Games
The new resi proves a bit Too gross for com fort with this latest reboot to the grandaddy of horror games
What’s the scariest thing that’s ever happened to you? Whatever it is, we bet reviewing Resident Evil 7 in VR could top that. We managed to play it without getting committed
Survival horror, that old moniker first bandied around 20 years ago with the first Resident Evil, has never felt more appropriate than it does now when playing in first-person with a PSVR strapped to your face. If you’ve been sitting on the fence regarding Sony’s budget-priced headset, this will be the game to convince you of VR’s bright future in encounter-based gaming.
Capcom has previously dabbled with first person viewpoints with the likes of both the Resident Evil: Survivor and Chronicles light-gun spin-off games. A mixed bag to be sure, but this latest instalment seems to hit the nail on the head – as Resident Evil 4 did in 2005 when it switched from the established fixed-camera angles to the overthe-shoulder viewpoint most action shooters have since adopted.
With the demise of PT – Konami’s briefly-glimpsed, but much-loved playable demo – Capcom has resurrected its essence in styling. Gone are the Zombies and infected Spanish villagers of the previous escapades, as RE7 introduces you to the Baker family and their delightful, yet dilapidated, plantation retreat. Every derelict location, from the beginning’s abandoned cabin to the maze-like mansion, will send a shiver of terror down your spine. When played in the VR mode these local’s become all too real, as Capcom has chosen to depict a realistic world setting. And it all seems a bit too plausible – the Bakers are a messy bunch and you’ll baulk at the grime and decay they dwell in.
Filling the boots of Ethan, an average bloke in search of his missing wife Mia, the player has become the average man. You play not an elite member of S.T. A.R.s, a police Special Tactics and Rescue team, but an average joe. A wise move by Capcom that actually places you closer to the scares that will permeate a very vulnerable state of mind as you play. It doesn’t really help that Ethan is weaponless for a significant amount of the beginning act, either.
By the end of the first hour you’ll be asking yourself why in holy hell you would enter a dank basement that’s obviously home to a bunch of lunatics, but enter it you do. Creeping forward, as you would in real life, installs a sense of preparation for the ensuing horror, but the game has you right where it wants you and some cheap jump scares may cause you to let out more than a few screams.
Taking pointers from classic horror films, players will encounter familiar scenarios, with elements