4/5 ★ – JakeLace's review of Resident Evil 7: Biohazard.

After playing the (un)living hell out of Resident Evil 2's remake last year, I knew that the RE series was one I wanted to dig deeper into, and while I stand by my opinion that the original game's remake hasn't aged well at all, I just knew that there was an underlying gameplay loop to the series that hooked me. The repeated process of "can't open door, search house for key, open door, can't open door, etc." is admittedly intoxicating to me. It's like participating in a scavenger hunt while your impending death lurks around every corner, it's brilliant. So when it came time to look at the most recent entry in this storied franchise, I was shocked to find that I almost couldn't do it. Most third-person horror games I can handle with only a minor amount of panic, but as soon as the perspective shifts to the first-person, I lose all ability to even move my character forwards without cowering in fear. And for the first hour or so, I did just that. I pushed forward while peeking from behind my fingers when things started getting just a little too spooky for my liking. Eventually, however, something changed. With each new encounter I found that I was less likely to throw my hands up with fear, and more likely to calmly assess each situation. See, the game does a fantastic job of drip feeding confidence to the player through each healing item and stray ammo box. Moment by moment I began to realize that no obstacle was insurmountable so long as I planned my steps out in advance and kept calm under pressure. In that way, Resident Evil 7 does exactly what the series has always done; it provides a well-made and accessible entry point to a sub-genre of horror games without being too punishing or overtly obtuse. It’s thanks to this fantastic entry point that I have finally completed a first-person horror game. Now I’m ready to tackle anything the genre can throw at me…just don’t ask me to play it in VR. Everyone has their limits. Rating: 8/10 Platinum Difficulty: 7/10 (Madhouse difficulty is no joke) Platinum Trophy #158