By Travis Farmer
The long awaited installment in Capcom’s award winning game franchise “Resident Evil,” “Resident Evil 7: Biohazard,” released on Jan. 24 to a warm reception. The game is the eleventh in the main “Resident Evil” line-up and the twenty-fourth overall. The game is out for PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and the PC. PlayStation Virtual Reality also supports the game though the PlayStation VR headset.
The core gameplay of “Resident Evil 7” focuses on exploration, combat, and puzzle-solving, and this truly where it feels like an older “Resident Evil” game. Unlike the action adventure romps of “Resident Evil 5” and “Resident Evil 6,” this game makes the player feel scared instead of powerful.
This is the first mainline “Resident Evil” game where the game takes place in a first-person perspective as opposed to third person or through fixed camera angles. There were many criticisms that this point of view would ruin the atmosphere; however, it did quite the opposite. The first person perspective allows for the player to feel tension while still have full control. One downside, however, is that the player never actually sees their character, causing a lack of familiarity that was in the previous installments, of which some of the most recognizable characters appear.
The game plays like any other first-person horror game, such as “Outlast” or “Amnesia,” but with the addition of combat. Unfortunately, the controls are a bit sluggish at the default, the player’s movement, and perspective lags. The latter problem can be fixed by bumping up “Camera Acceleration” in the options, but still leaves a bit to be desired.
The game is also playable in virtual reality with the PlayStation VR headset; however, critics have panned this mode, preferring to just play with a standard monitor and controller. The headset mode makes the game very hard to control, giving it almost a jerky feeling, as well as a sense of motion sickness to the player.
Much like the older titles in the series, you must find a Typewriter, or in “Resident Evil 7,” a tape recorder, to save and quit the game. This game also sees the return of a limited inventory system and item boxes, that are interconnected storage boxes, allowing the player to store their unwanted supplies and old puzzle items. While a limited inventory and the boxes may seem like an annoyance, it means the world to players who have played “Resident Evil” games for twenty years and miss some of the core gameplay features.
The game is aesthetically pleasing, if a horrifying gore landscape could be considered, but is nothing to write home about. While not taking any significant graphical leaps, the game still manages to look decent. It does seem to take some art design inspirations from similar properties, such as “The Evil Within,” “Blair Witch Project,” or “True Detective.”
The game makes use of sound design, utilizing tricks many other first person horror games have perfected recently. The player is placed in a creaky abandoned house, hearing footsteps moving throughout the house or the shuffling of papers and pipes on the floor, these elements work together to create tension, which helps build up for the inevitable release when something happens.
The plot is relatively straightforward at the beginning, outlined as a man looking for his missing wife. Ethan, whose wife disappeared three years ago. One day, Mia, his wife, mysteriously sends him an e-mail that gives a location and as Ethan searches for his wife, he finds himself in a nightmare. It is unknown how the game may connect to the other titles in the “Resident Evil” franchise, especially considering the enemies in “Resident Evil 7” appear to be paranormal, compared to the entirely biological horror themes of the series in the past.
In conclusion, “Resident Evil 7: Biohazard” is a return to form for the series, following the incredibly weak and widely panned “Resident Evil 6.” Capcom solved the previous installments’ problems and created a game that can be loved by many. “Resident Evil 7” truly feels like a first person perspective version of any older “Resident Evil” title, which is one of the largest compliments a fan of the series can give.
