Resident Evil 7: Biohazard (Biohazard 7: Resident Evil)

[Alex79]

Ok so I've kind of done a total 180 on this game, and have been really enjoying it. Once you get a few good weapons and get in to the rhythm of the game, it's not so bad.

It's not so bad.

As I stand, peering in to the kids bedroom in the Old House. Utterly terrified. I've just got the game there, on pause, trying to muster up the courage to go in. It's genuinely horrible and disturbing. I can't do it, I'm too scared...

[DomsBeard]

Ok, I started this last night. It's so weird. I hated it. I mean it wasn't bad. I just hated playing it. Creeping round in the dark, feeling sick and anxious, it was horrible. I've barely got very far, I've literally just escaped the chair and ran from Mr Baker down a hatch before saving and turning it off. It was not fun.

But all day I've been thinking about how I want to go back to the house. I must be mental. It's just not enjoyable, but I have to go back. Also, I feel like I've missed out finding a gun but am too scared to go back above the floorboards

Have you played Alien Isolation?

[Alex79]

Yes. I had to quit after about 3 or 4 hours. It was one of the most unenjoyable experiences I've ever had with a video game. At least two of those hours were spent hiding in lockers holding my real life breath, scared silly that the alien was going to come back. Dreadful business.

[DomsBeard]

I felt emotionally and physically drained after finishing Alien, still one of my all time favourite games though.

Resi 7 gets easier the more you go on. After where you are now I didn't find any of it as bad as that initial section.

[Alex79]

I'm right on the last stretch of this game now, and what can I say, I conquered my fears and stuck with it, and have been rewarded by a brilliant game. I've loved it. I don't play horror, so where it fits in relation to other scare-em-ups I just don't know, but I feel like this ultimately turned out to be a classic Resident Evil game, just in first person. I'm so glad I pushed through those moments of terror, because I've had more fun with this than probably anything else so far this year.

[Suits]

I'm right on the last stretch of this game now....

Which bit are you at man ??

A number of times I thought I was towards the end, only to be thrown off course again.

[Alex79]

In the destroyed tanker, playing the flash back video tape with a machine gun...

[DomsBeard]

In the destroyed tanker, playing the flash back video tape with a machine gun...

I would say you are 80% through

[Alex79]

Ok, so I've finished Resident Evil 7! Over the course of the last week I have gone from slowing inching my way around the house like a scared child lost in a nightmare, to full blown bad ass, literally sprinting towards monsters with a shotgun. The game is easily one of, if not the, scariest game I've ever put myself through. There were several occasions where I'd had to pause the action, trying to muster up the courage to go on. The haunted house section in the child's bedroom sent literal shivers down my spine and left me a clammy, sweating wreck. I played almost the entire game in the dark with 7.1 headphones, and the audio was exemplary. Every creak, every closing door behind me and every groan made me jump. This was an absolute masterclass in horror, I think.

I've read a lot of talk about it not feeling like a Resident Evil game, but I have to disagree. Once you pass the opening couple of hours, and find yourself well armed and facing different kinds of locked doors, I think it follows the standard Resi formula to a tee. It even had a story which was far easier to follow than the usual convoluted mess the series is famous for.

There are a few low points in the game. None of the boss battles were particularly enjoyable, and the final couple of areas seemed really generic and had none of the atmosphere of the earlier stages, but all in all this is a fantastic game, and one I am so pleased I stuck with. Ever since I played ten minutes of the demo, I decided no, this isn't for me, so quite what possessed me to buy the full version I have no idea. Perhaps there's a little bit of Eveline in all of us...

THREE WORD REVIEW: Series redeeming sequel.

[KSubzero1000]

I think it follows the standard Resi formula to a tee.

And here's why I so vehemently disagree with that statement, just off the top of my head.

