale toward the Resident Evil 2 style,” positioning the new entry as “almost an upgrade of that RE2 style.” This marks a deliberate shift away from the action-heavy approach seen in some recent franchise entries.
The RE2 remake from 2019 set the modern standard for methodical survival horror. Its slow pacing, resource scarcity, and persistent threats like Mr. X created sustained dread rather than relying on constant action. Players spent more time avoiding enemies than fighting them, turning every hallway into a potential death trap.
This approach contrasts sharply with entries like Resident Evil Village, which balanced horror segments with large-scale action sequences. While Village had its terrifying moments—the Beneviento House still gives players nightmares—it leaned more heavily on combat and spectacle than pure survival tension.
When zombies become coworkers
The creative pendulum of Resident Evil has swung between survival horror and action throughout its history. Resident Evil 7 marked a return to horror roots after the action-focused RE5 and RE6. Now Requiem appears ready to push even further into classic survival territory.
For players, this means expecting fewer explosive set pieces and more careful resource management. The RE2 style emphasizes vulnerability over empowerment—you’re not an action hero, you’re someone trying desperately to survive. Every bullet counts, every healing item matters, and running away is often the smartest option.
