9 Ways Resident Evil 7 Is Already Better Than 6
It didn't take much, but we're calling this one right now.
As we're seeing in Hollywood, sometimes there are franchises that just can't be left alone, no matter how much a given bunch of creators have sent them careening off the tracks in the first place.
Case in point: Resident Evil. Being one of the biggest household names in gaming history, we always knew it wouldn't stay away for too long, and despite Resident Evil 6's foray into full-on Hollywood-style action (something that was prevalent since day one, regardless of what the fans will scream) it was one sequel too many, in that it completely removed anything even remotely scary.
Spin-off series Revelations would return to a more RE 4-style sense of isolation through tight level design and a co-op focus, but as far as the main titles were concerned, it was dead in the water.
Capcom would need to completely overhaul everything about what we associate with numbered entries in the series, and thankfully they have. Resident Evil 7 has emerged as a completely different beast; one that feels confident and fresh all over again. It's already many steps ahead of RE 6 in its entirety, and here's why...
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9. It's Actually Scary
Although Resi has been the go-to for jump-scares - and occasionally psychological horror - for decades, in terms of actual games, the last main instalment that was effective at doing so was RE 4. Since then, Capcom devolved into the"Mutated is scary, right?!" school of thought, delivering all sorts of twisted, macabre concoctions of pulped flesh and randomly-appearing eyeballs.
Now, just to get this out of the way, RE 7 is clearly playing into the appeal of Silent Hills; but the benefit of having all the action take place from the first person is in routing you to the spot and forcing you to watch certain events unfold.
Case in point: the Baker family, who just happen to be cannibals. Immediately, the trailer shown of these guys is horrifyingly dark, seeing them cut each other open when dining on random parts of sautéed humans. Couple this with the notion that you're slowly exploring a dilapidated house full of dark secrets and god-knows-what reveals from a lifetime of killing, and for once, we don't know exactly what to expect going in.