• Elements from the standard RE formula present in RE7:

Save room music
Key items
Weapon variety
Files
Short-term puzzles

• Elements from the standard RE formula not present in RE7:

Omnipresent soundtrack even outside of save rooms and boss battles
Memorable protagonist design
Tangible threats and narrative elements
Distinct visual language
Need for orientation and memorization
Long-term puzzles
Strategic combat with focus on positioning and dodging
Enemy variety
Reliable enemy AI
Built-in challenge / speed run potential
Unlockable modes with enormous replay value and high skill ceiling


Despite being the resident killjoy, I do understand the enthusiasm to an extent. In a time when proper AAA survival horror games have all but disappeared to make room for various first-person scare-a-thons, it makes perfect sense that a game like RE7 with rudimentary adventure elements would feel like a breath of fresh air in comparison. But it seems to me like the people who claim that this game is just old-school RE are often simply ignoring two thirds of the data.

Lastly, here's something that I hope might spark some interesting conversation on the podcast: My understanding is that people like RE7 because of how the game feels. Whereas I am so disappointed in it because of how the game works.

[Chopper]

The Scene: Omega Retirement Home, Mega City 7, Baden-Württemberg, Germany.
The Year: 2060

Enter KSubzero1000. He is wearing nondescript garb - a faded duster over civvies, boots with large clasps on the side, and a pair of wraparound silver shades. The faint trace of a cortical implant glows on his left temple, a result of his final, reluctant adoption of digital just a few years before.

He touches a finger to his implant and taps into the complex's security cameras, quickly determining he had not been followed from the street market, where he had just made a very special (and highly illegal) purchase: Resident Evil 15: Anachronism. All the DLC had finally been released, so it was time to see how the latest installment stacked up against the earlier games. This was his particular passion, made much more difficult and expensive since games had been outlawed back in 2045 and he'd had to resort to the black market.

He pressed the memory pod into his workstation and jacked in using his implant. He gasped. He was in the game! He was in a very dark room, with low visibility. It was remarkable; he could feel a bed, a wall, and touch his strangely lumpy body. He felt terrible, like he was emerging from a days-long fever.

On the bedside table was a pump-action shotgun with one shell, and a keycard. He grabbed both, locked and loaded. Suddenly the door burst open in a spray of splintered wood, and a fat moulded appeared in the doorframe.

But the spell was broken.

'This is too easy', Ksub thought. 'I can't miss. On-rails nonsense again, scripted events and no agency! I don't believe they could have messsed this one up so badly. Again! Gaaaaaaaaah!!'

The scream echoed through the retirement home. Some residents looked up briefly, then went back to their activities. They had become accustomed to it.

Spoiler: show

Sorry KSub! All your points are well taken, I just find it endlessly amusing that you are the lone voice of dissent on Resi 7

[Suits]

Spoiler: show

Sorry KSub! All your points are well taken, I just find it endlessly amusing that you are the lone voice of dissent on Resi 7

Hahahahah, good piece of writing .

I do echo KSub's sentiments though and very much think that they are valid, I mentioned in my earlier post that it doesn't feel, nor play like a RE game, which is too its detriment I feel.

I still enjoyed it though as a video game though.

I'm kind of torn on it from that perspective.

[Simonsloth]

Spoiler: show

Sorry KSub! All your points are well taken, I just find it endlessly amusing that you are the lone voice of dissent on Resi 7

Hahahahah, good piece of writing .

I do echo KSub's sentiments though and very much think that they are valid, I mentioned in my earlier post that it doesn't feel, nor play like a RE game, which is too its detriment I feel.

I still enjoyed it though as a video game though.

I'm kind of torn on it from that perspective.

Agree.

I like it as a game but not as a resident evil game. Agree the last third (which is the weakest part) is more akin to latter day series entries though .

[KSubzero1000]

All right all right, I'll knock it off! Point taken, and I hope Alex won't take this the wrong way.

The reason I'm pushing the limits of acceptable behaviour by doubling and tripling down on this like a jerk is because I am flabbergasted at how little factual analysis seems to be directed at this particular game in a community usually known for sharp in-depth critiques. To say nothing of the histrionic rest of the internet. No idea why it gets so much of a free pass.


PS: About games being outlawed, the german government does seem to have toned down the antagonistic legislation in recent years, much to my and others' delight. That joke would have landed better in 2009!

