I've heard many things about Resident Evil 7 since its release back in 2017. Words like 'savior', 'masterpiece', and 'renaissance' come up whenever RE7 is mentioned. Feelings of worship and thankfulness seem to resonate with fans of Resident Evil when talking about RE7, but are these words of praise justified?
As a new fan of the series who has only touched the remakes of 2, 3, and 4: I can't quite relate to the history of the Resident Evil franchise or how it may have fell or rose in quality over the years. What I can do though is play the game myself and report on my feelings and I'll say this: the praise is much justified.
Resident Evil 7, apart from one aspect, is everything I wanted in a Resident Evil game. Survival-Horror is back, and it's never been so beautiful. Slow and suspenseful exploration where you're encouraged to check every nook and cranny, not just for items that can help you but also to sate your curiosity through environmental storytelling. Combat is just how I like it with a steady methodical pace. Resources are scarce but so are enemies, so long as you play skillfully you shouldn't get overwhelmed.
The general atmosphere is amazing in this game. The level design grounds and pulls you in immediately with a stunning attention to detail in sound design and ambient music -all working together to create a world that keeps you on your toes like any good horror should.
The story is interesting and pushes you forward at a good pace to sate your curiosity. Puzzles are well made with some really great sections and the environments are always visually interesting -especially so the starting area. Boss fights are also some of the best in the series, never once feeling frustrating or unfair yet still being difficult enough to be enjoyable.
If I had to find one issue with the game it would probably have to be with the cast. While I found the cast of antagonists both entertaining and interesting, I can't quite say the same about the protagonists. Particularly Ethan as a character is honestly lacking to the point of feeling hollow -almost as if he is simply there not as his own character but as a point of self-insert for the player.
Perhaps this is fitting in a way given the point-of-view change from the traditional third-person to RE7's first-person view. Either way he is far less interesting than a Leon, Claire, or Jill... not to say that I disliked him, just that there was nothing particularly interesting about him and he was regularly outshined by other members of the cast.
Though I still have many other games in the franchise to play (I plan on going back and playing RE0/1 Remakes as well as RE5 and 6 with a friend when I can after Village), so far Resident Evil 7 is my favorite game in the franchise. It takes everything I like about Survival-Horror and packs it into a nice and tight experience that never overstays it's welcome. A stunning atmosphere, an interesting story, and a set of great areas: what more could you want? I highly recommend this game to anyone who hasn't already played it. Seriously, it's great.
4.5/5
As a new fan of the series who has only touched the remakes of 2, 3, and 4: I can't quite relate to the history of the Resident Evil franchise or how it may have fell or rose in quality over the years. What I can do though is play the game myself and report on my feelings and I'll say this: the praise is much justified.
Resident Evil 7, apart from one aspect, is everything I wanted in a Resident Evil game. Survival-Horror is back, and it's never been so beautiful. Slow and suspenseful exploration where you're encouraged to check every nook and cranny, not just for items that can help you but also to sate your curiosity through environmental storytelling. Combat is just how I like it with a steady methodical pace. Resources are scarce but so are enemies, so long as you play skillfully you shouldn't get overwhelmed.
The general atmosphere is amazing in this game. The level design grounds and pulls you in immediately with a stunning attention to detail in sound design and ambient music -all working together to create a world that keeps you on your toes like any good horror should.
The story is interesting and pushes you forward at a good pace to sate your curiosity. Puzzles are well made with some really great sections and the environments are always visually interesting -especially so the starting area. Boss fights are also some of the best in the series, never once feeling frustrating or unfair yet still being difficult enough to be enjoyable.
If I had to find one issue with the game it would probably have to be with the cast. While I found the cast of antagonists both entertaining and interesting, I can't quite say the same about the protagonists. Particularly Ethan as a character is honestly lacking to the point of feeling hollow -almost as if he is simply there not as his own character but as a point of self-insert for the player.
Perhaps this is fitting in a way given the point-of-view change from the traditional third-person to RE7's first-person view. Either way he is far less interesting than a Leon, Claire, or Jill... not to say that I disliked him, just that there was nothing particularly interesting about him and he was regularly outshined by other members of the cast.
Though I still have many other games in the franchise to play (I plan on going back and playing RE0/1 Remakes as well as RE5 and 6 with a friend when I can after Village), so far Resident Evil 7 is my favorite game in the franchise. It takes everything I like about Survival-Horror and packs it into a nice and tight experience that never overstays it's welcome. A stunning atmosphere, an interesting story, and a set of great areas: what more could you want? I highly recommend this game to anyone who hasn't already played it. Seriously, it's great.
4.5/5