Developed by: Capcom
Published by: Capcom
Platforms: PlayStation 4 & 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, Nintendo Switch 2 and Windows PC

I have been a huge fan of the Resident Evil series since the original trilogy was released on PlayStation 1, spending my teenage years exploring the Spencer Mansion and the back alleyways of Raccoon City. Those first three titles, along with the original Alone in the Dark on PC, were my gateway to the ‘survival horror’ genre and helped shape my gaming preferences for decades to come. The combination of resource management, horror-themed scenarios and third-person combat was a winning formula that literally launched a major gaming franchise. The series would eventually move more towards the action-adventure genre with the likes of Resident Evil 4 onwards, ditching the eerie fixed camera views for a more innovative “behind the shoulder” view instead – this reinvention was a massive success and I found myself enjoying the second trilogy of adventures, even if Resident Evil 6 was slightly too long. Then came Resident Evil 7 in 2017, and with this game came another major reinvention – the third-person perspective that had been a vital ingredient in the previous six games was now replaced with a first-person viewpoint, making the game even more immersive, and terrifying. Having being traumatized by the first-person horrors of Outlast and P.T., I was extremely reluctant to try Resident Evil 7 and the Texas Chainsaw Massacre style aesthetics simply fuelled my fear of the game, so I proclaimed to “skip this one” and return when the series went back to its roots. Cue Resident Evil 8 and Resident Evil 9 both committing to the first-person viewpoints…

For me, the biggest source of anxiety was the idea of being weapon-less and being chased through the Baker’s house by overpowered creatures with no means to defend myself. The brief gameplay clips I’d seen online had alluded to some stealth scenes where players must hide from Jack Baker, and I wrongly assumed that the entire game would be like that. After finally gathering the courage to try Resident Evil 7, I soon discovered that my fears were all for naught – not only did the game run brilliantly in the first-person perspective, but the stealth scenes made up a tiny fraction of the overall gameplay and weren’t even that scary or difficult. The change in viewpoint made the game 100% more immersive than any of its predecessors, and while there were some scary moments, I found the gameplay begun to feel more like a traditional first-person shooter after a while, evoking memories of Doom. Where Resident Evil 7 distinguishes itself from first-person shooters is during those moments of restraint where it lets the player explore the variety of environments without swarms of enemies, and there was something extremely eerie about the Baker family estate. The initial half-hour of gameplay is the most atmospheric, utilizing found footage and cutscenes to thrust players into the horrific situation that they’ve stumbled upon. Cabins in the woods are a horror staple, and Resident Evil 7 adds its own “biohazard” twist to the genre with its infected inhabitants.

In what initially seems like a complete departure from the Resident Evil narrative, players assume control of Ethan Winters – an apparent everyman – who is summoned to the Baker family home by his wife, Mia – who has been missing for the past three years. Once he arrives, it becomes clear that there is something very wrong with the Bakers (and Mia) and he must use all of his wits to escape alive. From the outset, there is no reference to zombies, Raccoon City, STARS or Umbrella Corporation – all key components of a Resident Evil game – nor do any of the familiar protagonists and antagonists appear. It seems to be an extremely standalone Resident Evil game – a great jumping on point for the franchise – although towards the end, there are some connections to the main continuity that begin to form.

The Baker estate offers a subversion of the typical stately mansions or grand buildings featured in Resident Evil games – it is a dilapidated farmhouse that has been corrupted by the evil that has taken root there. What was once a modest family home has now become full of mold and infestations, and the RE Engine graphics bring it all to life in gruesome glory. I played the PlayStation 5 version of the game and it looked absolutely incredible for a game that is almost ten years old. For example, the character models of the Baker family look amazingly life-like, adding even more immersion as you come face-to-face with these monsters. The world design is absolutely top-notch, making the Baker estate into a believable location that connects together as players make their way through to the different areas, and it comes together brilliantly to establish a distinctive mood and tone. It wouldn’t be a Resident Evil game without a secret underground lab, and the final third of the game offers players exactly that, giving them a more traditional take on the franchise towards the end.

Combat and resource management remains consistent with previous entries of the franchise despite the new point-of-view as players can make use of handguns, shotguns and grenade launchers to dispatch enemies as they lurch towards them. There is a limited amount of inventory slots available, so players must decide what to prioritize – healing items, additional ammo, puzzle items or a diverse mix of weapons. This type of strategic planning is a cornerstone of the franchise and remains untouched here, allowing the game to avoid seeming like just another brainless first-person shooter.

