Resident Evil VII

[nekunando]

I bought this yesterday for £17 in ASDA and finally managed to get 45 minutes with it this morning

My first impressions are that the visuals and atmosphere have been excellent so far but that the few characters I've seen, including those you control, haven't been particularly convincing but I find this to be true of most horror films and games where the weirdness and severity of the unfolding terror isn't portrayed well.

I suspect I'm going to have a very good time with this, though, and I'm delighted the franchise has stepped away from the mess it was getting itself into, at least for my taste

Edited September 17, 2017 by nekunando

[nekunando]

I just beat Resident Evil VII this morning and never really expected to feel so disappointed by it

The credits are STILL rolling but that final boss was terrible and, to be honest, most of the game never lived up to the hype!

 

[somme]

On 12/7/2017 at 1:02 PM, nekunando said:

I just beat Resident Evil VII this morning and never really expected to feel so disappointed by it

The credits are STILL rolling but that final boss was terrible and, to be honest, most of the game never lived up to the hype!

 

 

Best horror experience I've ever had.. in VR that is. Being in that house was terrifying.

Edited December 13, 2017 by somme

[nekunando]

9 minutes ago, somme said:

Best horror experience I've ever had.. in VR that is. Being in that house was terrifying.

I suspected VR might transform the game into something a little more special but I'll probably never get to try it. I felt the opening section was very promising but things didn't really develop as I would maybe have hoped!

Having said that, my last three 'survival horror' games have been disappointing to varying degrees.

Project Zero: Maiden of Black Water was mostly boring, The Evil Within was largely trash and then I didn't feel Resident Evil VII lived up to the hype.

It could just be me..

[Hero-of-Time]

2 hours ago, nekunando said:

I suspected VR might transform the game into something a little more special but I'll probably never get to try it. I felt the opening section was very promising but things didn't really develop as I would maybe have hoped!

Having said that, my last three 'survival horror' games have been disappointing to varying degrees.

Project Zero: Maiden of Black Water was mostly boring, The Evil Within was largely trash and then I didn't feel Resident Evil VII lived up to the hype.

It could just be me..

When it comes to disliking a lot of games, I've been telling you that for years.  

[Fierce_LiNk]

We've done our whole Christmas meal and present giving already, as we're in Belgium visiting @Eenuh's family. This was one of the presents that I was given.

I'm looking forward to utterly neglecting it until I get through the games that I was given last Christmas and when I decide to play something that isn't Overwatch.

[Blade]

This is another game that I would like to pick up.

I know im getting quite a few games for xmas and I picked some in the black friday sales.This is not one of them but I have now managed to build up a library to get through.

[Aneres11]

I don’t understand how people haven’t played this? Fair enough if you don’t like the series or whatever, but it’s worth a play through at least once I think. Purely because it’s a pretty unique experience and for me is up there as one of the best games this year. 

It also isn’t anywhere near as scary as it was made out to be and I’m a wimp.  

ive asked for the gold edition for Christmas for my XBONE X so I can play through it again and then play the DLC which looks like it could either be great or absolutely naff! 

[Hero-of-Time]

I'm too scared to play it. It's that simple.  

[bob]

I used to get scared by the skeletons that appeared in Hyrule field at night, so I doubt I'll find enjoyment in this.

[Fierce_LiNk]

21 hours ago, Aneres11 said:

I don’t understand how people haven’t played this? Fair enough if you don’t like the series or whatever, but it’s worth a play through at least once I think. Purely because it’s a pretty unique experience and for me is up there as one of the best games this year. 

It also isn’t anywhere near as scary as it was made out to be and I’m a wimp.  

ive asked for the gold edition for Christmas for my XBONE X so I can play through it again and then play the DLC which looks like it could either be great or absolutely naff! 

It's quite simple really. There are just lots of other games to play, as well. Plus, the games from last year that a lot are still ploughing through. I'd say it's quite easy for games to get brushed aside or to become a part of a crowd. 

[Dufniall]

I first have to play through Resi 6 first. By the time I finish that, 7will probably be on Steam for a good price!

[Aneres11]

48 minutes ago, Vileplume2000 said:

I first have to play through Resi 6 first. By the time I finish that, 7will probably be on Steam for a good price!

I really wouldn't bother unless you're in a mood to torture yourself. 

I played 6 in the summer in co-op with @Mike1988uk and we both love the RE series, but this game is shite.

You also don't get any story cross over really so there's not much benefit from a series perspective. 

[Dufniall]

Oh wow it's that bad huh? I already have it on Steam so will give it a go, if only to test my Steam Link.  And see how far I can plow through before I throw in the towel haha.

