‘Resident Evil 7: Biohazard’ Reviews Indicate A Revival In The Series

Resident Evil 7: Biohazard reviews have come out a day before the game’s release and they have generally been really positive. This is great news for fans of the series, as it has been several years since they’ve had a game that embodies the feel and spirit of the series’ first few games. The last Resident Evil game within the main series was Resident Evil 6, which came out back in 2012, and it received subpar reviews. With the release of Biohazard, players will be able to return to a Resident Evil game that returns to the series’ grounded, survival horror roots, something reviewers lavished.

The family is waiting for you. Fear comes home when #RE7 launches Jan 24th. pic.twitter.com/bCMppA03dT

— Resident Evil (@RE_Games) January 21, 2017

As IGN noted back in June, the game developers took the criticisms towards Resident Evil 6 to mold the identity of the sequel. Capcom created this game to look and feel more like the original Resident Evil game from back in 1996 and its subsequent remake from 2002.

Review aggregate website Metacritic summarized 44 critic reviews that it collected, supporting that Capcom did indeed follow up on its desire to return the series to its roots.

“While Resident Evil 7 draws from the series’ roots of atmospheric survival horror, it also delivers a new level of terror. In the Resident Evil games of yesteryear, players braced for fear in the first-person via the creepy door-opening scenes, and Resident Evil 7 ramps up that tension with an immersive first-person view and a photorealistic graphical style… No Resident Evil you’ve ever survived could prepare you for this.”

Ray Carsillo from EGM Now says that this is the best Resident Evil game in a long time, while Gary Bailey from God is a Geek seconds that opinion, stating that Biohazard‘s “return to survival horror is both familiar and fresh, and it’s easily the best horror game in years.”

Resident Evil 7 also switched from the series’ usual third-person shooting style to first-person, and Brett Phipps from Trusted Reviews praised this change, saying that the switch “works wonders for the series and we have a game that feels completely fresh while at the same time has so many moments that will lead series fans to reminisce,” and that it is the best Resident Evil he has played.

The game will also bring virtual reality into the fold (only on the PlayStation 4 version) to enhance its horror factor, though some have felt disappointment towards how the graphics looked using that feature. Sam Byford of The Verge said that “current VR builds make it look like it was released in the early days of the PlayStation 3.” Sam White from GQ UK said that while the change in perspective upgrades the game’s tense feeling, there are no additional functions beyond that and the graphics take a major hit. Phipps added to this, saying that the feature makes the game more frustrating that necessary “because of the slightly fiddly movement mechanics, it can lack the dexterity required in the game’s more challenging sequences.”

The plot of Resident Evil 7 revolves around a new protagonist named Ethan Winters, and the player controls him on a mission to search for his missing wife. This quest leads him to a fictional town of Dulvey in rural Louisiana, USA. Ethan will count on his smarts and wits more than his skill with a gun, as he is more of an everyday person just trying to survive.

IGN‘s Chloi Rad was among those who pointed this out, saying that it “feels more like an adventure game than a first-person shooter,” while Polygon‘s Philip Kollar says that “oftentimes Ethan’s best tactic is simply to run like hell.”

Resident Evil 7: Biohazard will be available on PC, the PlayStation 4 and the Xbox One.

[Featured Image by Capcom]