If there is anything more undead than Resident Evil’s enemies it is its twenty-year continuity and its adherence to its traditions. As with RE1 and 4, RE7 strives to reinvent its identity through a literal perspective change. Whether this change was inspired by modern horror trends or the impetus for a VR game, RE7 brings the series to first-person survival horror. In these regards, RE7 is a revolutionary milestone for the franchise, though as a newfound standard of survival horror it carries too many previous pitfalls. As with the other two landmark games, these games can be great despite their shortcomings; however, in the case of RE7, the problems highlight how much greater the game could have been beyond the confines of the series’ name.
None of what I have said should devalue RE7’s positive reception as it brings back direction to a franchise in dire need of self-evaluation. RE7 is certainly a game that looks itself in the mirror questioning where and how it went to stray before falling back to sleep to repeat its mistakes the next morning. Some may argue it is a return to Resident Evil's roots, though in reality these connections are tenuous at best—and it’s precisely this need to limit the franchise that keeps RE7 from truly becoming a masterpiece on its own. Instead of retracing past glories, RE7 reinterprets the series’ most effective elements that holds the potential to make a new name for itself.
Community review by Brian (October 02, 2020)
Current interests: Strategy/Turn-Based Games, CRPGs, Immersive Sims, Survival Solo Games, etc. |
More Reviews by Brian [+]
|
|
If you enjoyed this Resident Evil 7: Biohazard review, you're encouraged to discuss it with the author and with other members of the site's community. If you don't already have an HonestGamers account, you can sign up for one in a snap. Thank you for reading!
User Help | Contact | Ethics | Sponsor Guide | Links