Following the exciting announcement of a sequel to the cult classic Ōkami at The Game Awards last year, fans speculated that the game would utilize Capcom's RE Engine, given Capcom's role as the publisher. IGN can now exclusively confirm these speculations, having spoken with key leads on the project.
In an in-depth interview, Machine Head Works producer Kiyohiko Sakata confirmed the use of the RE Engine. He explained the collaborative dynamics between the involved parties:
The way that Machine Head Works is involved now, working together with Capcom and Clovers, is that of course we have Capcom as the major IP holder of Ōkami, deciding the major direction of the games. And we have Clovers as the development lead for this project. Machine Head Works comes in by having the experience of both working with Capcom previously on several titles, so we know what Capcom needs to create the game. That's something that Machine Head Works has the experience and knowledge of. We also have the experience of working with Kamiya-san before as well. So we have both experience of Capcom and Clovers, and we're acting sort of like a bridge between Clovers and Capcom.
In addition to this, we also have the experience of working with the game engine that we are using for this project, RE Engine. So Clovers' developers haven't had any experiences with using this engine, but Machine Head Works have experience of using it. So we're aiding them. Also under us, Machine Head Works, we have people who have actually had experience of working with the original Ōkami game and will be aiding us with the development of this title.
When asked about the appeal of the RE Engine and its specific advantages for the Ōkami sequel, Capcom producer Yoshiaki Hirabayashi responded affirmatively: "Yes." He added, "However, of course, we cannot go into much detail at this point in time. But we from Capcom, we believe that without RE Engine at this point, we wouldn't be able to realize [director Hideki] Kamiya-san's artistic dreams for this project."
Director Hideki Kamiya also chimed in, praising the engine's expressive capabilities: "So RE Engine is of course famous for showing the best of the games that they have. Very, very good expressively. And so we believe people are also expecting and awaiting the RE Engine level of quality now for this game."
Throughout the interview, the leads hinted at the potential of the RE Engine to fulfill ambitions that were beyond reach during the development of the original Ōkami. Sakata noted, "With today's technology, we are able to achieve all of this that we were trying to achieve back in the days and perhaps even greater now, now that we have the RE Engine as well working with us."
RE Engine, also known as Reach for the Moon Engine, was initially developed for Resident Evil 7: Biohazard. Capcom has since utilized it across its major titles, including the Resident Evil series, Monster Hunter, Street Fighter, and Dragon's Dogma. While most games using RE Engine feature a realistic art style, the application to Ōkami's unique artistic vision is eagerly anticipated. Capcom is also developing a successor engine called REX, with elements of this new technology being integrated into the RE Engine, potentially influencing the Ōkami sequel.
For more insights from our interview with the leads of the upcoming Ōkami sequel, you can read the full Q&A here.
