Resident Evil 7 Biohazard - Analysis of the survival horror of PS4, Xbox One and PC
How long have you been scared in front of a video game? Resident Evil 7 Biohazard manages to recover the essence of "survival horror". A game that returns us relentless enemies, terrifying places, exploration and puzzles of the classic saga, but with a new perspective. And also virtual reality!
Resident Evil 7 Biohazard comes preceded by angry arguments.
Capcom's "survival horror" has changed the classic third-person perspective into a subjective camera, and yet the company boasts that it has regained the essence of traditional horror games, has it?
The answer is a resounding yes. Resident Evil VII Biohazard makes us feel the fear of old: we suffer from the scarcity of ammunition and healing herbs, we go through the same scenarios again and again in search of keys, solve puzzles and avoid the relentless pursuit of enemies that put the hair of tip.
In addition, the control problems caused by the fixed camera system have been solved.
The first hour of game (of which we will not make spoilers by express request of the developer) reaches a few levels of tension that have reminded us at the beginning of Silent Hill, a reference in the genre.
This is how RE7 manages to catch us: it puzzles us with the story of Mia Winters, who disappeared three years ago.
It puts us in the shoes of Ethan (her husband) and throws us headlong into the Baker mansion in Louisiana, a place where disappearances are piled up in strange circumstances.
From that moment we hit with a perfect rhythm, which alternates moments of exploration with desperate flight.
Welcome to the family, boy
Because the Baker family is waiting for us in the mansion. They are the true protagonists of the game: Jack, the father has superhuman strength and endurance, Marguerite, the mother, can throw insect swarms against us, and Lucas Baker, the son, is able to regenerate parts of his body.
The three take the role of Nemesis, and are dedicated to chase us through different stages of the game. We can not eliminate them, but we will have to hide in the shadows and let them pass, or run away, as in Resident Evil 3.
The intelligence of these characters is uneven: at times we are surprised by their way of following the trail, and others seem "blind", but in general, improve what we experienced in Outlast or Alien Isolation.
The portrait of this family of maniacs is perfect. Through their dialogues, their way of acting and sequences as the dinner (directly taken from The Texas Chainsaw Massacre) we meet our rivals in Resident Evil 7.
When we have them in front of us, we are afraid, but it is worse when we do not know where they are, and we are afraid that they will appear behind the next corner.
For us to have this sensation combine a series of infallible audio-visual resources.
The house is "decorated" with creepy details. What gives you more fear? Find an elderly woman in a wheelchair in the most unexpected places? Investigate between cockroaches and human remains? Or maybe the apparitions and the old toys that move?
In Resident Evil 7 there is everything.
It is an experiment that takes references of modern terror like The Hills Have Eyes, SAW or The Ring, and manages them in its right measure.
The visual section helps. Resident Evil VII Biohazard is made with a new graphic engine - the RE Engine - that gives a "dirty" filter to the images, as if it were recorded with digital video.
In addition, the camera has its peculiarities. Although it is a first person game, we are not facing the weapon like in Doom or Call of Duty, but the look is a little higher, and the speed at which we move is more real.
And the same we can say of the models of Mia Winters or the Baker, with a photorealistic finish.
And in this sense combine perfect effects, a great dubbing to Castilian and an effective soundtrack, in which the subject Go Tell Aunt Rhody, played by Jordan Reyne with a macabre style.
On more than one occasion we have found ourselves looking over our shoulder in case someone had placed behind us.
Terror for all
The Resident Evil 7 plot is virtually independent.
It is a horror story that works, both for players who have never tried the saga, and for veterans, who will appreciate some details.
Not only do we use red and blue cards, save points or healing herbs, but also other deeper references, scattered in photographs and documents, and the inevitable appearance of Umbrella.
The trained eye will even find some wink at Street Fighter scattered across the Baker mansion.
But in any case, this is a change of course. Facing grandiloquence, Hollywood's rhythm and the zombie-filled streets of Resident Evil 6, this title returns to a more intimate atmosphere, in which we will be more concerned to save the skin than to save the world.
Of course we are going to cross with final enemies of enormous size, but they are less, and do not lengthen in endless transformations.
As for the more frequent dangers, in addition to the Baker, we only come across insects and holomorphs (monsters reminiscent of the Tyrant).
The puzzles are quite ingenious. And the ability to play four previous stories (through hidden VHS video tapes in the house) adds depth to this "survival horror".
In any case, at no time have we been stuck without knowing what to do. All have a logical and intuitive solution.
However, it is not a game too long. Of course, this estimate depends a lot on your inventory management and how conservative you are in saving the game, but we have finished it in nine hours, with plenty of supplies.
As it corresponds to any Resident, we can repeat in an additional difficulty level -manicomio-, equipped with a manuscript of defense secrets and the Albert-01R automatic pistol.
And in addition, there is a decision that changes the ending (and a fight in the last third of the game). But it's no big deal.
We can connect to RE.Net to raise our scores and compete with other players from all over the world, and also has announced the season pass (which has an additional price of 29.99 euros).
In spring we will receive a first free DLC called "Not a hero" that will add a new chapter to the story. And of course, there are also collectibles: 18 old coins, 32 documents and 20 statuettes Mr. Everywhere to destroy.
When the terror is real
We've already experimented with the demos, in particular The Kitchen, but is that playing Resident Evil 7 in virtual reality (exclusive to PlayStation VR for a year) is an experience for the brave.
We say it quite seriously, after playing the first hour, we wondered if it would be better to take off the glasses of virtual reality and play on a screen, because the immersion is total and makes us suffer enough.
You feel like Ethan Winters, so be prepared to mess up, scare and even let out some scream. During scanning sequences, PlayStation VR behaves perfectly, the game is intuitive and makes the resolution of some puzzles - like the VHS Happy Birthday tape - become something epic. The gradual camera system (every time we touch the right stick of the Dual Shock 4, the camera rotates about 15 degrees) works well. However, in some confrontations, especially against the final enemies, we have to move quickly and we can get dizzy.
It is also true that graphic effects are lost, that the sequences are interrupted by fades to black (while in the original game they go on without pause) and that the effect of "floating arms" of our protagonist sometimes puzzles a little.
All in all, it's the best game we've ever tested for PSVR. Not only is it the longest and most complete (you can play 100% in virtual reality) but the sensations are unbeatable. Resident Evil 7 is a must have game for anyone who wants to see how far this new technology comes in, and gives us hope for what other developers will get in the future.
For sure, if we play on PS4 PRO, we can enjoy the game in 4K and 60 FPS, which highlights even more its dark and oppressive visual line.
Latest wishes
Fans of the genre had asked Capcom for a return to pure survival horror.
However, we did not expect a game like Resident Evil 7 to recover the essence of the original, and innovate in technical (and perspective) aspects.
And to put the icing on it, if we play with PSVR it is much more intense and frightening.
When we thought that we would not be afraid again in front of our console, Resident Evil has hit a hand and has shown us why he is considered the father of the modern genre.
The only "but" we can put on is its short duration, and the two endings and collectibles are not enough to extend your life for much longer.
Good that you hope to buy RE7, if you liked this article you can like it and leave us your comments
No comments:
Post a Comment