Return to horror
Resident Evil 7: Biohazard redefines itself and brings back a sense of tension.
Capcom surprised everyone at E3 when they revealed that the VR demo for horror game Kitchen is indeed the next title in the mainline Resident Evil series.
Resident Evil 7: Biohazard was later confirmed to be a first-person horror game starring Ethan Winters, as he explores the Baker family mansion. We took a look at a teaser titled Beginning Hour, which is now available on PS4, Xbox One and PC. It gives players a taste of what they can expect from the full game.
The focus on exploration and elements from the adventure genre is a central part of Resident Evil 7. It not only adds to the tense atmosphere, but players are also required to keep an eye out for anything they can pick up or interact with. The teaser has multiple endings, including a true ending, depending upon certain key events that are very much dependent upon how players interact with the world. Figuring out how to open doors and making simple choices such as whether to pick up the phone that randomly starts ringing, will all have an effect on your experience.
The most noteworthy feature of the demo was collecting VHS tapes that help unlock the mysteries of the mansion. When inserted into a VHS player, it allows you to control the character in that tape and thereby make decisions in the video itself. These playable sections will let you explore new areas or the same area in a different time. They also give you clues regarding what to do next and let you alter things in the present.
Resident Evil 7 is among the scariest games I’ve played on current generation systems. It borrows heavily from the PT demo for the now cancelled Silent Hills, and while it doesn’t have the same level of shock value, it shows that the franchise is in good hands. After the focus on action more than horror in the past couple of iterations, it was high time Resident Evil redefined itself and brought back that sense of tension that formed the backbone of this beloved series.
Resident Evil 7: Biohazard is out January 24, 2017 for PlayStation 4, Xbox One and PC. The game will also be fully playable with PlayStation VR and will come to other VR headsets after 12 months.