RE9 Gamescom World Premiere Trailer
- Thread starter Yama
- Start date
My initial reaction to the trailer: pros and cons.
Pros: I'm digging the overall atmosphere with the setting and tone. When Alyssa appeared on screen, it definitely made me excited as an old-school fan to see her pop into frame - and it's still pretty surreal to me that an Outbreak character is getting this much attention in a modern RE game in 2025/2026.
I liked that Alyssa's clothing was pretty much the same color as her basic Outbreak costume - an obvious callback. I'm also genuinely intrigued where they are going with this narrative. However...
Cons: The way the trailer and characters were directed, and facial issues with design and acting.
Alyssa's face doesn't look as soft/feminine as how I remembered it when compared to Outbreak, especially with her original Outbreak key art. Despite having a tough personality, she was still "pretty." Older age aside, something about her looks less "pretty" now - and I think it comes down to the facial structure Capcom chose for her.
The color of what she was wearing in the trailer was the most familiar thing about her - and to me, that's a problem. I found myself most excited that it IS Alyssa in general, rather than who I was looking at. I know Outbreak's art style was obviously more anime-esque back then, but her RE Engine facial features/structure doesn't look like how I would imagine an updated, older Alyssa would look like. She looks like a completely new character, with a familiar name and taste in clothing.
For comparison's sake, I like Grace's character model.
Possibly worse than that, are the facial expressions - which was a primary complaint of mine in RE4 Remake.
Go back to that scene of Alyssa getting emotional with Grace, and it just looks AWKWARD. It just straight-up doesn't look good - and I wasn't buying the scene because of that, being the weird facial expression.
I don't know what changed between RE3 Remake and RE4 Remake with whoever was tasked with characters' facial animations and expressions, but they've been lackluster since RE4 Remake, especially. In RE4 Remake, Leon's face was constantly stiff - even while his eyes were getting gouged out. Compare that to RE3 Remake - which nailed facial expressions, line-reads and characterization, for the most part. Honestly, despite RE3 Remake's glaring downsides in game design, it handled characters better than any other RE title - which I believe carried that title. What I saw at times in RE4 Remake and now this trailer, really takes me out of the scenes with the characters, who I'm expected to connect with.
The trailer direction/editing was also... weird. That guy gets stabbed... and Grace and Alyssa just stroll into the next scene with that odd transition, that didn't seem very urgent considering what they just saw. Sure, Grace is obviously upset, but again - the character expressions, acting... maybe even line reads? - weren't convincing to me.
Overall, I liked the tone and atmosphere, and seeing SOME form of Alyssa in action was great - but this latest trailer presentation was just awkward, and I hope it's better for the entirety of the final release. Maybe Alyssa's new character model will grow on me in time, but those facial animations did NOT match the circumstance, for sure. The trailer wasn't pieced together as well as the previous - even though this cliffhanger was effective.
Pros: I'm digging the overall atmosphere with the setting and tone. When Alyssa appeared on screen, it definitely made me excited as an old-school fan to see her pop into frame - and it's still pretty surreal to me that an Outbreak character is getting this much attention in a modern RE game in 2025/2026.
I liked that Alyssa's clothing was pretty much the same color as her basic Outbreak costume - an obvious callback. I'm also genuinely intrigued where they are going with this narrative. However...
Cons: The way the trailer and characters were directed, and facial issues with design and acting.
Alyssa's face doesn't look as soft/feminine as how I remembered it when compared to Outbreak, especially with her original Outbreak key art. Despite having a tough personality, she was still "pretty." Older age aside, something about her looks less "pretty" now - and I think it comes down to the facial structure Capcom chose for her.
The color of what she was wearing in the trailer was the most familiar thing about her - and to me, that's a problem. I found myself most excited that it IS Alyssa in general, rather than who I was looking at. I know Outbreak's art style was obviously more anime-esque back then, but her RE Engine facial features/structure doesn't look like how I would imagine an updated, older Alyssa would look like. She looks like a completely new character, with a familiar name and taste in clothing.
For comparison's sake, I like Grace's character model.
Possibly worse than that, are the facial expressions - which was a primary complaint of mine in RE4 Remake.
Go back to that scene of Alyssa getting emotional with Grace, and it just looks AWKWARD. It just straight-up doesn't look good - and I wasn't buying the scene because of that, being the weird facial expression.
I don't know what changed between RE3 Remake and RE4 Remake with whoever was tasked with characters' facial animations and expressions, but they've been lackluster since RE4 Remake, especially. In RE4 Remake, Leon's face was constantly stiff - even while his eyes were getting gouged out. Compare that to RE3 Remake - which nailed facial expressions, line-reads and characterization, for the most part. Honestly, despite RE3 Remake's glaring downsides in game design, it handled characters better than any other RE title - which I believe carried that title. What I saw at times in RE4 Remake and now this trailer, really takes me out of the scenes with the characters, who I'm expected to connect with.
The trailer direction/editing was also... weird. That guy gets stabbed... and Grace and Alyssa just stroll into the next scene with that odd transition, that didn't seem very urgent considering what they just saw. Sure, Grace is obviously upset, but again - the character expressions, acting... maybe even line reads? - weren't convincing to me.
Overall, I liked the tone and atmosphere, and seeing SOME form of Alyssa in action was great - but this latest trailer presentation was just awkward, and I hope it's better for the entirety of the final release. Maybe Alyssa's new character model will grow on me in time, but those facial animations did NOT match the circumstance, for sure. The trailer wasn't pieced together as well as the previous - even though this cliffhanger was effective.
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I really enjoyed the trailer, but of course we haven't seen much of the game yet and I want to see more.
