Good morning. Today brings us news that Capcom have partnered with J-rock band L’Arc-en-Ciel to create a Resident Evil 7-themed VR video for their song “Don’t Be Afraid.” 2016 marks both the 20th anniversary of Resident Evil and the 25th anniversary of L’Arc-en-Ciel, so … um … OK, the reasons for this collaboration are a little unclear to me, especially given that arc en ciel is French for “rainbow” and Resident Evil is English for “flesh-eating zombies.” Scary rainbows? The messaging is just so off here!
You can see some behind-the-scenes footage below: the band is digitized into S.T.A.R.S. members, with special attention paid to their impossibly coiffed hair, and will blast their way through the streets of (sigh) “L’Arc-coon City.”
My concern: is this more erosion of the survival horror giant’s founding principles? Those being, of course, TERROR and HORROR. As brand synergy goes this doesn’t quite have the snap of Motorhead doing “Hellraiser” for Hellraiser III: Hell On Earth, but the song is at least called “Don’t Be Afraid.” This is very good advice for playing Resident Evil 7 in VR, because sources—people in sound health who have done the whole VR thing—have attested to nausea when playing the game. “Don’t Be Afraid (To Puke),” maybe?
