Resident Evil 7

With Resident Evil 7, Capcom back to the roots of survival horror. Resident Evil is scarier, more oppressive, more creepy and more atmospheric than ever before.

After the previous Resident Evil parts turned their back on survival horror in order to inspire the masses as action horror games, the seventh part turns to its roots. Resident Evil 7 is portrayed zombie-like, musty, and creepy in a scary way. Resident Evil will be released on January 24, 2017 for PC, PS4 and Xbox.

the story

Ethan Winters has been missing his wife for three years. Mia was pronounced dead. She writes to him to pick her up at the Baker Farm, which is near the US village of Dulvey, in the swamps of Louisiana. Winters makes his way to the farm.

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The Baker Estate

Ethan quickly realizes that there is something wrong with me on this property. Intestines in the kitchen, a dead crow in the microwave and decomposed corpses are just a few things that will make your hair stand on end. There you, Ethan, will be knocked down by Jack Baker.

Family idyll

Jack wakes up tied to the Bakers kitchen table. Jack, the father, Marguerite, the mother, the son Lucas and the grandmother sit at the table. On the table: bones and body parts, innards and other gross things Jack wants to feed Ethan with. Jack uses a moment of distraction, breaks free and tries to escape from the house. Other opponents are the insects that attack in the second part of the game when you approach their nests.

First person perspective and atmosphere

Resident Evil 7 is played in first person view. This makes the game much more atmospheric and scary. Chased by an armed madman you are looking for the exit and scour the house for weapons, ammunition, medicinal herbs and opportunities to get into new rooms. It is saved with a cassette recorder.

Creepy door maze

The change between the rooms takes place through a number of angled rooms. Again and again you have to avoid Jack, who will put a quick end to your life if you meet him. The opponents also stand up again and cannot be killed with normal bullets. Opponents are available in limited variants, which means that the same types appear regularly in the game. You hold your breath as you open doors and carefully try to peer into the next room. You crouch under windows and turn very carefully around corners, because Jack can already lurk there again.

Baker family and other mold monsters

The Baker family isn't the only opponent to watch out for. Then there are the "Molded", mushroom monsters that peel themselves out of the floor, walls and ceilings in the basement. They are slow, but they can take a lot. The crawlers are quicker and faster. What is missing in Resident Evil 7 are the classic zombies.

Paper mess

You can find information about what is going on in the house on notes, papers and photos in the house. As a result, in Resident Evil 7 the exploration of the house alternates with fights, many questions and puzzles. Dressers and cupboards hide clues, ammunition, medicinal herbs, gunpowder, and chemicals. You can mix healing potions with the right ingredients.

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Ammunition

Ammo isn't quite as scarce as it was in the first Resident Evil parts. The Moldeds are real ammunition eaters. Additional items are steroids that permanently increase health, stabilizers that reduce reload time, and psychotonic pills that briefly display all possible items in the area.

The inventory system

A stripped-down inventory is very player-friendly. The backpack can be opened at the push of a button, where all items are immediately available. Here you can examine found items. If you reach locked doors, the game will automatically open the inventory to ask which items you want to use to open them. You can assign weapons using the quick selection button. The inventory spaces are limited. The game saves the game automatically, although the save points are sometimes set unfavorably. Therefore, it is better to save to a tape recorder after tricky fights than to rely on the automatic save points.

The riddles

Puzzles are built into the Baker mansion. In addition to finding keys to open doors, there are trickier puzzles. For example, you might need to rotate a block of wood so that the shadow matches a shape on the wall. The nuts on the head aren't as tricky as in the first Resident Evil.

The videotapes

At various points in the game you will find videotapes that add tremendous support to the atmosphere of Resident Evil. For example, you learn from a camera crew that while exploring the house they were killed while they were looking for supernatural phenomena. You take over one of the people in the video and experience the action immediately. In addition to the atmosphere, you will also get solution tips for some puzzles.

Football places in the Ruhr region

In addition to the baker farm, you also come to the outdoor areas of the farm. Another place to explore is the "Old House" where you can find Murder Mom Marguerite.

From horror survival to shooter

After you get through the Baker Mansion, the game changes. The puzzles from the first half of the game return Background. From then on, Resident Evil 7 develops into a classic shooter again, with a lot of shooting. Towards the end, the story draws parallels to the other Resident Evil parts.

Decisions and lack of consequences

In the middle of the game, you have to make a decision that will affect a cutscene. The course of action is not influenced by this.

Creepy, Scary, Resident Evil 7

The effects of light and shadow create the right atmosphere for the game. The surroundings are shown in great detail. The opponents are plastic.

The oppressive atmosphere of Resident Evil 7 is almost palpable. Resident Evil 7 is definitely not for the faint of heart. The game is not squeamish with limb chopping off and other atrocities.

The sound

The sound effects take you into the world of Resident Evil. You sneak down the hallways and hear a window rattle. The floorboards creak under your feet and you flinch because you expect an attack at any time. The speech output is first class. In the English setting, you'll hear the Baker family's southern accent.

Difficulty levels

After you have played the game once, additional content will be unlocked. This includes the “madhouse” level of difficulty. Missing checkpoints and stronger and faster opponents transform the game into a true “madhouse”. You can then only save on cassette recorders for which you need a cassette.

Conclusion

Compared to other Resident Evil parts, the 7th part is a huge step in the right direction. The struggle for survival comes to the fore. The atmosphere is unique, creepy, guaranteed to give you goose bumps. Finally there is no longer a pure action shooter, but unique survival horror of the first-class kind. The storyline videotapes are a great idea. Resident Evil 7 comes highly recommended for horror fans. Especially the first person perspective supports the horror. With this part, the true survival horror returns with the right resident evil feeling.