After a little talk about recent game releases, the Capcom panel quickly jumped into “Iceborn”, the expansion to the incredibly successful Monster Hunter World. “Iceborn” is endgame content, meaning players need to finish the base game to enjoy it. However, developers added content including Guardian Armor and Hunter Helper in order to help gamers speed through it and catch up with friends who are ranked higher.
The moderators discussed the roadmap for the title, reminding the audience of content that ties into Horizon Zero Dawn exclusive to the PlayStation 4.
The panel included announcements about the winners of Capcom contests to design new equipment for Monster Hunter World. The winner for gear was a piece inspired by the adorable Palico characters, while the winner of the weapon design contest was a giant Black Eagle Charge Blade adorned with majestic blue feathers that seamlessly shifts from weapon to shield.
The biggest surprise was the 1-minute trailer introducing characters from the Resident Evil franchise to the world of Monster Hunter, eliciting the loudest reactions from the crowd. The Resident Evil content is also scheduled for November. Capcom stayed mum about anything in December and beyond, but offered plenty for fans to sink their teeth into until they’re ready to share more.
The focus then shifted to Resident Evil Resistance, a multiplayer live service game described as 4v1 asymmetrical gameplay. Senior brand manager at Capcom, Mike Lunn humorously referred to it as “survival horror with friends.” In the game, players can control either one of the Survivors or the Mastermind who pulls all the strings.
Although the CG trailer didn’t reveal anything new, it did serve as as another opportunity to show off the game in the breathtaking RE Engine. Thankfully though, that was followed by a gameplay trailer that offers fans a real idea of playing from both perspectives.
The three Survivors (Sam, Valerie, and Jan) use controls similar to those of a protagonist of a pas Resident Evil game, but they each have unique skills and loadouts to help them survive and escape from the Mastermind.
The Mastermind Mode, meanwhile, was described as Resident Evil Maker, a play on Nintendo’s beloved Mario Maker game which gives players toolsets to build their own levels. Real-time strategy elements make the player feel like a developer, reorganizing and dropping assets to trap, horrify, and gruesomely murder the Survivors.
Each stage is split into 3 areas. Survivors need to escape each of the 3 areas before the time runs out in order to win. It sounds considerably more difficult than assuming the Mastermind role.
Street Fighter probably garnered the most excitement from the crowd, in part due to the appearance of its executive producer Yoshinori Ono. Through a translator, Ono said he wished he could match the excitement brought by Monster Hunter World and PR, but announcements of the biggest updates to the title were already scheduled for November and December. He could only talk about the World Open and its qualifying rounds.
Because of that, the Street Fighter segment was very light on news. However, it was the only game to host the developer of a Capcom title at NYCC, which is exciting all on its own. Ono said he took a 13-hour flight from Tokyo to attend, and the audience clearly appreciated that. It wasn’t necessarily an exciting end to the panel, but it was definitely a satisfying one.