[Alex79]

I think it follows the standard Resi formula to a tee.

And here's why I so vehemently disagree with that statement, just off the top of my head.

• Elements from the standard RE formula present in RE7:

Save room music
Key items
Weapon variety
Files
Short-term puzzles

• Elements from the standard RE formula not present in RE7:

Omnipresent soundtrack even outside of save rooms and boss battles (the original games didn't have constant soundtracks did they? Maybe there was more music, but it's an odd thing to complain about I think. Resi 7 used audio to great effect, which I think would have been ruined with constant background music entirely)
Memorable protagonist design (But it was a first person game...)
Tangible threats and narrative elements
Distinct visual language (I don't think this really means anything. It actually followed the format of earlier games entirely in this regard. House, followed by lab / test type areas, some outdoor bits. I thought it evoked the originals very well)
Need for orientation and memorization (what do you mean? Memorization of map layout? Puzzle elements? Not sure how there was any more or less than before in that regard)
Long-term puzzles (What do you mean by this and how does it differ from the originals?)
Strategic combat with focus on positioning and dodging (Combat was absolutely about dodging, blocking and positioning though!)
Enemy variety (I'll give you that. Very disappointing enemy variety)
Reliable enemy AI (The AI felt reliable to me...!)
Built-in challenge / speed run potential (I don't think it had any less or more than the originals)
Unlockable modes with enormous replay value and high skill ceiling (Yeah, again, I agree with that)


Despite being the resident killjoy, I do understand the enthusiasm to an extent. In a time when proper AAA survival horror games have all but disappeared to make room for various first-person scare-a-thons, it makes perfect sense that a game like RE7 with rudimentary adventure elements would feel like a breath of fresh air in comparison. But it seems to me like the people who claim that this game is just old-school RE are often simply ignoring two thirds of the data.

Lastly, here's something that I hope might spark some interesting conversation on the podcast: My understanding is that people like RE7 because of how the game feels. Whereas I am so disappointed in it because of how the game works.

My replies in red.

I certainly haven't taken anything you've said the wrong way, I just don't really agree with it. I think it was a spot on update to the Resident Evil formula, that actually followed the template of the earlier games almost to a tee.

[KSubzero1000]

Omnipresent soundtrack even outside of save rooms and boss battles (the original games didn't have constant soundtracks did they? Maybe there was more music, but it's an odd thing to complain about I think. Resi 7 used audio to great effect, which I think would have been ruined with constant background music entirely)

Not constant, no. But the classic RE games often use subtle orchestral arrangements to set specific, melancholic moods even outside of the save room and boss battles. Such as "The Front Hall" in RE2 or "Neptune Tank" in REmake. Meanwhile, this is what the RE7 OST is predominantly made of. Notice a difference? I think the latter is very efficient ambient noise, but it's hardly what I'd call "music".

Memorable protagonist design (But it was a first person game...)

I don't think that's an excuse. Halo and Metroid Prime have proven that it is perfectly possible to have visually memorable protagonists in first-person games. Turning Ethan into a bland and barely seen nobody is an (un)creative choice, and one that I think is fair to criticize considering the series' track record up to this point.

Distinct visual language (I don't think this really means anything. It actually followed the format of earlier games entirely in this regard. House, followed by lab / test type areas, some outdoor bits. I thought it evoked the originals very well)

I wasn't talking about the level aesthetics. If you don't think that the classic RE game have a very specific visual language, then I'd suggest either reading my previous long-form post on this topic or alternatively, listening to the beginning of the REmake podcast which covered this exact topic a few weeks ago.

Need for orientation and memorization (what do you mean? Memorization of map layout? Puzzle elements? Not sure how there was any more or less than before in that regard)

In REmake, you'll come across several locked doors outlined by various symbols at the beginning. Later on, you'll find keys matching the symbols, but it'll be your job to match the keys to the correct doors and to remember where the doors were and how to get there safely. The map only shows you which doors have been unlocked, but it never outright tells you where to go. And some of the keys need to be combined from various other items before they can be used. I can't remember any key in RE7 that required this off the top of my head, although I could be wrong on that one.

