Resident Evil VII

[krimhorn]

RE7 unlocked tonight and I just finished with the first hour. Initial impressions? This could be the reframing of the series that it's needed after the action turn it took in 5 and 6. Much like Condemned, RE7 uses a slow pace to build tension and, while they do use jump scares, I found the double-checking of my shadow and objects in my periphery to be far more indicative of how well they were building that tension than the couple of jump scares themselves.

As of now I have to say that the thing I dislike the most is the simulation of eye-adjustment they have going on. It often makes it difficult to tell if I can't see something because I'm just looking into a black space (even with the flashlight) or if it's because the "eye" is "adjusting".

Overall I'm really impressed and I wasn't particularly looking forward to this one. The generally positive reviews from earlier today got me to pick it up and, right now, I doubt I'm going to regret it.

 

[Thorvard]

I haven't read any reviews, but I've seen the positive scores.

Is this mostly stealth based or is it like the early ones with lots of exploring/puzzles while still having a decent amount of action? I don't do stealth.

 

[krimhorn]

So far it's a lot of exploring with a few puzzles. Movement is slow and combat is intentionally...clunky might not be the right word. Slow and physical might be better ones. It feels like it could end up more like RE1 where you're economical about what to fight and what to run from rather than RE4 where you basically killed everything (slowly).

 

[MisterPurple]

Got it Friday and have been digging it so far. Resources are more scarce than in 4/5. I'm at the 2nd boss fight and even with all possible shotgun shells and 10 bullets I end up left with the shitty knife after downing it 3 times. Can't get past it. It's weird aiming with your head in PSVR. I keep trying to use the right stick for aiming which makes me crouch. Grr.

No stealth so far. More like "Oh shit I can't fight this now so run like hell."

 

[Thorvard]

I just picked it up on Steam. I figure it its not for me(sounds like it will be though) I can just return it.

Now to see if the Mouse + KB or 360 controller will be better.

 

[krimhorn]

Thorvard[/url]":29tcqg42]
Now to see if the Mouse + KB or 360 controller will be better.

With the deliberate pace and slow(ish) turning, I can't see it being enjoyable with m+kb. Aiming would definitely be easier with a mouse. Might be another one where I'd use controller for moving and mouse for aiming (if that's possible). Guess I can try it out since I bought it on the XBO (thus, I get it for Win10 too ).

 

[Thorvard]

And ultrawide resolution isn't supported. Ugh.

Those black bars on the side drive me insane.

 

[krimhorn]

So after a couple of more hours, the game definitely shares more of its DNA with RE1 than with RE4. Like RE4 it's a reframing of the series' gameplay but its focus is as much on avoidance as it is on taking out the enemies (like RE1). In most cases running around the enemies is just the better move and with at least one enemy it's the only real practical move.

Puzzles! Proper, Resident Evil puzzles. So far I've run across simple ones like "find an object and find where it goes" to more complex ones like

Spoiler

object shadow puzzles

as well as a combination of item lock and special key lock puzzles. Nothing too complex, certainly nothing as obtuse as some of the worst RE1 and 2 puzzles but it's still early yet.

As for the boss that I fought. The slow movement speed combined with the high damage potential, the obtuseish block/parry system (seriously, is it timed or distance or orientation based or is it just dumb luck?) and the lack of pre-boss preparatory items (they gave an herb, a strong solution and some gunpowder) made it a bigger pain than it really should have been for a first boss. Add on to that the fact that you just ran a gauntlet of enemies (well, gauntlet for a survival horror game anyway) and unless you were real good or real lucky you probably were out of healing (I had one standard heal left) makes for one PITA multi-phase boss fight. Might have been a bit less annoying if they didn't make you go through the entire preparation section to get back into the fight though.

Still, I'm frankly amazed that Capcom made this today. If you put it in iso view and gave it tank controls you'd swear that it was a PS1 style Resident Evil game. The tension is strong due to the classic survival horror mechanics without being overpowering and they don't rely on jump scares as much as most horror games do. In fact, they seem to be happy giving you a glimpse of your potential death as much (if not more) than they like sticking Surprise! Bad Guy! behind a door or Right. Behind you. When you turn. Around.

Solid game all around. Great game if you like the classic survival horror tropes with a fresh coat of mechanical paint. Konami, this could have been you. You put this game into motion and it's excellent. So I'm gonna Thanks, Konami for showing that there's interest in this type of game and putting the fire under Capcom to bring something new to the Resident Evil formula.

 

[krimhorn]

Goddamn bugs!

