I'm a massive horror nerd, and devour horror films of all stripes - even the really shit ones. And I also love good horror computer games. Games like the original AvP, where as a marine you had Xenomorphs burst from nowhere, or one of the first horror games I ever played, Nightbreed on the Amiga 500, which was, well, nothing like the film.
Of course, friends bought machines like the Playstation and later the Xbox, and on these there was one game I got pretty good at. Resident Evil 2, where I was able to complete the game with minimal saves, dodging zombies, and finishing each mission in around 2 hours - quick enough to unlock the fifth survivor mission. Of the later games, I only played a bit, finding them not as good entries. Plus it didn't help the films made the IP seem more silly than ever.
Talking about horror games would feel incomplete if I did not mention Silent Hill 2, a game which I found engrossing, moving, and seriously disturbing. It was a game that made you question your actions, and played tricks with sound to unnerve you. Again, later entries didn't seem to measure up to this strong entry in the series.
Resident Evil 7 is still within the same universe as the previous games, but in this game you are a new character, Ethan Winters, who has come to a strange plantation in Louisiana, following the trail of his wife, Mia, who had been missing for 3 years.
What follows is a game experience that draws heavily on classic survival horror media, and found footage. This is all enhanced by the fact the game is first-person, making things tense as you have to check all the angles when you enter a room.
Inspiration for the game is clearly drawn from films like The Blair Witch Project, Quarantine/REC, and also from such horror films set in isolated southern USA, such as The Last Exorcism (also a found footage film), and the Reaping (also set in Lousiana).
Without wanting to spoil the plot of the game, I will dive into what was a refreshing change. I've already mentioned the FPS aspect of the game, and the impact that has coupled with the use of darkness, to make you fear what you can't see. It makes this a very twitchy experience. Puzzles do exist in the game, but are not too deep or taxing, but also not too frequent, and don't break the narrative of the game. Monsters are also not too plentiful, but even the standard antagonist in the game is relatively tough to kill, requiring good aim to keep ammo expenditure to a minimum. What we do get are bosses who reoccur, and given the characterisations of these bosses, coupled with the relative lack of monsters to kill compared to Resident Evil 2, it lends itself to the mood of survival horror, more than action horror. You are always relieved after you down each creature, making a swarm of them a terrifying prospect. The relatively open exploration of the locations in the game also means you are constantly nudging doors open to peek through, or closing them behind yourself to slow down those pursuing you.
The survival horror aspect is further enhanced with short segments as other characters as if you are simply experiencing their actions while they wear some GoPro.
While Resident Evil 7 does eventually fall into some of the IP tropes, it is a refreshing and distinct entry in the series and one which sets a lot of groundwork for the forthcoming Resident Evil Village.
Finally, my experience of the game has been on Stadia, in 4k with HDR, and it has looked amazing, visceral, and gory. Perfect!
- Chris
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