In RE7, you'll read the objective "Find the Dissection Room Key", you'll find an item labeled "Dissection Room Key" in the only unexplored part of the map, and then you'll open your map to read about the "Dissection Room" two doors down the corridor.

One of those requires a thought process, the other does not. Such heavy-handed signposting takes away from the mental aspect of the game. I've never gotten lost in RE7, even during my first playthrough. That's what I mean.

Long-term puzzles (What do you mean by this and how does it differ from the originals?)

Following up from the previous point, a lot of the classic RE puzzles are teased and set up hours before they can actually be solved. Memorization becomes a key element once again. The statue and fireplace emblem in the REmake's Dining Room are a good example of this. This was covered in the second half of the REmake podcast as well.

The vast majority of the puzzles in RE7 are simple palate-cleansers that are made to be solved immediately after being introduced. The shadow figurines are a particularly notorious example of this. I've never been stumped on any of the RE7 puzzles unlike, say, in CODE: Veronica or Zero.

Strategic combat with focus on positioning and dodging (Combat was absolutely about dodging, blocking and positioning though!)

See below.

Reliable enemy AI (The AI felt reliable to me...!)

The AI routine of the Moulded is predominantly RNG-based. Maybe they'll sprint as soon as they see you, or maybe they'll aimlessly amble instead. Maybe they'll let you shoot them properly, or maybe they'll contortion as soon as you aim instead. Maybe they'll immediately lunge at you when they fall down, or maybe they'll slither on the spot for five seconds instead. Maybe they'll let you pass if you try to run past them, or maybe they'll hit you with an undodgeable sideswipe that'll take off over half your health instead. There is no hard data to be strategized around, no reliable tells to be reacted to. And worst of all, there is (as far as I could tell, of course) no reliable way to manipulate any of this. The end result being a combat system that is significantly more luck- than skill-dependent. Dodging is a coin toss most of the time, and your exact positioning only matters a fraction of the amount that it does in the older games.

The classic RE games have such solid combat engines that the developers were able to craft entire game modes around them. Something like The 4th Survivor and its pixel perfect exploitation of enemy AI would be completely unworkable in RE7.

Built-in challenge / speed run potential (I don't think it had any less or more than the originals)

Have you ever done any classic RE speedruning? I have, and the reason they have such fantastic replay value is because runs are skill-based and have very little downtime. In the RE7 world record I've watched, at least 50% (and this is a conservative estimate) was spent either watching unskippable cutscenes or hoping not to get screwed over by the RNG due to the lack of strategical agency. This game was clearly not built with speedrunning in mind.

As for the challenge runs, there is a reason why even the REmake HD re-release has a trophy for completing the entire game with the knife. That reason being that the game was designed around accommodating this style of play from the very beginning. If you don't think RE7 is different in that regard, I'd suggest trying to reliably knife the first Moulded you encounter without taking damage. Good luck.

[Alex79]

Yeah I hear all that, but still feel it was pretty classic Resident Evil throughout. Can't wait for the Resi2 remake if it's along the same lines.

I did used to speed run Resi one and two, yeah. Not pro style, but did them all to unlock the weapons and bizarre characters. I think it was under two hours or 90 minutes or something. Just running everywhere and dodging enemies.

[Stanshall]

Great thread, really enjoying the discussion and gentle teasing, though I've still not played the game.

First, because I'm a coward these days and second, because everything I've seen and read looks and sounds a bit shite to me. I'll try to get through it in time for the show.

[DomsBeard]

Throwing in my two penneth worth. I felt like it was a good Resident Evil game for 2018. It is way down the pecking order of my favourites but I enjoyed it and would recommend. I didn't find any of it poor I just with some things were better

[KSubzero1000]

really enjoying the discussion

...I think you and I might have different criteria as to what constitutes a discussion.

With that said, I'd very much like to hear your opinion on this game should you get around to playing it before the podcast.