[somme]

I've never played Resi 5 or 6. I've been warned off of them before but are they really that bad? Couch co-op seems fun? Are they broken or just too action-heavy for most Resi fans?

[Sheikah]

Resi 5 is good, get that one. Resi 6 is not.

[Dufniall]

Yeah I enjoyed Resi 5 as well, although it is already much more action-heavy compared to 4. If you like the more traditional tight-space Resi try Revelations. Only let-down there is they traded the zombies for mutants. 

How is Resi Revelations 2 by the way? Never played that one as well.

[Aneres11]

5 hours ago, somme said:

I've never played Resi 5 or 6. I've been warned off of them before but are they really that bad? Couch co-op seems fun? Are they broken or just too action-heavy for most Resi fans?

Don't let anyone warn you off 5. It's co-op perfection. 

Whilst it is slightly more action than the previous games it's a fantastic co-op game and the story isn't too bad although it obviously verges on silly at times. Typical RE. 

Even in co-op I wouldn't recommend 6. It's awful. But I've read some comments over the years from people who want the series to go in this direction again (shudder) so some might enjoy it. 

[Hero-of-Time]

On 21/12/2017 at 7:42 AM, Hero-of-Time said:

I'm too scared to play it. It's that simple.  

At the start of the year I set myself some gaming goals and this was one of them...

Quote

Play Resident Evil 7

I’ve been a huge R Evil fan all of my life and have enjoyed all of the mainline entries in the series. Yes, even 6, which I do think gets treated very unfairly. Anyway, when VII was announced as being in first-person I knew I was going to struggle to play this. I hate this view point for horror games. With the graphics being very realistic, coupled with this viewpoint, I never touched the game due to being too scared. However, I finally bought the game in November and now I just need to find a way to play through it without having a heart attack. I think it will make a nice Summer game, what with it being nice and bright outside.

...and today I achieved that goal.

What a fitting trophy name.  

In order to get through this I had to make sure the setup was right. I popped up the attic and grabbed a spare, small LCD TV set, hooked up my PS5 to it, turned the volume down low and fired up the PS4 to put something on in the background. This meant that when the jump scares did crop up that I wouldn't be forced to watch them on a giant TV and with sound playing a big part in said scares, the lower volume would sort that out as well. Here's the crazy setup I had. 

Spoiler

Once I got everything sorted my adventure began. I was half expecting to really dislike the game but that wasn't the case at all. I REALLY enjoyed it and it wasn't that bad in terms of jump scares and being scary. Most of the creepy stuff is right at the start of the game and as the game progresses this fades away. I don't think it's because the player becomes more accustomed to what's going on but rather that the tone of the game changes. 

The starting area of the game does give off a very creepy vibe and the development team really managed to capture the feel of the original Resident Evil mansion. Secret passage ways, tight corridors, shotgun puzzle that locks you in a room...brilliant stuff. Then you have the whole Baker family hiding about the place trying to kill you, giving the player a huge sense of tension as you find your way through the house. Once the Molded come into play, which are essentially this games versions of Zombies/Lickers/Hunters, things become less stealthy and more gunplay is involved. 

The Molded are a bit of a weird enemy. They kinda reminder me of the leech enemies from Resident Evil Zero but, unlike the leeches, they have variants. The standard versions stumble along the place like regular Zombies, the Licker type versions go on all fours and scamper across the floor really fast and the Hunter versions have a large claw. There's also a fat version of the Molded that are very reminiscent of the Bloater in Left 4 Dead. I have a couple of problems with these enemies though. A lot of them can be easily avoided and ran past. When doing this you can despawn a lot of them by running into a room and closing the door behind you. The other issue is that the design of them seems pretty cheap, with them all looking pretty much the same, despite the differences in how they attack. 

I quite liked how various flashbacks were done by having you watch the videotapes and then become the characters in the tapes. It's an interesting way to handle flashback scenes, rather than just sitting watching a cutscene. Although, I do think the final one was a little too long. Sure, it was the one that was the most important but it did outstay its welcome by the end of it.

I think the first two thirds of the game are really strong and then the final third ends up pretty weak. Everything from the ship onwards kinda falls flat in comparison to the first areas and it felt a little drawn out by the end, as if they didn't know how to end it and just kept going. The final area in the mines turns into a run and gun affair. Luckily by then I had a stupid amount of ammo and a variety of weapons at my disposal, making short work of the waves of enemies and the final boss.

Story wise, I liked what was on offer here.

