In a new trailer uploaded to the official PlayStation YouTube channel, gamers get a first-hand glimpse at ‘Ebola Village’, an upcoming first-person horror shooter coming January 23rd to PlayStation 5 and PlayStation 4. The title is the first bizarre note, and it only gets worse from there.
Fans were quick to point out the gen-AI cover for the video, the stark similarities to Resident Evil (right down to the game’s title font), and the low-quality make-up of the gameplay, which looks years out of date.
It’s worth stressing that Ebola Village came out on PC several months ago. What’s even more perplexing is that this is the latest in a line of similar titles, none of which have ever managed to gain any traction.
Why is PlayStation Promoting Ebola Village?
The comments under the recent trailer upload for Ebola Village are immensely negative and accurately representative of the confusion PlayStation fans have about this game.
One wrote, ‘We got Resident Evil at home,’ playing on a classic meme, while another declared, ‘Official PlayStation account advertising a genuine ripoff shovelware game might be a new low.’
Here’s the full trailer, in case you want to see the content for yourself:
The trailer showcases a few sequences that closely mirror content seen across the Resident Evil franchise in the last two decades or so. For instance, the player character being chased by a deranged villager wielding a chainsaw, which is instantly reminiscent of 2004’s Resident Evil 4.
Everything from the animations to the visuals screams ‘low budget’, and while that’s not normally a problem (we love indie games here), the subject matter of Ebola Village is much more than just ‘inspired’ by games like Resident Evil. In the comments under the video, gamers were quick to parody the title:
- ‘What’s next, COVID City?’
- ‘Tuberculosis Town next’
- ‘From the makers of Coronaland and SARSville comes a terrifying new chapter’
Ebola Village will be released digitally on PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 5 on January 23, and perhaps it’ll be worth playing to see how it shapes up after all. On Steam, the game somehow managed to scrape a ‘Very Positive’ rating from 319 reviews, at the time of writing.
Do you think you’d give Ebola Village a try? Let us know what you’re thinking on the Insider Gaming Discord server.
For more Insider Gaming coverage, check out the news that Splitgate’s developers have slammed recent criticism
Grant has been gaming for 30+ years and in the industry for 10+. You'll probably find him playing a post-apocalyptic game or an extraction shooter somewhere.
More from Grant Taylor-Hill
I hope this comes out just to piss people off. This is what I sincerely wish.
Its out on Steam already, it for sure will come out… What is nuts is Sony actually promoting this garbage. They said they were going to work on getting all the BS out of the PlayStation Online Store… then they promote Ebola village LoL!
PlayStation has been having such a shitty gen this PS5 generation. The PS4 gen was immaculate for Sony! Crazy to see the lack of games come out and the quality just not be on par in my opinion. Spider Man 2 was buggy as fuck and the game in general was just poorly written and way to samey. How they spent 300 million developing that game is beside me. Like 85% of the game was already made in SM1.