Resident Evil 7 is one of the most enjoyable horror gaming experiences to date. The visual jump scares seldom feel cheap in part due to the masterful sound design. Making people jump isn't a difficult task. However, making people terrified to progress the plot is a daunting task to pull off. Resident Evil 7 absolutely succeeds in pulling off what developer/publisher Capcom set out to accomplish. After the failure of RE6, the need for the series to return to the survival horror genre became clear. Horror is all about maintaining an atmosphere. Walking down a corridor, Ethan Winter (the surrogate for the player) might hear some variety of crash off in the next room or in the room above. The mansion is lived in (a slightly inaccurate phrase) and a sense of foreboding never escapes the player except for around the ending. The sound design mixed in with phenomenal limited lighting merge in encouraging the player never be overconfident in a given environment. Unlike previous entries, the locations are realistically scaled down. The Baker homestead never features a room or ground that feels out of place. In other words, the property is very much one a person might find in reality. Conversely, the game's need to feature a puzzle at every turn suspends belief every once in awhile. In the end, the limited environmental scope aids in augmenting the horror. The developers painstakingly created the home to a disturbing degree. Every nook and cranny of the home serve a purpose in telling the Baker family's story. The player is rewarded at great cost for exploring the environment. In addition, the exploration feeds into a very enjoyable item management system. All of the items encountered are useful. In order to make backpack space, the player has to really decide what is the most useful item in a given situation. Looking through your inventory doesn't stop the game time. You could be looking at the very low ammo of a given gun and suddenly come under attack. In most fights, the best solution is often to run away until a more advantageous moment. The narrative lasts little more than ten hours. The duration of the experience ensures the plot never drags or overstays its welcome. The mysteries of the circumstances surrounding Ethan Walker are more than enough to ensure the player fights their fear. The player won't be able to stop themselves from enjoying their twisted adventure with the Baker family.
Review of Resident Evil 7: Biohazard
