PlayStation’s YouTube Channel Reveals Exciting Updates on Ebola Village, A Unique Take on the Survival Horror Genre
Resident Evil has undeniably left a significant mark on the gaming landscape, shaping the survival-horror genre for nearly three decades. As the series approaches its 30th anniversary, it’s gearing up for a new title that promises to celebrate its legacy. So, it’s puzzling to see a Resident Evil knockoff, Ebola Village, taking up space on PlayStation’s YouTube channel right now.
The trailer describes the game as “A classic horror inspired by the original survival games of the 90s,” featuring a protagonist named Maria who investigates a series of strange occurrences. However, the term “inspired” seems to be doing a lot of heavy lifting here. The trailer has been live for over 20 hours, racking up more than 70,000 views and around 7,400 downvotes. It caught the attention of various gaming news accounts, with one top comment asking, “What are we doing here, man?”
Ebola Village was released on PC last year and is part of a series from an indie studio called “indie_games_studio.” Priced at $17, it has garnered reviews on Steam that include comments like, “This game is so bad it gave me Ebola irl.” Typically, it’s the Unreal Engine asset-flip knockoffs that clutter the PlayStation Store, but this time, it seems like actual low-quality content from Steam is making its way over. How it landed on the PlayStation YouTube channel is still a mystery.
The trailer itself feels like a poorly executed tribute to the Resident Evil series, lacking any campy charm. One of the opening shots features a character driving into town, and their fingerless gloves bear a striking resemblance to Leon Kennedy’s outfit from Resident Evil 4. In another scene, a zombie—or someone infected with Ebola—throws an axe at the player, and the sound effect eerily echoes that of RE4.
To add to the absurdity, there’s an enemy wielding a chainsaw and wearing a sack over their head. Seriously?
Ebola Village doesn’t just borrow from RE4; it pulls from the entire series, with various nods that are hard to ignore. The font for the game’s title closely resembles that of the Resident Evil remakes, with a crimson “E” followed by twisted white lettering, mirroring the iconic logos. Maria, the main character, seems to be a mashup of early female protagonists like Claire Redfield and Jill Valentine.
At one point, Maria flees to a remote village to “visit her mother and her ex-husband, Ruslan,” which makes the game feel reminiscent of Resident Evil Village. There’s a tall, crone-like character, a werewolf encounter, and scenes set in cabins that evoke the atmosphere of Village. Surprisingly, there’s no Lady Dimitrescu-like character in sight, but perhaps that’s a twist Ebola Village is saving for players willing to take the plunge.
Some viewers speculated that the video’s thumbnail might have been AI-generated, which would fit right in with the rest of the questionable content on the PlayStation Store. According to the game’s Steam page, it was indeed created using a neural network. Ebola Village is set to launch on consoles on January 23, and it’ll be interesting to see what other borrowed elements it brings to the table—at least until Ebola 4 makes its debut. We’ll have to wait and see if that one gets featured in a PlayStation showcase.