 

[suprmonky73]

Much like Condemned, RE7 uses a slow pace to build tension and, while they do use jump scares, I found the double-checking of my shadow and objects in my periphery to be far more indicative of how well they were building that tension than the couple of jump scares themselves.

Just sold me on this game. Condemned did such a great job at creating a creepy atmosphere. Didn't really need to be grotesque or anything, just slow moving tension. Freaking love Condemned.

 

[UnderwearYoga]

I adored the first two hours. The plot beats were perfect. I felt real tension and dread. As with the first game, it gets less scary once you start seeing monsters, but they've done an excellent job of stealing ideas from Outlast and Condemned while making them different enough so this still feels like an RE game.

 

[Thorvard]

I refunded my copy on Steam, I couldn't take the lack of ultrawide support.

I'll probably just end up picking it up for the PS4.

 

[evilmonkeyz]

I felt real tension and dread.

I don't know why I bought it. I hate it and knew I would due to this...But everytime I turn it off when it gets too much, I immediately get the urge to start playing again.

 

[krimhorn]

Right now the only thing that I'm not really liking is twofold. The first is just my damn optimizing brain. I get hit a few times and I want to start back at the last save to avoid having to use healing pots since they're so rare. I'm pretty sure that I've always played these games like this (at least until you inevitably got more healing powders than you could ever really use) but it's kind of annoying just how much doing so sucks the tension out since you're just optimizing things you've already done.

Then there are the boss fights. Now, don't get me wrong, I love how involved and creative they are. Classic boss fights in just about every way except...they drag on for one or two cycles too many and there's a dearth of feedback as to how close you actually are to beating the boss. So when I've just spent ten minutes fighting only to die, I find myself not wanting to start over again since it's just another long battle of attrition until I either die again or finally win. Again, it kind of sucks the tension out of the whole thing. I think it would have been better if they could two-hit you and you had to 4 or 6 hit the bosses' weak spot to win. Something distinct, obvious and countable to make them short but tense every time.

Aside from those two issues (and one's entirely on me) I'm loving the game. Throwback survival horror in all the best ways.

 

[suprmonky73]

So I ran out to redbox and rented it for $3. I had to see what all the hype is about. Normally survival horror is not my favorite genre but I LOVED RE4.
Let me start by saying this is such a good direction to take such a storied franchise. Bravo for reinventing it for the second time.
The game is good, but like Krimhorn, there are issues.
I'm about 2 hours in and without spoiling it, even though its only 2 hours in. I finished the "boss fight" in the garage.

Here are my gripes:
1) Combat. Yes the combat is supposed to be like condemned, slow and clunky. it fits the game. BUT the first few things you fight are near invincible for story reasons. So you're trying to learn the combat and they pit you with bosses. um no. I get that for story reasons you dont want to start with your average scrub zombie but I've died several times now and each death is infuriating, moreso than any dark souls death. Shoot them in the head like 10 times and then i get jumped twice and game over. this is really pissing me off for some reason.

2) hide and seek. in the same manner as the first gripe, they give you this right at the beginning. You're trying to learn the rules by which RE7 will let you play. there are several sequences where if you are found, you die. Talk about breaking the immersion and tension by giving you these types of gameplay. One in particular

Spoiler

after everyone gets up from dinner and you are free to wander

you are trying to escape and seemingly everyone vanishes. Suddenly if you dont take the right path (they give you few options) you get jumped and die. so now it has become some trial and error on how to actually correctly do it. Seems a little archaic and honestly I've almost put the game down several times.

3) realism. The game is supposed to be very realistic. Yet it also wants to mix in the classic lack of realism. Someone slices the hell out of your hand, and then the health potion shows you dump some clear liquid on your hands and you're A-OK. what? then another time you get

Spoiler

stabbed in the mouth

and then the game forgets you just got

Spoiler

STABBED IN THE EFFING MOUTH

Other than that, I am pushing through since it's a one night rental. There are some really cool parts and I want to see more of them. There are also some really nice classic RE parts like finding random meaningless keys. But honestly, give this game a try if you're remotely interested. The sense of tension and dread are A+ and i think once i learn the ropes i will enjoy it more. Plus the game is flat out messed up, so if that's your thing then you need to play this. Highly suggest redbox to try it out, since its on the shorter side. Should be it <10 hours, and someone already did a speedrun in 1h45m!