They appear to be in the Wrenwood Hotel and it looks great, a genuine Resident Evil looking setting and I can't wait to explore it.
I think Alyssa is just supposed to look weathered after all she has been through, and she's also older. I thought she looked great, like someone who has a serious past that is a heavy weight on their shoulders and something that Grace is only just being introduced to. Grace seems very naive to what is happening where as Alyssa has that aura of experience emanating from every polygon.
The hooded guy has to be someone we know, that's why he's hooded ... right? Maybe he's what is left of Wesker, but then a plastic bag over the head really doesn't seem like Wesker's style. So perhaps Nicholai from RE3?
I'm just left wanting more, like a proper look at the main gameplay. I'm really looking forward to this one!
They appear to be in the Wrenwood Hotel and it looks great, a genuine Resident Evil looking setting and I can't wait to explore it.
I think Alyssa is just supposed to look weathered after all she has been through, and she's also older. I thought she looked great, like someone who has a serious past that is a heavy weight on their shoulders and something that Grace is only just being introduced to. Grace seems very naive to what is happening where as Alyssa has that aura of experience emanating from every polygon.
The hooded guy has to be someone we know, that's why he's hooded ... right? Maybe he's what is left of Wesker, but then a plastic bag over the head really doesn't seem like Wesker's style. So perhaps Nicholai from RE3?
I'm just left wanting more, like a proper look at the main gameplay. I'm really looking forward to this one!
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I think the game looks fantastic, I like the atmosphere so far. The visuals mostly seem great, the emphasis on RTX and Path Tracing is both impressive and alarming at the same time, very expensive performance wise. The engine outside of MH has scaled really well though, so I'm sure with or without it'll run solid. Seeing the third person mode with the light shining through her strands of hair was remarkable. It's the kind of title you build extreme rigs for. The hotel really gives me OB Hellfire scenario vibes, maybe the wallpaper not sure, but I'm here for it. Story wise it feels good to genuinely care again, this feels like it's for us, the original hardcore Biohazard fan. Sure everyone can hype it up and it's a big tent and everyone is welcome, but if you're truly a fan from the original trilogy who maybe even more niche was a big Outbreak fan... yeah, this hits different! Looking forward to proper gameplay and perhaps demo playthroughs. I think we'll see a BIG reveal at TGS or TGA, I'll definitely attend TGA and that will be the last trailer for me personally.
Mocata
Paracelsus Sword
It's so nice seeing Alyssa again but those facial animations are rough (assuming this must be an early build so I can forgive that). Really curious what's going on and who the hooded man is. It's also such an interesting choice that they decided to focus on Alyssa out of all the Outbreak characters. I know she was mentioned in RE7 but it makes me wonder if its a director's bias as his favorite character or if we'll see other Outbreak characters mentioned.
Resident Evil 4 Remake's facial animations were too often not expressive enough, so unfortunately, I'm expecting the worst - being that this is actually what they were settling for, unless Capcom hears enough feedback about it before launch. I'm glad I'm not the only one who has chosen not to ignore how "off" the facial animations actually are. Everything else is pretty great - just like RE4 Remake.
Mocata
Paracelsus Sword
I don't think there's anything wrong with Alyssa's design per se (if anything she should look older with a teenage daughter) but the faces are a bit weird. I think they've gone down the road of mocap for everything since the RE engine came along, and the results have often been mixed. More annoying is the acting and writing style where people say "what the fuck, oh shit" all the time, I prefer the older b-movie charm.
The overall character design of Alyssa is fine... if you're not looking at her face. It's hard to get around that.
I just watched the new trailer again and it still looks REALLY bad. The lacking expressions could be making it worse than the face on the model.
I've actually been mostly positive with how classic characters have been updated for the RE Engine in the past - and it's their faces and how they're animated that makes or breaks a character's design for me.
Leon (in RE2 Remake, especially) is perfect.
Marvin is perfect.
Ada is perfect.
Jill is perfect.
Carlos is perfect.
Nicolai and gang? Perfect.
Claire is definitely a new take, but I like her - maintaining a soft, nurturing look that's suitable. No overpowering jawline.
Chris is back to his uncanny valley meat-head ape self again after Capcom caved to the RE5/RE6 plebs bitching, but whatever.
Focusing on Jill for comparison, I think her new face model (hot Russian chick) is actually my favorite iteration of her yet - even above Julia Voth. I see RE3 Remake Jill as THE definitive Jill Valentine now - both in looks and in character. Capcom struck a perfect balance between tough and feminine with this new Jill, hence why they probably used a Russian model for reference. I've found some Slavic women have naturally strong jawlines and are quite independent, but they're still clearly women with the rest of their features.
New Alyssa on the other hand? That jawline is over-tuned - and I think she looks too generic. Maybe they should've kept her old hairstyle, at least.
On the flipside to that, it wasn't until RE3 Remake that I realized Voth never fit as Jill for me. Voth's face was possibly TOO traditionally soft, feminine and pretty for Jill. Couple that with the mundane/stoneface writing/acting we got in RE1 Remake (being that masterpiece's only area that could use improvement), I couldn't take Voth's Jill seriously as somebody who was supposed to be a dangerous special forces officer.
For that reason, I'd also take the primal "fucks" and "shits" over B-movie cheese any day.
Just like some of the classic RE game design, I think the cheesy acting was just a product of its time due to hardware limitations, translations, etc. I don't believe the cheese was ever intentional - and it's my preference that it stays gone forever. The memes are fun, but these people are supposed to be cops and special forces - not cornballs. Aside from the occasional quirky merchant, overconfident quip or eccentric megalomaniac, I personally don't want any B-movie charm in my Resident Evil games - but I do want characters that sound convincing and look the part!
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