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

I played through this game in a single night the day of release. My friends came and watched and it was such a memorable time. I was in love with the game. After beating it I knew this was the best voice acting and story a resident evil game has produced at this point. That's not saying much for a resident evil game since its had a history of corny dialogue and ridiculous campy stories, and I enjoy them for what they are, but in this game I was genuinely invested in the cast of characters and the plot which is a new standard for the series. It would never win an award for writing or story, but It was pretty cool, it had some neat twists and turns and putting the pieces together of the games mysteries was really satisfying. The Baker family was chilling, and elevated the games story tremendously. The biggest issue I have with the story is all the loose ends. The main plot line concludes well but there is all these other questions that go unanswered. I'm not sure how many of those questions are answered in its dlc's or If re8 will answer some as well. The game is set in Louisiana, and it makes great use of that setting. The wet swampy marsh aesthetic compliments the grundgey grindhouse look of the bakers property. I feel like I'm in a slasher movie. The horror is so intense and ruthless and I love that, but it still feels very resident evil. Puzzles and semi metroidvania style progression is what the structure of the games level design is still built on and is just as well done as previous games and stays true to that design. The approach to item management which is one of my favorite aspects of these games is also done well. The tension and stress you feel because you dont know if your well equipped enough to survive or have used your ammo wisely enough is a huge part of what creates fear in these games. The ammo economy is not as well balanced in this game as others in the series but its mostly a success and felt item management was pretty well done. I think something they could have done, which happens to lead into my main issue of the game, is create a way to make trips back to a safe room to switch out itmes feel tense, by having some surprise enemy encounters you weren't expecting in moments outside of direct progression. This does happen a couple times but not enough, and it would have been more effective with some more interesting enemy design. There is a pretty big lack of enemy variety in this game. You essentially have 1 enemy type, with 4 variations. 2 of those variations are pretty much the same. There are these bugs as well, but they add nothing to the game unfortuently outside of a boss mechanic. This is an issue not only because these enemies are somewhat basic in design but also because in the last few hours of the game, it relies on these enemy encounters. No new surprises or encounters await you, it's just dealing with the same enemies you've been dealing with the entire game that have already gone stale. If game was more focused on combat it would have been ok, but combat is more of a means of neccessary survival and something used as a last resort, not something to be indulged in, so it didnt make those late encounters satisfying. Not that I would change the combat, it was pretty well perfect, it just didnt make the way the last bit of this game enjoyable because of how that part is designed. Thankfully up until this point the game is incredibly well paced and the presence of the Baker family makes up for the disappointing enemy variety. Its not as bad as I make it sound either, because of the stuff mentioned before. The level design and puzzle solving still keeps progression fun at those late points in the game. It's a bit of a slog but doesn't ruin the game. Dealing with Jack, Marguerite and Lucas is some of the most exciting and terrifying encounters and gameplay scenarios in the series and is what makes this game great. It's a small yet focused and cohesive horror experience. It's a very memorable experience as well, in it's set pieces and more subtle moments. If those last two hours of the game were better with more enemy variety and improved the balance of the games ammo economy, which essentially would have made it more challenging as I felt it gets a bit too easy half way through, it would have been a near masterpiece of horror. It is a must play game still though and I highly reccomend it, as long as you can handle the scares.