As a franchise, Resident Evil was beginning to have a bit of an identity problem. Whereas the series used to do a fantastic job at setting trends, Resident Evil 6 was a mishmash that borrowed too many. With Resident Evil 7: biohazard, Capcom have managed to reinvigorate the franchise once again. I use that term very specifically, as it does not revolutionise the way the game of Resident Evil is played, but rather, merges old with new to create a veritable package of the best bits of Resident Evil. Both past and present. Resident Evil 7: biohazard is a true and triumphant return to form for the franchise, but one that’ll have some work to do with series purists regardless.
Almost completely scrapping the convoluted canon that came before it, Resident Evil 7 takes place four years following the event of Resident Evil 6. You play as Ethan Winters, a man summoned to the Baker Plantation Estate in Dulvey, Louisiana, after receiving an email from his wife three years after her disappearance. While it looks like a dilapidated, abandoned house on the outside, Ethan discovers there’s much more to the plantation that meets the eye and that the family who had long thought to have disappeared from it are as alive as ever.
While the opening scenes are extremely linear (and similarly shocking), once this is all over the game loosens the reigns and becomes the experience that Resident Evil fans have been clamouring for ever since it reinvented itself with 4. You’re in an estate, there’s lots of locked doors with macabre insignia on them, and you’ll leave these areas having only explored half of them, keen to return later. And while it’s not as vast or as sprawling as games like Resident Evil or Resident Evil 3, it still retains the identity of previous games enough that this feels like a classic Resident Evil game, only in first person.
A relatively conservative demo and marketing materials had previously lead many to believe Resident Evil 7 was a walking and running simulator, akin to contemporaries like Amnesia and Outlast. Thankfully, the game features as much an arsenal as any other game. Whether it be pistols, shotguns or grenade launchers; the designers were not afraid to decks players out with a fine selection of weapons. The combat itself is manageable, though some players might need to adjust their aim settings to get it just right. It’s not perfect, but it works. Once again, like the classic Resident Evil games.
Inventory management, a key component of any classic Resident Evil, is brought to the forefront too. From the get-go, your inventory will slowly fill up and there’ll be times where you’ll either need to travel back to an item box to store valuables or just throw them away if you’re in a rush or being chased but absolutely must pick something up. A crafting system exists as well – and is fantastic – designed in a way to make players effectively choose between ammo, health and other items rather than giving them enough materials to make everything.
A hard practice to master, the game also does a great job at balancing cheaper jump scares with more intrinsic psychological ones. Just exploring a dilapidated room with some blood and some obviously used tools can be enough to make you afraid to progress to the next room. On the other hand, there are some jump scares, but they aren’t so frequent that they become annoying. There were even times where something, or at least the idea of something, was so horrific that I froze in my position for several minutes to build up the courage to progress. Playing the entire game in VR only heightens the tension, which is fantastic.
From a visual standpoint, Resident Evil 7 is stunning. The developers have reconstructed most of the assets in real life, then scanned them into the game using a form of photogrammetry. The result is a game that, for the most part, looks almost photorealistic. The locales you’ll explore are grimy and dilapidated, mouldy and abandoned, and sometimes even slathered with viscera. Sound is similarly remarkable with every footstep, every creak of a floorboard, every bang on a door sounding as authentic as ever. The voice work does a fantastic job at bringing the characters, especially Marguerite and Jack Baker, to life.
Resident Evil 7: biohazard manages to successfully consolidate the exploratory, slower paced, tension filled gameplay of the early games with the modernised visuals and technology of today. A new first person viewpoint will prove controversial with more seasoned veterans but such a change allows Resident Evil 7 to feel fresher than ever before. Make no mistakes, Resident Evil 7 is a victorious progression for the franchise which successfully melds new with old. The weight and harshness that technology like Playstation VR brings to the scares and tension is especially welcome.
While Resident Evil 7: biohazard does a fantastic job at balancing old with new, there’s still some cracks in this spotless veneer that keeps the game from being truly perfect. The lack of variety in the creatures that stalk Ethan through the estate and the relatively linear yet still terrifying final moments are the worst disappointments. But given how atmospheric, tense and arresting Resident Evil 7 is, it’s hard not to recommend it.
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glad you liked it James! Im looking forward to picking this up after work today.
As a long time resident evil fan.... (since the 1st) i must admit that even with all the re-releases i am yet to finish a *classic* RE game. I have only managed to finish 5 & 6 (I came awfully close to finish 3) damm nemesis at the end and no herbs!
You have to finish 4. It's a great game