At Gamescom, I was able to play a short demo taken from the game. (To clarify, this wasn't the "Beginning Hour" demo available at E3.) It took place in an old, dilapidated house with smashed windows and broken floorboards. A frightening woman chased me inside the building, and there was little to do but desperately search for an escape route. I would throw myself through doors and frantically look in each room, hunting for something -- anything -- that could serve as a weapon. Before long my pursuer would draw near, however, spewing threats in a ghoulish voice.

Just when I thought I had found a hiding place -- a makeshift tunnel underneath the house -- the woman caught me, ending the chase on a fittingly gruesome note. Capcom told me that this new "Lantern" demo will be an optional sequence inside the main campaign, which you'll trigger by watching an old VHS tape. It's one of many playable flashbacks that will contextualize what's happening to the main characters in the "present day" timeline. Was it scary? Heck, yes. It's still too early to make a judgement call on Resident Evil 7, but I like the direction that Capcom is heading in.

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