Resident Evil 7: Biohazard
Evil takes on a new perspective
IDEVELOPER CAPCOM PUBLISHER CAPCOM PRICE $ 59.99 USD AVAILABLE AT STEAM, RETAIL residentevil7.com
t has been a while since the Resident Evil game series has been much more than an interactive version of the film series, with the last few games concentrating on action more than scares and the majority of frights coming in the form of spring loaded cat style jump scares. Resident Evil 7: Biohazard turns back the clock somewhat for the franchise, returning to the more deliberate, slow and atmospheric style of the original game (and its excellent remake), making for the best Resident Evil in years and one of the best survival horror games in a good long time. The name of the game is a little odd though. Given the fact that the RE series is known as Biohazard in Japan, calling the game RE 7: Biohazard is tantamount to calling it RE 7: Resident Evil.
Although there are elements of the game that are vintage Resident Evil, for the most part you’d be hard pressed to link the game to the franchise. The characters, plot, pace and even the perspective are new to the franchise, making the overtly RE parts feel a little foreign. If anything the game feels more like something of a sequel to a lesser known but still excellent Capcom survival horror game, Clock Tower 3. Both games feature nigh invulnerable enemies that can only be fought at certain points of the game, necessitating stealth and hiding for
nigh invulnerable enemies that can only be fought at certain points, necessitating stealth
the majority of game time. While Clock Tower 3 never made it to the PC, in recent years the Amnesia games followed a similar stealth and hiding conceit, and before that so too did Call of Cthulhu: Dark Corners of the Earth. That’s not to say there isn’t action and combat in Resident Evil 7. There are still weapons to find and monsters to kill at certain points, as well as some out of place feeling boss battles. The times when RE 7 slots neatly into the RE 7 mould the less satisfying it becomes.
Players take the role of Ethan Winters, an everyman, who heads to a derelict plantation on the Louisiana bayou after he receives a mysterious message from his wife, Mia, who has been missing for three years. Once Ethan, still holding out hope of seeing his wife alive and well, arrives at the plantation, things go pear shaped very quickly. He finds Mia, she tries to kill him, he kills her in return, she comes back from the dead, and then there’s immortal cannibal hillbillies. These aren’t spoilers - they are the opening act of the game. The plantation house, and the surrounding area is a suitably creepy location for a survival horror game, and the hillbilly family make for a great, if a little cliched foil. Only one person seems to be on Ethan’s side. A mysterious voice on the other end of a phone. Ethan must escape, and he must find a way to free himself and his constantly resurrecting wife from the madness of the house.