 

[krimhorn]

1) Combat. Yes the combat is supposed to be like condemned, slow and clunky. it fits the game. BUT the first few things you fight are near invincible for story reasons. So you're trying to learn the combat and they pit you with bosses. um no. I get that for story reasons you dont want to start with your average scrub zombie but I've died several times now and each death is infuriating, moreso than any dark souls death. Shoot them in the head like 10 times and then i get jumped twice and game over. this is really pissing me off for some reason.

It's actually a little different than that. While there are zombie equivalent enemies (though they're more dangerous than zombies were in the past) the main enemies of the game are

Spoiler

the characters you meet right there at the beginning of the game.

Which I really like overall as it creates a stronger sense of tension compared to scrub zombies. It's just that you have to make the leap to the new way of dealing with them rather than running sometimes and popping them sometimes as you would do in earlier RE games.

2) hide and seek. in the same manner as the first gripe, they give you this right at the beginning. You're trying to learn the rules by which RE7 will let you play. there are several sequences where if you are found, you die. Talk about breaking the immersion and tension by giving you these types of gameplay.

My biggest gripe WRT this is that not too far from where you are you find

Spoiler

a videotape with a section that is clearly trying to train you on the concept of hiding from the big named characters rather than fighting them

Unfortunately finding that is a bit late since you've probably already figured that out by that point.

 

[Congobongo]

Really looking forward to playing this next week in short spurts. I don't know what it is about horror games that make me so nervous when it comes time to play them. I do great with horror movies, books and comics but for some reason horror games just take it out of me. It took me 6 months to finally beat Alien Isolation. That game was great but dreadful to play at the same time. I'm really hoping that RE7 is no were near as stressful as Alien Isolation was.

 

[suprmonky73]

Ok so it sounds like I just came in with the wrong expectations. I usually try not to read about new games so that I can experience them fresh for myself. But if you go in with the wrong expectations you can feel let down.

I'm gonna keep going, I got frustrated last night when

Spoiler

I made it to the basement and got surrounded by black ooze monsters who stabbed me in thh back and

I died.

 

[vernefrax]

Picked it up for PS mostly for VR. Non-VR mode it looks decent, with a few stand-out muddy textures. VR mode naturally reduces the resolution and textures, but looks really good.

There are a few tweak options for VR mode, and I only got to spend about twenty minutes yesterday, but so far I'm impressed. For one, VR mode seriously amps up the atmosphere (expectedly). Move controls employ a controller with the right-stick "flicking" your POV. Standing seems like the way to play - you can quickly turn in any direction you like, and the left stick moves you in the direction you're facing. There's a quick POV reset, which helps as your perspective shifts. Not sure yet how well the controls work for combat or puzzles. PSVR can make me seriously nauseous, and RE is no exception. I found it a bit easier to manage though, and might grow accustomed after a few sessions. It's definitely not the "Oh god I'm gonna hurl" of Until Dawn's rollercoaster...

 

[krimhorn]

And the comparisons to earlier games in the series. In this case it's as much RE2 than 1.

Spoiler

Upon leaving the houses you come across a destroyed cargo ship that serves as a second, and distinct, area much like the laboratories were in RE1 and, especially, 2 where you (finally) learn the backstory of just what the fuck is going on.

 

[evilmonkeyz]

I've put about 4 hours into this now and enjoying everything about it except for the boss fights. The boss fights so far have just been frustrating and completely removed all the tension the rest of the game builds up so well. I find it hard to tell if I'm hurting a boss or not when shooting it and during the brief set-piece looking animations, such as after you get grabbed, its unclear if I have control or not.

 

[krimhorn]

Something that had me a little after the boathouse area:

Spoiler

You lose everything in the upcoming sequence and the next wormhole crate you find is completely empty. I was really pissed as it seemed that you might only be able to keep the things that you had on you at the time of that boss fight. However, after finishing the Wrecked Ship area there is another crate that has everything you've collected over the course of the game in it. So it's just for the Wrecked Ship.

 

[suprmonky73]

I've put about 4 hours into this now and enjoying everything about it except for the boss fights. The boss fights so far have just been frustrating and completely removed all the tension the rest of the game builds up so well. I find it hard to tell if I'm hurting a boss or not when shooting it and during the brief set-piece looking animations, such as after you get grabbed, its unclear if I have control or not.

