Resident Evil 7, also called Resident Evil 7: Biohazard, is a survival horror video game released in 2017 by Capcom. Standing as a new thing within the franchise, it offers a genuinely horrific first-person experience wherein you will have to explore and survive carefully. This time, you have very few advantages, so make everything you can to stay alive and uncover what happened in this house.

Plot

Ethan Winters, a regular civilian, is drawn to a derelict plantation in Dulvey from where his missing wife Mia has sent a message. As he finds a seemingly abandoned house, he finds Mia imprisoned, but they manage to flee. However, as they escape from the place, Mia unexpectedly becomes violent, forcing Ethan to kill her.

After a call from Zoe, a woman offering assistance, Ethan is attacked by a revived Mia, who manages to cut off his left hand, and she is joined by the patriarch of the family owning the house, Jack Baker. You are now held captive by Jack in this terrific place.

Gameplay

Combats and actions: As a civilian, you only have a few combat skills, like using your weapons or blocking attacks to reduce damage. You will often have the opportunity to either engage in combat or try to avoid your encounters by running away or being stealthy.
Exploration and puzzles: The gameplay emphasizes exploration and horror over action (unlike the two previous titles). An excellent point is the numerous interesting puzzles you will have to solve, often by examining some items under certain conditions. Throughout your adventure, you must fight for survival, meticulously explore to find required objects, and adapt when your foes suddenly appear.
Narrative: You will meet many characters with specific personality traits and behaviors. Even though the main story is scripted, you can make choices and unveil several endings. The Baker family and the well-balanced mix of mystery and horror make every interaction stunningly frightening.

Arsenal: You have access to various weapons like handguns, shotguns, flamethrowers, explosives, or chainsaws.
Inventory: It is a grid-based system you can expand several times through the game, and it has an initial capacity of 12 slots. You can assign up to four items to the D-pad. Luckily, you can store items in boxes found in save rooms and retrieve objects from any different box when needed. But don't think that's going to be easy, as item management is a necessity, and you will have to wisely choose what types of objects you keep, either to fight, regenerate your health, find objects in an easier way or else.

Graphics and sound

The game has been nominated in the Graphics, Sound Effects, and Use of Sound categories during the National Academy of Video Game Trade Reviewers Awards. Resident Evil 7 graphics offer well-detailed places with superb lighting and shadow techniques, strengthening the horrific feeling of the different atmospheres. In addition, all the cutscenes are amazingly orchestrated to offer a palpable atmosphere of true scariness, mystery, and tension. The OST, the music, and the sound effects are amazingly cold, dark, and creepy.

Duration and game modes

Resident Evil 7 offers a single-player experience of about 9-10 hours long if you focus on the main objectives, but it can extend to 24-26 hours if you complete all the additional content, including Banned Footage and End of Zoe. Also, you can choose among three difficulty levels when starting a new file:

Easy: This is the easiest way to play the game. The enemies have low health and deal low damage.
Normal: This is the casual way to experience the journey. Enemies have normal health and deal enough damage to make the game challenging but not hard.
Madhouse: It uses a different enemy and item layout, which is more difficult. Enemies are way stronger, more aggressive, and use their stronger moves more frequently. But the true madness comes with the limited amount of cassette tapes required to save you will find throughout the adventure.

What do the reviews say?

Resident Evil 7 has been included in numerous lists of the best video games in 2017 and rated 86/100 on Metacritic with an 8.1/10 User Score, which is very good. Also, over 45.000 players rated it Very Positive on Steam.

"Resident Evil 7 went beyond my expectations, and I feel we have an instant classic here. I want to jump back in right now, and I have a feeling I'll be doing so for years to come." (Destructoid)