United once again with Goichi ‘Suda51’ Suda, the next project for Resident Evil creator and director Shinji Mikami is the remaster of Shadows of the Damned, the pair’s energetic third-person shooter from 2009. Speaking to PCGamesN at Gamescom, both Suda and Mikami tease what they might want to work on next. But if you were hoping that Mikami might somehow return for a rumored Resident Evil 9, or otherwise go back to the survival horror genre which he pioneered, I’m afraid it’s bad news – at least for now.
Shadows of the Damned Remastered revives the partially forgotten Grasshopper shooter, adding a new game plus mode, enhanced visuals, new cosmetics, and myriad tweaks, enhancements, and quality-of-life improvements. A co-production between Suda and Mikami, who previously collaborated on the peerless horror game Killer7, Shadows of the Damned is certainly worth revisiting, or trying for the first time, if you missed it 15 years ago. Speaking to us at Gamescom, both Suda and the Resident Evil creator discussed the remaster and their future ambitions.
“The game that I would like to do next in terms of remastering old titles would be Flower, Sun, and Rain,” Suda says. “I don’t know if it would sell well or not, but that’s not really the point. Another game I would like to do after that is Michigan Road To Hell. I don’t think a lot of people are even aware that it exists, or played it when it first came out. It’s a game I’ve been thinking about for a long time that I would like to revisit, but it would probably be a remake rather than a remaster.”
Flower, Sun, and Rain is one of Grasshopper’s true curios, a point-and-click adventure from 2001 that encapsulates both the studio’s and Suda’s expressionistic styles. At times, it’s a grounded domestic drama, but that’s contrasted with its imaginative mechanics and often surreal imagery. Michigan is a little more mainstream, essentially a zombie shooter and survival game with some unexpected moments of slapstick comedy. Unfortunately, it was never even released in the US, so a remake would be very welcome.
“I want to make Killer7 again,” Suda continues, hinting once more at a possible remaster or even a sequel. “I would also like to make Kurayami, which was the original idea that became Shadows of the Damned. That was the original idea I brought to Mikami. I’d like Mikami to come on as producer and make the actual game we set out to make.”
As well as the progenitor to Shadows of the Damned, Kurayami, which never made it beyond the concept phase, would have had something in common with Remedy’s Alan Wake. Players would explore a haunted European castle while equipped primarily with a fire torch.
In well-lit areas, they would be safe, but in the dark, enemies would appear and attack them. It’s much closer to the survival horror games for which Mikami, who joined Shadows of the Damned as producer, became famous. On the topic of returning to the genre he pioneered, however Mikami is emphatic.
“I think I might want to stay away from survival horror for a little while,” Mikami tells us. The iconic game-maker is also keen to keep any of his future projects a secret, but does admit that he’s recently been playing – and enjoying – Rockstar’s Red Dead Redemption 2. Perhaps he’d also enjoy Undead Nightmare.
As we wait for the new version of Shadows of the Damned, check out some of the other best survival games, or maybe the best upcoming PC games on their way soon.
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