has a really strong and genuinely terrifying beginning, followed by a rather underwhelming latter half and a bleh ending. i didn't even mind the ship as much as others seem to, but still. jack baker is a very strong oppressive force while you're exploring the family house, and i always dreaded having to run into him again. i'm not big on how he's introduced as this free-roaming enemy mr x style right away, though. i feel like mr x works better because you have to use your layout and understanding of the map as well as your wits to keep him at bay. jack being there from the start doesn't feel like a test in that sense, but just a bit of an annoyance. mia is also an interesting character for her developments, but ethan and zoe and the death game guy i just found kind of uninteresting. ethan in particular is just a fairly bland blank slate.

graphically, the game looks an absolute treat in both how beautiful it can be and how disgusting it can be. the animations for the characters are a sight to behold, too. the decision you're forced to make halfway through the game was an extremely obvious one, i thought, which kind of removed any jeopardy it might have had. also, in a series renowned for impressive and awesome boss fights, none of the ones in this game i found to be that good either. just ok. the final boss was a particularly large letdown. all of them i found kind of frustrating and unfun to deal with.

while RE7 has some pretty standout flaws on the whole, it's still a good game, with one of the strongest atmospheres in any RE game and it's probably the overall scariest one - plenty of moments caught me off guard and made me shit, and the dread certain areas evoke is incredible.