Resident Evil VII: Evil gets a face-lift

One door closes, another opens

When people think horror video games, usually the first franchise that comes to mind is Resident Evil. Capcom’s long-running series of games practically invented the survival-horror genre. However, later sequels in the series have garnered mixed-reception, with the recent 4-6 drawing fire for their more action oriented gameplay, a departure from the tense, dread-filled atmosphere that made the first few games so successful.

Capcom decided then to mix things up and reinvent, and hopefully reinvigorate, the series with Resident Evil VII. And, holy shit, did they deliver! Unlike all previous main installments of the series, VII is played in first person which ups the intensity and immersion to new levels. Added to this, the game returns to form with the dread and tension of the first game as you solve puzzles and decide whether to take on or run from enemies with your limited ammo in tight, foreboding environments.

You play as Ethan Winters, a man summoned down to an old house in Louisiana by his wife, Mia, who he hasn’t seen in three years. But when he gets there, Mia isn’t quite herself. Some violence and wtf-dismemberment ensues and Ethan ends up the unwilling houseguest of the Baker family. He then has to try to escape, all while figuring out what the hell is going on in the bayou, fighting the insane mutant Baker’s, fighting monsters, and trying to save his wife.

The Baker Family

This is by far the best resident evil game in a long time. Packed with great environments, awesome boss fights, and more messed up moments that had me staring at the screen uttering “What…the…fuck…” than I can count. My favorite part of the game was the awesome boss fights. You’ve got one that takes place in the cramped confines of a garage, another sees you fighting off the Baker patriarch with a chainsaw, and battling the Baker matriarch in a deadly game of hide and seek in a derelict greenhouse.

Momma Baker is pissed

One thing of note is that Capcom does their main RE installments in trilogies. 1-3 were the survival horror games focusing on the Umbrella Corporation, 4-6 were action horror games focusing on global bioterrorists, and now with 7 and on it should be interesting to see what comes to define this new trilogy. As the ending voiceover of Ethan states, “One door closes, another opens.”

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  • MATTHEW Myers
    26 January 2017 at 1:31 pm - Reply

    Can’t wait to play this, I am downloading it as i type this.

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