Yeah this turned me off to the point of putting the game down. I'll play it again some other time. I was investigating a room at one point and when I went to leave someone showed up and all I thought was "great, well I guess I'll die a few times before I figure out how to get out of this room"

 

[Evan E]

As I tend to do with horror games, I'm watching videos of other people play areas I've already done - I always find it interesting and amusing to watch how terrified people are, and to see if there are alternate strategies. Two things I've noticed:

1) The first boss fight can play out in a number of different ways. It's really beautifully designed, in ways that make sense but mean that you will not see everything that can happen unless you either a) watch someone else, or b) die a number of times trying different strategies. This video shows someone realizing a different approach after it was all over, and reloading & playing through it again: Two Best Friends Play Residen Evil 7 (Part 3).

2) The refrain you constantly hear from everyone playing it in VR is "oh god, I don't want to do this". This is a really effective horror game in 2D mode, but it seriously ramps up in VR. I can't wait for Oculus/Vive support is either hacked in or officially supported, so a larger number of people can experience it and then go "Nope, back to 2D for me. That's just too much."

I'm playing it in PSVR, and one thought that keeps occurring to me is that if the first Dead Space had been in VR, I would have died of a heart attack eight years ago.

 

[krimhorn]

I always find it interesting and amusing to watch how terrified people are...

I'm just kind of amused at how easily scared people are. I mean, sure, it's a tense game and it builds that tension up really well but it's not scary. It's got a little bit of in it and when a JUMP happens you jump but, aside from that, I find it to be exactly as scary as most horror movies: not really at all.

 

[Evan E]

I'm okay with not everyone being me.

 

[suprmonky73]

I forgot about the VR part, I would definitely want to try it in VR mode but I don't think I could handle the tension of playing the whole game in VR

 

[krimhorn]

I'm okay with not everyone being me.

Yeah, well, I wish I could be like everyone else. You know how long I've looked for a horror movie that would make me feel like I was 10 and watching Children of the Corn for the first time again?

 

[Evan E]

The VR mode might not do it for you, but it would definitely get you closer. I have to work myself up to going "into" the game each time. There's a fundamental difference between having the game in front of you and having the game all around you.

Also, peeking around corners by actually leaning to the side and peeking around corners doesn't get old.

 

[evilmonkeyz]

I must have missed something, but... (huge mid-game puzzle spoiler)

Spoiler

How was I supposed to know not to pull out the key from the oil keg in the escape the room puzzle - without doing so initially I wouldn't have been able to find the password for the door? I assume I missed a clue somewhere?

 

[krimhorn]

I must have missed something, but... (huge mid-game puzzle spoiler)

Spoiler

How was I supposed to know not to pull out the key from the oil keg in the escape the room puzzle - without doing so initially I wouldn't have been able to find the password for the door? I assume I missed a clue somewhere?

Two ways that I can think of:

Spoiler

Accidentally because you decided that you wanted to see if the old password from the tape still worked and it did! Or

You noticed during the videotape that the unnamed but blackish liquid was pooling and traveling across the floor in the cake room and you figured, when the explosion happened, that it was an accelerant that caused the fire. Thus, you decided not to pull the winding key unless you really had to. Which you didn't because the passwords are always the same.

The first case more accurately describes my result but I also wasn't sure that I wanted to get a tattoo either.

 

[evilmonkeyz]

I must have missed something, but... (huge mid-game puzzle spoiler)

Spoiler

How was I supposed to know not to pull out the key from the oil keg in the escape the room puzzle - without doing so initially I wouldn't have been able to find the password for the door? I assume I missed a clue somewhere?

Two ways that I can think of:

Spoiler

Accidentally because you decided that you wanted to see if the old password from the tape still worked and it did! Or

You noticed during the videotape that the unnamed but blackish liquid was pooling and traveling across the floor in the cake room and you figured, when the explosion happened, that it was an accelerant that caused the fire. Thus, you decided not to pull the winding key unless you really had to. Which you didn't because the passwords are always the same.

The first case more accurately describes my result but I also wasn't sure that I wanted to get a tattoo either.

Spoiler

I must have missed the tape...

 

[krimhorn]

I must have missed something, but... (huge mid-game puzzle spoiler)

Spoiler

How was I supposed to know not to pull out the key from the oil keg in the escape the room puzzle - without doing so initially I wouldn't have been able to find the password for the door? I assume I missed a clue somewhere?

Two ways that I can think of:

Spoiler

Accidentally because you decided that you wanted to see if the old password from the tape still worked and it did! Or

You noticed during the videotape that the unnamed but blackish liquid was pooling and traveling across the floor in the cake room and you figured, when the explosion happened, that it was an accelerant that caused the fire. Thus, you decided not to pull the winding key unless you really had to. Which you didn't because the passwords are always the same.

