Resident Evil Franchise has been there for a very long time, starting with its first release in the year 1996. There have been humongous changes in the game franchise. Resident Evil has always been about being a survival horror type of game, and with the release of Resident Evil 7: Biohazard and Resident Evil 8 Village, it makes sure to keep those elements in the game.
Many people recognize Resident Evil series as being the one that has something related to horror, zombie, and some virus. Well, this one got it, too, and some more, as a matter of fact. This particular one is different yet similar to its predecessor.
- Release date: 24th January 2017
- Available on: PlayStation, Xbox, and PC
For PC, you can purchase it from Steam but make sure to check for the minimum requirements that are given below:
- OS: Windows 10 (64-bit operator)
- Processor: Intel core i5-4460, 2.70Ghx or AMD FX-6300 or higher
- Memory: 8GB RAM
- Graphics: Nvidia Geforce GTX 960 or AMD Radeon RX 460
- DirectX: Version 12
- Storage: Minimum 24GB
Changes In Resident Evil 7: Biohazard
There are quite a few changes from the past Resident Evil games, and let us show you the differences from its predecessor. The biggest change would be the shift from a third-person shooter to a first-person perspective. The first-person perspective gave more of an immersive experience. The entire game of Resident Evil 7 focuses more on puzzle-solving and exploration while still being similar to the old.
Resident Evil 7 has returned to its original roots of being more horror than ever. It now finally lets you craft items such as ammo and health items and can combine different items to form a new one. These items are scattered throughout the game. Last but not least is the removal of the co-op feature that was present in Resident Evil 6. Resident Evil 7 focuses more on the lonely, frightening experience.
Storyline
The main protagonist of the story is Ethan Winters. He is married to Mia, who has been missing for three years. He gets an email from Mia where she had recorded herself saying that she had lied to him and that if he got the message, he must stay away. But Ethan, the protagonist, went to Dulvey, Louisiana. When Ethan reaches the plantation, he finds a ruined house that seems to be abandoned for quite a few years.
As Ethan enters to search for Mia, his path crosses with a sociopathic cannibal family. The family was the Baker Family, who had a virus infected. This virus has made the entire family into a monster giving them a lust for human flesh.
To find Mia, Ethan is compelled to battle his way through the mansion while solving puzzles and acquiring information on what virus has affected the Baker family. This becomes a challenging task as he has to face horrifying challenges.
He has to fight the members of the Baker family, and each member has a distinct and terrifying personality and unique abilities. In the process of fighting the Baker family, Ethan finds out about a mold that has infected the house and is now spreading to the surrounding areas. When searching for Mia, he is able to find her, but she is acting very differently. Due to her acting very differently, you need to fight her.
When Ethan walked into the mansion, all he had was a torchlight. This shows that he was not really prepared for a battle of any sort. This unpreparedness leads to his hand being cut off by a chainsaw Mia. He staples his hand back, and from there, Zoe contacts him and asks him to get out of that place. Who later helps to fix his hand properly.
As Ethan goes deeper into the mysteries of the Baker family and the virus, which leads to the transformation of the family. He learns that the virus was created by a pharmaceutical company called Umbrella Company. The main goal of this corporation was to give phenomenal prowess to humans, but it ended up having terrifying side effects. These side effects were seen in the Baker family.
Zoe is the daughter of Jack Baker and Marguerite, and she explained the situation of her family and Mia. She says that they are all infected by the virus. To cure them, Ethan must get the ingredients for a special serum. For the special serum, Ethan travels to an old house. This is where he encounters Marguerite.
They have a battle, and after defeating her, Ethan gets a vision of a little girl. After collecting all the ingredients, he finds out that the son Lucas has kept Zoe and Mia as hostages. To get to Zoe and Mia, Ethan has to travel through a barn that has been filled with monsters and booby traps. He is able to get over all these difficulties and is even able to outwit Lucas.
This causes Lucas to flee, but he returns after mutating. One of the special serums is used to kill Lucas, which leaves Ethan with the last special serum. Now, this leaves us with a choice of who to save with the last special serum.
Ethan leaves with Mia on a boat, and then they get attacked by a creature. Ethan gets knocked out due to this creature, and meanwhile, Mia wakes up and starts searching for Ethan. She is able to remember her involvement with bio-weapon.
Eveline is a bio-weapon in the form of a young girl. Eveline escapes and infects Mia. She was being taken over by Eveline, but by then, she had handed over the vial to Ethan. She can stop Eveline from causing further damage and also saves Ethan.
In case Ethan chooses to save Zoe, she and Ethan leave on a boat. She tells him everything about Eveline and how she is the reason why all of that happened. Eveline stops the boat and ends up killing Zoe, and Mia starts searching for Ethan. Like the last time, even now, Eveline will try to take control over Mia, except this time, she does not resist as she was betrayed by Ethan. This time Ethan has no other option besides killing her.
No matter who you save, the actual ending becomes this. He learns the entire truth about Eveline that she is a bio-weapon of the E class. Eveline infects people with mold, and that allows her to control the host’s body. She was obsessed with wanting a family, and that is why she had infected Baker’s family and Mia.
Ethan figures all this out when he is at the laboratory. So, he now has Evelin’s DNA with which he made a toxin that he thinks he can kill Eveline with the toxin made. As soon as Ethan reaches the farmhouse, Eveline understands Ethan’s motives. So, she starts attacking Ethan with hallucinations and visions. The real plot twist lies here, the toxin that was made mutates Eveline, and she evolves into a monster.
Ethan is finally able to defeat Eveline with the help of the military helicopter, which drops a special weapon. After defeating Eveline, Chris Redfield, Blue Umbrella Corps team leader, arrives. Now, depending on who saved Mia or Zoe, the ending is decided. If Mia is saved with the special serum, then she also gets on the helicopter with Chris Redfield, or else if Zoe is chosen, Ethan alone goes on the helicopter.
Resident Evil 7: Biohazard Review
This is the first Resident Evil game which had made the change from a one-person shooter to a third-person shooter. This game was set with a great pace. It never let the pace die down. It started with Ethan not being able to find his wife and who had been missing for three years. This initially did not sound like the Resident Evil franchise.
But as you put more hours into the game, small details given in the beginning start making more sense, such as why Mia had asked Ethan not to come to Dulvey, Louisiana. Unlike the previous Resident Evil games, this is confined to a small location which lets the developers put more details into all the characters and the location. It was different from the previous games but similar at the same time.
The previous game felt kind of all over the place. With the area becoming smaller, there were advantages such as you could remember the house layout and get away from the enemies really quickly. It truly does live up to the expectation of a horror game.
The sound effects and visual always keeps you on your toes. There are so many jumpscares, and the boss fights are the perfect tension breakers. It was truly unpredictable what was going to happen next.
There are a few things not so great about Resident Evil 7, Stapling of the left hand, which had been cut off by Mia, seemed a bit far off even for a video game. Removal of co-op from Resident Evil 7 to provide more of a solitary experience.
There were a handful of bosses. A lot of ammo and health are provided, but the ammo barely does any damage, and since there are no indicators, you really don’t know how much damage you are doing to the enemy. These not-so-great things do not come to a person’s mind because the story is so well written, and how well they have managed to tie the knots in the game.
Our Verdict
This is something that has been pointed out by many gamers and YouTubers. Resident Evil 7: Biohazard has aged like a fine wine. With the release of Resident Evil 8 Village, we can see many references made to the predecessor that is Resident Evil 7. It was really appreciated for making the game short but an amazing experience. I would personally give a rating of 4/5 to this game.
Our Rating: 4/5
Read also: Resident Evil 7: Biohazard -Plot and Ending Explained
