Resident Evil’s New Chapter
Capcom’s bold comeback with no zombies, but mad monstrous people.
Resident Evil: VII earned my respects. After countless same ‘see zombies, kill zombies’ and drifting to action horror for 20 years, the series had finally found its way back to its routes.
For those who had played Capcom’s Resident Evil series, you will always expect zombies at every turn. If not zombies, strange humanoid monsters.
However, the recent Resident Evil VII took a very different turn than the previous installments. Learning from the last lingering plotline, Capcom took a very different turn for their new game. The once repeated maze to stop the Umbrella corporation now became an escape house belonging to a mad infected family, the Bakers.
This time, the game is praised for taking a bold turn and still able to stick to its survival horror element. In short, it is a brand new chapter for the series that will prepare us what to expect for new Resident Evil 8: Village.
Plot
A relief to new fans, we are not required to go back to previous installments to understand this new sequel. As said before, it’s an entirely new chapter.
Entirely, this game is no longer a zombie survival escape city. Now, we are in an escape room trying to survive from a mad badly infected family.
We play as Ethan Winters, who is looking for his missing wife in an abandoned house. As he began exploring the house where his wife last contacted, it turned out that she was badly infected, turning her mad and tried to kill him. As he escaped from her, he was then kidnapped by the true villain, the Baker Family. Ethan must go through many trials and solve puzzles to escape with his wife, uncovering various truths about the fungus that turned the whole family into mad monsters.
From the main plot itself, it is clear that Capcom boldly switched their familiar zombie element to infected mad shifting people. When I played this game, the plot hit me back home and as the story progresses, I knew that this will end in a heartbreaking way. This is something the series had never done before, and now they are stepping their game here.
Gameplay
With the plot changed, so did some of its gameplay. However, they stayed true to the core of their combat system. These are the main things I find the biggest difference in the new installment.
This game no longer plays as a third-person view but first-person, making the game even more terrifying to play. We became limited to see what’s coming at us and had to virtually look behind our shoulders.
The setting became more tensed each time the character walks. Players must amplify their hearings to tell the difference between the wind blowing that made creaking noises and approaching monsters, the sound effects really blend into the scene. That is how dark the atmosphere is now.
Due to its intense horrific atmosphere, the developers changed a few things as well with our weapons. They made one thing more interesting: the crafting of ammo. In previous installments, all we had to do was pick up ammo along the way and we are ready to go. In Resident Evil: VIII, we are to combine gunpowders for suitable ammunition. This way, we are more crafty than just looting in different areas of the house.
The house itself is a more terrifying maze. For long time fans, we are familiar that the series is differentiated itself with other horror games because of their intense problem-solving puzzles. They really made us think and understand the mechanics of the old fashion combination locks, this means that we must really pay attention to our surroundings to find passcodes. That is, if you are brave enough to look back twice.
Resident Evil: VIII is no different, but they are more terrifying to find the codes and missing items for the next level. I was certain that the developers have a really twisty and complicated mind to have their items placed in disturbing places. The most horrifying place I remembered as I played the game was when I had to pull out a piece of item from a headless body from its neck. That’s when I started wondering what were the developers thinking. Nonetheless, it was a smart move to make the house more haunted and gave more addition to how the Baker family is twisted beyond saving.
And like the family, the house itself contains many twisty mazes of rooms. You would actually wonder who would want to live in a confusing place like that, some keys or items in that room are needed for the other room upstairs, downstairs, or even outside. Therefore, players must ration the space in their bags if they want to get to the next stage. With the complication of problem-solving, it made the game tenser to play. It is a great combination, combining fear and intense thinking to spark the horror.
Graphic
This was the icing to the cake to make the visual disturbing as well.
Although we are to use torchlight or lighter, everything is just dim yet realistically shadowed for horror. The color of all the scenes is monotone, turning the game itself into a horror movie. There are no signs of daylights unless you finish the game, but it signifies an eternal night of terror. Even the brightest color turned very dry, giving all few greys to everything for more tension to the sceneries.
I won’t say much about the graphic, but without a shadow of doubt, they improved the graphics a lot. It is very realistic that I almost thought that I was watching a live-action film before I had to look closer. It is absolutely realistic.
All in all, I enjoyed everything from Resident Evil: VII. I knew it was a fresh new start to the franchise for their upcoming sequel and I think they really outdid it this time, nailing their new chapter. It was a new experience for me, especially during a lockdown.
As to why they have my respect is because they boldly took another turn to create a new atmosphere yet staying true to their route. It took them 20 years since the very first Resident Evil to break free from the cliche zombie survival game and finally, they evolved into a different kind of horror game. Several easter eggs referring back to the previous installments were fun to spot and analyze, it gave me the impression that the developers are still thinking of their long time fans as well.
Overall, Capcom did a fantastic job on this game. A very thrilling and frightening experience for both new and old fans. Now, it made me more curious to know what Resident Evil: VIII has in store.
