Resident Evil 7: Biohazard Review

RE7 was a game I played around the time it came out and I enjoyed it. I remember thinking it was one of the better games in the series. After playing so many RE games again however, I wanted to return to it and see how it how it held up and for the most part, it holds up well. There are some major issues particularly with enemy variety and story but RE7 rises above those flaws and is good to play in the moment which is what matters to me.

The story is...okay. I wouldn't call it good and I stopped caring for the overarching RE storyline around 4 but this, "back to basics reboot" for the series was sort of intriguing. The main thing I found interesting was the Baker Family. They are set up pretty well as being this crazy and psychotic family who can't stand being around each other. Each section of the game involves taking on a specific member which does a good job at making RE7 not being overy derivative of the first game. Each section of RE7 has you take on a specific Baker, Guest House is Jack, Old House Maurguerite, Testing Area is Lucas and the final few areas is Eveline.

Jack is the overly aggressive one who uses brute strength to overpower Ethan echoing Nemesis from RE3. Unlike RE3, Jack is only in it for one specific section making him not overstay his welcome as well as him not him be faster and nimble than the player. Muargeritte has you deal with bees in order to progress through her level and Lucas' gimmick is relying on traps.

The game however does go downhill when Eveline gets introduced. I am aware RE7 is written by the same writer as FEAR but it's hard not to unsee the character of Alma Wade from the latter game. They are both creepy little girls with long black hair who pop during scripted sequences and both have over the top family issues. The Baker family being a product of her rather than their environment does feel like it robs them of their mystique and Mia being connected to Umbrella felt like an attempt to connect RE7 to overarching RE narrative which I don't care for since to me, it's just Marvel and DC without time travel or multiverses.

Where RE7 does shine however is the gameplay which is what I come to RE for. Obviously there is the first person perspective and you'd think, "this is so obviously Capcom playing follow the leader and borrowing from Amnesia and Outlast". Thing is, RE7 is enhanced by this perspective. I don't get scared by games, I know they are not real and are an illusion but the first person persepective along with how grimy, dirty and ugly everything looks does help enchance immersion in the moment. The asethetics of RE7 isn't nearly as clean and sanitized as the 3rd person REs.

Along with that you also get the return of gameplay mechanics of the older REs. Particulary my favorite: the inventory system. If you disliked the tank controls of the RE games that had this. RE7 might be the game where you could appreciate it since now the movement controls are modern.

The decision making is back, "do I carry lots of weapon and ammo but have more puzzle items or should I do the opposite?" It was great in the PS1 games and it's great here.

You also have the interconnected maps where you find new keys and puzzle items and each area is an interconnected puzzle where you unlock more of the map as you go.

Other things I enjoy is how the game teaches you it's mechanics by slowly playing. Early parts teaches you how to use healing items and using weapons while in the heat of the moment with Mia boss. Jack Backer has you slowly get used to the interconnected parts of the map and inventory. The trailer teaches you the upgrades with coins. Lucas is my favorite where he teaches you to be cautious and watch out for traps. You have to avoid trip wires but also have to worry about what crates are explosives and which ones aren't. I got startled when I accidentally forgot to shoot a crate and it exploded upon melee attack with knife.

The much derided ship sections I enjoyed since playing around with remote bombs was fun. The last few sections were enjoyable since I got to let loose with the ammo I collected throughout the game.

There are some issues I have with the gameplay, bosses are tolerable at best but can be on the greating side when one hit by them gets you to critical health so if I don't heal after getting hit once, it could lead to a cheap death.

Early parts without the shotgun are noticeably harder since pistol ammo is very limited and enemies take a lot of pistol bullets to die.

Speaking of enemies this is where RE7 fumbles. All you fight are the molded and that's it. For a game taking so much inspiration from RE1, where are the dogs, snakes, crows, hunters, wasps and spiders? All you fight are the molded and one variation on them. It's rather disappointing that RE7 has less enemies than a game from 1996.

Overall, RE7 does have some glaring issues with story and enemy variety but it never really gets in the way of playing it in the moment.