Learning from the criticism of Resident Evil 6’s overly long campaign, Resident Evil 7 is much more streamlined and focused than its predecessor – taking roughly 7-10 hours to complete a single playthrough. As with any Resident Evil games, bonus items and weapons can be unlocked after meeting certain criteria in a playthrough, thus encouraging multiple speed-runs to unlock the best items. Despite the brevity of the main campaign, Capcom has ensured there was plenty of post-game content available with four key pieces of DLC available to purchase.

“Banned Footage Vol. 1 & 2” were the first pieces of post-game content, and these “lost” videotape chapters took the form of minigames and hidden vignettes that filled in some of the blanks about what happened to the Baker family before Ethan arrived at the estate. “Nightmares” is a score-attack minigame set in the Baker family basement that plays very similar to Call of Duty’s Zombies game mode, as players must earn scrap metal to purchase health potions, weapons, ammo and various perks, whilst taking down wave after wave of creatures. It is very addictive and challenging, providing a competitive element to the existing gameplay in the same vein as the “Mercenaries mode” seen in Resident Evil 5. “Bedroom” is a literal escape room as players must solve the puzzles to make their escape from captivity without alerting Marguerite Baker to their plans. Enjoyable and requiring some strategy to solve, this feels like a sequence cut from the main game itself, and could have featured in-game as one of the video cassettes that Ethan comes across. “21” is another minigame; this time blending Blackjack with Saw-like torture methods – this is the most fun addition to the game as it requires tactics and is strangely satisfying to watch other players having their fingers chopped off because they failed to beat you at a game of Blackjack. Lastly, “Daughters” is another vignette that feels like it was removed from the main game; this time showing players exactly how the Bakers were transformed into the nightmarish versions that Ethan meets later on. Focused more on stealth than the main game itself, it was a fun prologue to the story that fleshed out the Baker family – especially Zoe, who seemed underdeveloped otherwise.

Supporting both of the “Banned Footage” releases are two new game modes: Ethan Must Die and Jack’s 55^th Birthday. Taking inspiration from the likes of Dark Souls, Ethan Must Die is an ultra-hard version of the game that features perma-death mechanics and random loot placement as players must make their way through a gauntlet of enemies – this is as hard as it sounds, and frankly, not much fun unless you love the frustration that comes from Souls-like gameplay. In contrast to that, Jack’s 55^th Birthday celebrates the quirkiness of Capcom with a timed game mode that involves locating various food items to feed Jack Baker on his birthday – players can stop their timer by defeating enemies, and create unique recipes by combining food types together. It is fun, yet silly – and reminiscent of the bizarre Dead Rising minigames.

Added as a free DLC chapter, “Not a Hero” acts as an epilogue to the main storyline and explains why Chris Redfield appears in an Umbrella helicopter at the end of the game. With a firm focus on firepower, “Not a Hero” leans further into first-person shooter territory as Chris Redfield must travel into the enemy-infested salt mines to tie up some loose ends. After careful resource management in the main game, it is refreshing to be let off the lease and shoot some monsters without much worry about running out of bullets – it is a very different mindset to survival horror, but still enjoyable.

The final piece of DLC is “End of Zoe”, which also acts as an epilogue, revealing Zoe’s ultimate fate after Ethan and Mia leave her behind. Despite the name of the DLC, players actually play as Joe Baker, brother to Jack, and spend most of the game trudging through swamplands engaging in hand-to-hand combat with molded creatures. Again, this is an action-heavy installment of the game, but unlike “Not a Hero”, it focuses more on melee combat mechanics – encouraging well-timed blocks, punch combos and stealth kills.

Resident Evil 7 is the bold reimagining that the franchise needed after the mediocre Resident Evil 6, and is the most original entry to the series since Resident Evil 4 appeared on the GameCube. Whilst the black gloop creatures that continually attack the player aren’t the most exciting of monsters to face, the deranged Baker family make for extremely engaging antagonists, taking people’s preconceptions about rural America and making them into horror icons. The atmosphere is pitch-perfect, pulling from inspirations such as Texas Chainsaw Massacre and the Saw franchise to create a fresh sense of unease that doesn’t need to rely on tried-and-tested formula of zombies. After the big-screen blockbuster antics of its predecessors, Resident Evil 7 feels like an indie horror flick – revelling in its low budget to deliver an intimate experience that truly frightens.

After a decade of avoiding it, Resident Evil 7 didn’t just win me over — it reminded me why I fell in love with survival horror in the first place

Resident Evil 7 is available on PlayStation 4 & 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, Nintendo Switch 2 and Windows PC from Amazon UK.