Even though it is considered the father from the “survival horror” genre, the one thing scary about Resident Evil in recent years is when much it had unabashedly transformed into yet another action series-as if it have been infected with the recording game equivalent of one of Umbrella's viruses. Resident Evil 5 and 6 in particular are responsible for this. They've already had many of our favorite characters, but the sense of suspense and tension was completely gone. Recognizing this, the minds now in charge of the series made a conscious effort to return to what made Resident Evil the gaming icon it's, and that i can attest that Resident Evil 7: Biohazard is easily the best game the series has witnessed in years-if never.
Resident Evil 7 starts with a new hero to the series-a man named Ethan Winters-getting a mysterious message from his wife, Mia, that has been missing for 3 years. Expected to come find her in the fictional city of Dulvey, Louisiana, Ethan makes a beeline for the address he's given, where he comes upon a derelict plantation home of the Baker family. As Ethan begins to explore the home, though, he'll find a much more is going on down in Dulvey than anyone realizes.
Isolation. Darkness. Disbelief. Insurmountable odds. I was bombarded wonderful these components almost right from the get-go in Resident Evil 7 as it set a tone that would carry the whole way throughout this adventure. Most of this has to do with the fact that the game includes a first-person camera view the very first time. Much that Resident Evil 4 was lauded for giving us a more traditional over-the-shoulder third-person camera as compared to early games within the series, this decision again changes the entire dynamic of methods you have a homeowner Evil game. It left me feeling incredibly tense with each step I took with the Baker residence, as the creepiness from the setting-with mutilated dolls, rotting meat, and bugs everywhere-was always right in my face.
Some of those feelings come directly from the aesthetics from the game. The muted earth tones from the massive Baker plantation just scream of rot and decay, while each building on the property-of which there are several and they are large-still possess a clear theme around them. Barns, greenhouses, and guest homes have the ability to secrets, and will require careful exploration if you're to locate all of them. That is, if you're brave enough to look, considering who knows what lurks behind each and every locked door.
The only thing crisper than the visuals may be the audio design. While the dialogue definitely isn't best, occasionally reeking of B-movie level inspiration, the voice actors perform a congrats with it-especially with the southern drawls of the Baker family. The sounds of the storm battering the buildings, unseen enemies crawling inside the walls, the heavy breathing of Ethan after a fight, and even the crunch of his shoes because he slowly tries to move about undetected only add a level of detail that cranks the immersion up even further.
Another element that helps clarify the horror atmosphere was the truth that the story isn't afraid to work at a slow boil in the beginning. I didn't meet my first NPC until about half an hour in to the game, didn't get my first weapon/meet my first enemy until almost an hour in, and didn't finally face off against my first true BOW until almost two hours in. This established a mood that had me jumping at my own shadow, and shouting in the TV when the jump scares the original games were known for finally came into full effect using the horrifying Baker family. This is when Resident Evil 7 may shine brightest: it walks a fine line between Eastern horror elements (mood, atmosphere, tension) with increased Western ones (gore, grossness, jump-scares) to give an experience reminiscent of those early games within the series, and that sent chills down my spine.
This sort of pacing also made it so I couldn't stop playing. When the questions started piling up round the Baker family-even if a few of the answers were a little bit predictable as they relate to previous games in the series-I couldn't put my controller down, which is another mark of a great horror game. Around I needed to crap my pants not knowing that which was lurking just on the hall, I desired to resolve the mystery, regardless of cost. Sometimes answers would come from a powerful boss fight in cramped quarters, while other times it would be a brilliantly concocted puzzle offering a reprieve to the tension I often felt while seeking. The only real downside to all of this would be that the game's replayability requires a serious knock knowing the way it will all end, despite the hard “Madhouse” difficulty unlocking after the first completion of the game.
The slow build from the narrative also had the additional bonus of giving tremendous weight towards the biggest moments once they did happen. Seeing this game's first BOW was a truly terrifying revelation, and rather than Capcom sending a shooting gallery worth of enemies at me after that, or giving us a machine gun right from the onset, they made it a punishing encounter that would also set a dark tone for that game's combat.
Ethan isn't the trained hero that Leon, Chris, or any other early Resident Evil protagonists have grown to be for the series, and lots of instances when encountering an opponent of any type, keeping the wits in regards to you and managing your ammunition becomes paramount. Scrounging for scattered bullets, taking careful aim, counting on melee weapons, or even running away are viable strategies when the ammo runs out as well as your foes keeps coming. Ethan can't just spin kick a foe down and curb stomp them into submission; in fact, without upgrades, he won't survive more than a couple hits against most enemies, turning every confrontation into a truly stressful moment as you fight to survive.
Speaking of upgrades, now's a good time to say my one real complaint about Resident Evil 7, which has the game's inventory system. Managing inventory is a chore in Resident Evil provided I'm able to remember, however this game might take the wedding cake. Ethan can't have a lot, making sense as we've established. You can find bigger backpacks hidden during the period of the game that contributes four new slots for your inventory page, but my real issue is that collectible coins, photographs showing treasure locations, and demanding things like keys and keycards all take up the exact same quantity of space as ammunition and your guns. There are a lot of different secrets of the Baker residence, even though you are able to go and store things in linked ammo crates, never knowing just which key you'll need means you might wind up struggling to juggle everything like I did. This was originally an element that was fixed in Resident Evil 4 where the series finally had items taking on may well use of space in your inventory according to size/shape. I'm not sure why Resident Evil 7 is going backwards in progress with something already fixed three games ago, but I spent way too much time in my inventory as it became quite the chore to manage it all.
One last interesting wrinkle for Resident Evil 7 is when you're playing on PlayStation 4, you'll have a chance to play the game in VR if you own a PlayStation VR headset. Simply turn the VR support on in the menu screen's options, and suddenly you will be dropped directly into Ethan's shoes. As i didn't provide the entire game an online reality playthrough, I do admit within the couple hours Used to do have fun with the headset on, it's probably one of the best representations of VR we've gotten so far.
Exploring the Baker plantation in VR is much more frightening than doing it normally. And, with the story happening entirely exactly the same interior and exterior VR, even knowing what was coming I still got chills just being immersed in that atmosphere. My only hope is that, later on, we obtain the option to aim our guns using the right stick instead of having to move our heads, and that we get a full body representation of Ethan rather than floating hands. Otherwise, this is a nice added bonus for PS VR owners, but definitely not necessary to be able to enjoy this game.
Resident Evil 7 might be the first must-own game of 2023. If you're a fan of survival horror, then you'll recognize the tremendous go back to form it was for Capcom's legendary series, and be equally thrilled and terrified through the atmosphere and degree of immersion this experience provides. The narrative is driven by a set of underdogs in Ethan and Mia Winters that you simply can't help but root for, and also the mystery from the Baker plantation will keep you pushing on well after your voice went hoarse from screaming so much at the TV. Resident Evil is back-and I don't think it gets much better than this.
