Resident Evil 7: Biohazard
The Resident Evil series has been through so many iterations, it’s nearly impossible to claim one thing as the core of Resident Evil. It's been a fixed-camera horror game, an over-the-shoulder horror shooter, a pure action game, and everything in between. Here, the series dabbled with first-person horror, and in doing so, found it's horror spirit once more.
Set in the fictional town of Dulvey, Louisiana, Resident Evil 7 follows Ethan Winters, series newcomer, as he comes searching for his wife Mia, who disappeared 3 years ago. Upon arrival, he finds her the captive of a family of swamp folk who seem keen to keep her. Ethan must survive the crazy clan, all to save his wife from their clutches.
If you've played the game, you know it's all a bit more complicated than that, but the general gist of the game is the story of a man with no training and no experience with this sort of thing becoming a hero. To me, this is why Biohazard is such a return to Resident Evil's roots.
See, I'll go to my grave defending pretty much every title in the Resident Evil series. They all fit a nice niche, and they're all fun to run through, even if just once. However, the series’ trend towards more action-oriented titles was not a case of the creators forgetting what they started making, but rather, a side effect of using the same characters in multiple titles.
Leon, in his first appearance, is a rookie cop who was late to his first day on the job and found himself plunged into hell. By the time Resident Evil 6 rolled around, it would be weird if he was still that naive, inexperienced guy. Instead, he's trained himself endlessly to become a badass zombie-killing machine, and the game reflects that. This logic applies to all of the returning characters: they've all been at this so for at least a decade now, and know how to handle themselves.
Bringing in a fresh face, especially one with no connection to any of the elements in the series at ALL, means that you finally have someone going in blind once again. You can watch as a normal person fights through abnormal circumstances to become a survivor.
Jack Baker is a particularly menacing presence, especially for so early in the game.
The gameplay and design reflect this immensely. The guns are difficult to handle at times, but not because of the mechanics. Rather, Ethan has no experience with them, so any time you fire, it's jarring and difficult to line up the next shot. He doesn't know any martial arts, so swinging a knife is the closest he can get. He's not extremely athletic, so some of the more physical elements are slow and difficult for him.
Really, the only things Ethan has going for him are a dedicated spirit and a dry wit. Many detractors seem to consider Ethan a boring protagonist, but I wholly disagree. I find him to be a great character, a man who just wants to save his wife and get the hell out of this redneck nightmare.
Ethan's comments are almost like what a birthmark person THINKS cool dialogue sounds like, and he even laughs at himself a few times throughout. Ethan is just a regular guy, through and through, and his personality reflects that. When something is ridiculous, he calls it out. When someone says something annoying, he tells them to just shut up. It's refreshing, especially after Leon and Chris became such archetypal action heroes.
The level design also feels very much like the originals, with the entirety of the story taking place on the same couple acres of land, spread across only a few buildings. Each environment is a maze-like tangle of close encounters and tricky puzzles. Similar to the first game, paths connect to new areas, then connect back to old areas on new ways. You have to learn your way around the homestead, especially once the inhabitants start stalking the halls.
The persistence of Ethan is met with equal headstrong behavior from the Baker family, the resident group of twisted cannibals. This is all very Texas Chainsaw Massacre on the surface, but to dissect it any further would be to spoil the honestly wonderful writing, so I'll leave it be. Just know that each member of the family is a very unique, vibrant personality on their own, and their dynamic throughout plays for some interesting interactions.
Biohazard did well enough to spawn a sequel, another absolute gem called Resident Evil Village. I'm sure to talk about it some day, but for now, I highly recommend playing Resident Evil 7 for yourself. It even has PS VR support, which is a whole new ballgame for the horror genre.
Just be careful whose houses you go looking into.
