Going Back to the “Horror Roots”
With Resident Evil 7, Capcom has clearly taken fan feedback into account and opted to go for a more ‘horror’ feel in the new entry rather than pumping out another high-octane action game like Resident Evil 6. In the series’ latest, players are plunged into a creepy house setting with no way out, their only objective being to find a way out of said house. Much like the classic Resident Evil titles, the player has to solve environmental puzzles, pick up items like fuses and bolt cutters, and figure out how to use them to progress through the level. Having the insane Baker family and the mold-covered monsters stalk you every step of your journey definitely ups the tension too. It’s a kind of paranoia we haven’t felt since the days of Resident Evil 1 and 2.
Not only that, Resident Evil 7 will see the return of fan-favorite mechanics like health and ammo management. Ethan’s health level is displayed on his wristwatch (classy-looking UI there), and players will have to actively seek out herbs to restore his health. Picking up puzzle pieces and ammo will require you to manage your inventory wisely, as you don’t want to bring around too many key items without having space for crucial survival tools like ammunition and herbs. On top of all that, Resident Evil 7 brings back save rooms – essentially rest points where you can manually save your game and take a break from the lurking horrors.
It doesn’t get any more ‘classic Resident Evil’ than that.
That Immersive First-Person View, Though
One of the biggest gameplay shifts Capcom is introducing in Resident Evil 7 is the adoption of the first-person view. Gone are the tank controls of old, and gone are the third-person shooter styles of gameplay. With recent horror games like Outlast and Amnesia garnering huge followings and popularity thanks to their mix of first-person perspective and tense atmospheres, it’s little surprise that Capcom has opted to go down this route as well.
However, the first-person perspective definitely seems to help the game more than hinder it. Opening a door literally requires the player to physically push up against the door to open it all the way. It invokes fond memories and age-old tension of when older Resident Evil games had to use door-opening loading screens whenever entering a new area. That same suspense we got while waiting for the door loading animation to finish is heightened ten-fold in Resident Evil 7, all because of that simple act of pushing open a door in first-person view.
There’s also PSVR support for the bravest of the brave.
New Faces Joining the Biohazard Party
Let’s be real; there’s no way Capcom could’ve achieved this kind of tense atmospheric suspense in Resident Evil 7 if they had brought back characters like Chris, Leon, and Jill. These iconic series characters have matured since their debut game appearances, and they’re now certified badasses when it comes to kicking zombie butt. If Capcom was to have any hope of bringing back any sort of tension to the series at all, these guys definitely had to go. I mean, do you seriously think daddy Baker stands any chance facing off against Chris ‘Boulder Puncher’ Redfield? No way.
It’s not all bad, though. The new characters introduced in Resident Evil 7 so far seem pretty interesting in their own right. Ethan, in particular, intrigues me just because I’m curious to know how he even got wrangled up with the Baker family in the first place. Someone must have put him in that house, and I’m willing to bet Umbrella’s behind it. The question then becomes, what is so special about Ethan that this super evil corporation decided to place him in a house full of psychos.
Speaking of the psychos…
The Baker Family Looks Seriously Weird
While I am a little bummed that there don’t seem to be any zombies aside from the mold monsters, the Baker family is extremely interesting. So far, Jack Baker has been the most prominent villain in all of the promotional material we’ve seen for Resident Evil 7. He’s presented as an unrelenting force that never ceases to stalk you in the house, and he certainly evokes some nostalgic Nemesis feels in the sense that you can never quite predict when he’s going to pop out of nowhere and give you a really bad time.
And we haven’t even met the rest of family yet. We know Jack likes stalking you with an axe and superhuman strength, the resident grandma has a penchant for man-eating bugs, but we haven’t really seen what the other family members are capable of just yet. However, the Baker family as a collective unit has certainly done a lot to portray themselves as a very violent and brutal family that players will have to contend with on their own. If handled right, they could very well become some of the most terrifying villains or enemies we’ve seen in the Resident Evil series.
The Science Stuff is Still in Play
Even after going over all the psychological horror put into play by the Baker family and their murderous tendencies, it’s worth noting that the science stuff will still play a part in Resident Evil 7. All the zombie outbreaks in past games have always been caused by some sort of experiment gone wrong (or right, from Umbrella’s point of view) or a virus that has been released into the public. From the Beginning Hour demo, we already know that the Umbrella Corporation is tied into this new story somehow, meaning there’s bound to be elements of corporate espionage and crazy scientist stuff coming into play here.
Most importantly, however, Resident Evil 7 is still set in the same universe as past games in the series. This isn’t a reboot, which means that we’re still in the same world that was struck with the T-Virus, the G-Virus, the C-Virus, and the Las Plagas. Granted, the developers have stated that Resident Evil 7 takes place many years after the events of 6, but maintaining that sense of continuity is important, and it should be fun to see how any of that factors into this game.
Resident Evil 7 is set to be released for the PS4, Xbox One, and PC on January 24.
About the author