Spoiler

I loved how things developed throughout the game. You had Ethan initially going to the house to rescue Mia. This then turned into a fight against a crazy wife and a nutjob family. The nutjob family had a member who had their marbles and wanted to stop the rest of them. Then it turns out a crazy, creepy girl was the one who was behind everything. Isn't that always the case!  

As I made my way through the house I kept wondering who the old woman was who kept randomly appearing in the chair. Crazy that it turned out to be the Eveline.

In terms of endings, I chose to save Zoe with the serum. Mia seemed off her trolley and had already tried to kill Ethan numerous times, not to mention cutting off his hand! Bitches be crazy. I ended up killing her with a crowbar and I assume this doesn't happen if I chose to give her the serum.

As for the boss fights, these were great. My fav was probably fighting Marguerite Baker. Facing her in the old house was tough enough, what with her covered with bugs and sending them after you but it was her spider form which I really enjoyed. Flaming her with the flamethrower and then unloading on her with a shotgun was very satisfying. She was pretty creepy when she ran around the walls and on the ceiling.

The Jack Baker fight was also pretty fun. Running over him in the car had me in stitches. 

If I want to get the platinum I will have to play through the game a few more times. I need to finish the game in under 4 hours, meaning I need to half my original finish time. I then have to finish the game on the hardest difficulty level. I've unlocked a bunch of stuff for finishing the game on normal difficulty and finding all the collectibles, one of which is the Albert-01. Things is an absolute beast and will certainly come in handy for repeated playthroughs.

I'm very happy I finally found a way to play through the game. Whilst it is a great game, it still didn't feel like a true Resident Evil game to me, despite the call backs and references. I still prefer the 3rd person view point and do miss the characters that were introduced in the earlier entries in the series. Still, i'm eager to see how Ethan's story plays out and I now feel far more comfortable to play through Resident Evil Village/8. 

Oh, one last thing. When I took the trophy screenshot I had a chuckle to myself. I wasn't aware what today's date was. I chose Friday the 13th to play through this game. Go figure. 

[Hero-of-Time]

Finished my speed run on this today.

It was quite easy and I had over an hour to spare. I also nabbed the trophies for not using the item box more than 3 times and using no more than 3 healing items. The item box one was a tricky one because there are 3 times throughout the game where you have to open the box. Other than those scripted times you can't access the box at all. This meant I didn't get to use my unlocked items until right at the end of the game.  Speaking of which, completing the game under 4 hours meant that I unlocked the sawblade weapon with infinite ammo. I'm sure this will come in handy should I choose to play through madhouse difficulty. 

Resident Evil and speed running is such a weird thing for me. A lot of the games in the series have a trophy/achievement for beating the game in a certain time and I really enjoying doing them, despite the fact that I hate speed running in games. Strange.

[drahkon]

Here's your due credit:

 

[Hero-of-Time]

Success!

The Madhouse difficulty run wasn't that bad. Actually, I think the hardest part of the game was right at the start. This was due to having very little equipment and then needing to fight off Mia in the attic. I got wiped out a stupid amount of times during this fight but I eventually got her moves down and finished the battle. The other sticking point was near the end of the game where you have to climb a ladder but it is guarded by 2 Fat Molded enemies. On the other difficulties you could just plant a bomb to stun them and peg it up the ladder but on Madhouse you are forced to engage with them because there are 3 bombs attached to said ladder that need blowing up before you can progress.

I really loved how this difficulty limited your saves and brought back the typewriter style saving system. Again, at the start I was scrambling around for cassette tapes in order to make the saves I wanted. During this time I did have to pick and choose where and when I would save a little more carefully due to the limited resources I had. Like most Resident Evil games, by then end I had a stupid amount that I could have used. Better safe than sorry!

The circlesaw weapon that I unlocked wasn't what I was expecting at all. I thought I would be able to fire saw blades out of the thing but instead you have to rev it up and either swing it or charge into enemies with it. This was stupidly handy when it came to be stalked by Jack in the house. You could just walk up to him and use the saw, bringing him down for a set period of time. A little like how you could deck Nemesis or Mr. X if you used enough ammo on them. Sadly, the weapon had issues when fighting the Molded. The Licker type ones were fine. You could crouch and one shot them with a slice to the head as they crawled towards but the ones that actually walked usually got a cheeky hit off before they died. I used the tactic of crouching and sawing their legs, bringing them down to the floor and then fishing them off with a blade to the head. It worked most of the time. As for the Fat Molded, yeah, there was nothing I could do to them with the saw and so I had to resort to gun fire. 

As I said the other day, I really enjoyed my time with the Resident Evil VII. Learning the layout of the different areas, speed running the game, the wonderful boss fights, the creepy setting and interesting story, all of this made for a cracking time.