The first case more accurately describes my result but I also wasn't sure that I wanted to get a tattoo either.

Spoiler

I must have missed the tape...

Location:

Spoiler

Attic in the Main House

...?

An additional question

Spoiler

Ok, so you played through that section twice without watching the "Happy Birthday" tape? So they just let you 'guess' the code on the door with the wheel even if you hadn't seen the tape? Fucking BS, that (the tape requires you to go through the motions to get the door password).

Here I am thinking that I was being all clever by skipping half the puzzle... :/

 

[evilmonkeyz]

Spoiler

Attic in the Main House

...?

Spoiler

I went there but missed the tape. I knew I'd missed one somewhere because there was a video player i'd not used. I wasn't searching as thoroughly as usual when I went through that area, it was late last night and I had work in the morning.

An additional question

Spoiler

Ok, so you played through that section twice without watching the "Happy Birthday" tape? So they just let you 'guess' the code on the door with the wheel even if you hadn't seen the tape? Fucking BS, that (the tape requires you to go through the motions to get the door password).

Here I am thinking that I was being all clever by skipping half the puzzle... :/

Spoiler

Yeah, I played through the section twice. The first time I solved it all the way through, got the tattoo and just when I was feeling a little clever for escaping (or so I thought) the entire room set on fire. I died and the game reloaded at the start of the puzzle (with a hint on the loading screen that the puzzle should be solved without taking the key out of the oil container.) The second time I just put the password in the door and solved it as I was meant too.

Its a bit weak that if you miss the tape, you have to die, reload and skip half the puzzle to escape. If they insist on putting the solution on the tape, playing the tape should be mandatory.

I thought I'd just done the puzzle wrong which lead to my death, not missed some "optional" content earlier on.

 

[krimhorn]

A secondary solution to that should be possible as well.

Spoiler

There is a minor hint as to the end effect of the puzzle in an earlier area. You probably didn't think all that much of the burned corpse sitting on a chair with the note "You're next" but that's the corpse of the guy from the videotape. If it were possible to put the key back in the bucket I could see the thinking going "If they saw the corpse, then they see 'oil' flowing from the barrel, they should put 2+2 together and figure out that they don't want the oil to be flowing and filling the room". That said, I can't really test that theory since A) I'd already played the videotape by that point and B) you can't actually put the key back in the barrel.

 

[evilmonkeyz]

A secondary solution to that should be possible as well.

Spoiler

There is a minor hint as to the end effect of the puzzle in an earlier area. You probably didn't think all that much of the burned corpse sitting on a chair with the note "You're next" but that's the corpse of the guy from the videotape. If it were possible to put the key back in the bucket I could see the thinking going "If they saw the corpse, then they see 'oil' flowing from the barrel, they should put 2+2 together and figure out that they don't want the oil to be flowing and filling the room". That said, I can't really test that theory since A) I'd already played the videotape by that point and B) you can't actually put the key back in the barrel.

Spoiler

I didn't think much of the burnt corpse, no. I did try and stop the flow of oil though, it was clearly expanding across the floor in a way that indicated that was somehow a bad thing. If you could stop the flow of oil again, I think that would be a good option for people that didn't find the tape.

Just finished my first play through. Good game, but I enjoyed the first half significantly more than the second.

Spoiler

I was really digging creeping around the house, trying to escape and would have been happier if that was the whole game, rather than the ship/mine section which felt a bit tacked on. I also preferred the survival horror of the first two thirds over the more action focused final third.

 

[blasikov]

Oranging 'cause I'm plying on XB1. Have to admit I miss the RE5/6 mechanics. Goddamn what I wouldn't do for a fucking assault rifle right now

Back to getting my foot chopped off and bleeding to death! YAY!

 

[krimhorn]

Back to getting my foot chopped off and bleeding to death! YAY!

Some herbal water'll fix that right up.

 

[Evan E]

I saw that happen in a YouTube video - looked completely scripted, like it's part of them giving you some background information about how the mechanics work, and yet...it didn't happen to me at all. I'm really fascinated by some of the details in this game that not everyone sees.

 

[krimhorn]

It only happens the one time if Daddy happens to be closing in on you when you make for the tunnel. It's kind of odd that it's there since limb detachment isn't a mechanic and you already would have learned how to heal from the fight with Mia earlier. Funny though.

On a different note: one of our maintenance guys here at work could easily pass for Jack if he wanted to and was behind the bathroom door fixing it when I went in. Suffice it to say I half jumped out of my skin upon opening the door.