While not everyone was on board with Resident Evil’s bold shift to first-person, it’s exactly what the franchise needed to reinvent itself and become properly scary again following a major shift toward action with the divisive Resident Evil 6. Games like Resident Evil 7, Village, and Requiem have all featured genuinely terrifying set pieces as well as a distinct vibe that sets them apart from the classic entries and their remakes. And for players who love the style of the newer Resident Evil titles, while also having a stomach for super detailed gore, ILL could prove to be right up their alley.
While Resident Evil has its share of gore, it rarely gets to the point of being properly unsettling. Compared to something like Dead Space that pulls no punches when showing its gory transformations from human to necromorph, Resident Evil feels fairly tame most of the time, with the campiness of its stories helping to ease tensions. ILL, on the other hand, is aiming to leave players scared by the sheer realism of its violence. Co-developed by Team Clout inc. and Mundfish of Atomic Heart fame, ILL will have players dismembering freakish monsters in first-person, and its immersive visuals could leave many feeling too scared to continue.
ILL Looks a Whole Lot Like Resident Evil…
There’s something about first-person games and the horror genre that just works. Perhaps it’s having a limited view of one’s surroundings, or a closer view of the monstrosities in the protagonist’s way, but games like P.T., Amnesia, and Outlast are considered to be some of the scariest titles in the industry by horror aficionados. The newer Resident Evil games fall into this category, too, as whether players are running away from a towering vampire woman with scissor hands, a zombified hillbilly, or a mutated little girl, each title has delivered on the scares.
Fit the 9 games into the grid.
ILL leveraging this perspective, then, is an immediate boon, especially when combined with the stellar graphics Mundfish is known for. Every time a monster moves toward the camera or bends unnaturally, the top-notch graphics of ILL will make things just a bit more scary. They’ll help create a more intriguing setting as well, with every hallway and facility of the “huge research fort”—a setting that sounds like it was ripped straight out of Resident Evil—sure to look like a real-world room. Add on weighty weapons that have detailed animations, and a shouting, running creature that looks like it could be related to The Girl from Resident Evil Requiem, and it’s hard not to think of Capcom’s recent work with its legendary IP. However, ILL feels inspired by another beloved horror series as well.
Stay Up to Date: ILL is Available to Wishlist Right Now
- EXPERIENCE a terrifying story where an unknown evil creates creepy monsters inside a “huge research fort.”
- DISMEMBER creatures with brutally realistic and gory animations, punishing what scares you.
- WITNESS a detailed physics system that impacts puzzles and enemy encounters, with NPCs reacting to subtle changes to the environments around them.
- MANAGE your inventory by regularly sorting items and upgrading weaponry.
Per ILL’s Steam page, the game is targeting a 2027 release window.
A realistic first-person action horror game that takes you into a dark fort overtaken by a mysterious entity. Unpredictable monsters, a visceral dismemberment system, and realistic physics create an atmosphere of relentless terror.
…But Feels Like Dead Space at Its Core
With Resident Evil still thriving and the RE Code: Veronica remake releasing in 2027, fans may not be feeling the need for a similar game at the moment. However, the same cannot be said for those who love Dead Space, as following Motive’s top-notch remake of the original game, the series has gone dormant once again. With The Callisto Protocol failing to become a long-term spiritual successor, too, Dead Space fans are stuck in a rough spot yet again. For that reason, it’s exciting that ILL seems to strike a similar chord.
While it’s true that Dead Space was not first-person, something that instantly differentiates it from the upcoming game ILL, there are other comparisons to consider—and not the obvious Necromorph-like monster that can be seen in some promotional material. First, there’s the narrative, which sees the protagonist trying to save “what’s most precious” from a “mysterious source of evil and the aberrations it generates”: a description that practically screams Nicole, the Marker, and the Necromorphs. Next, there’s the “binaural audio system,” which aims to make every scream and noise, distant and close, something that sticks with the player. Most importantly, though, is the presence of a detailed gore system.
Second only to maybe Isaac’s mining suit and its clever HUD design, Dead Space’s dismemberment system is one of its most iconic innovations. ILL seeks to take things to the next level by featuring a similar level of detail, but through a first-person lens and photorealistic visuals. Players will shred flesh and explore bones throughout their journey, with the corpses supposedly being so gnarly that they’ll “shock [gamers] to the core.” They’ll also go hand-in-hand with a realistic physics system, which sees monsters moving differently after having limbs damaged and reacting when bumping into items that get in their way. The physics engine will supposedly impact puzzles, too. All of these traits, plus co-developer Team Clout consisting of some of the minds behind Longlegs, Until Dawn, and Welcome to Derry, suggest that ILL could be the latest in a long line of modern horror gems. In other words, Halloween makes for a good time to give it a Steam wishlist.
