Resident Evil 7: Biohazard is a 2017 survival horror game developed and published by Capcom. The player controls Ethan Winters as he searches for his long-missing wife in a derelict plantation occupied by an infected family, solving puzzles and fighting enemies. Resident Evil 7diverges from the more action-oriented Resident Evil 5 and Resident Evil 6, returning to the franchise's survival horror roots, emphasizing exploration. It is the first main Resident Evil game to use a first-person view.
Resident Evil 7 is the first full-length game to use Capcom's in-house RE Engine. The development was led by Koshi Nakanishi, director of Resident Evil: Revelations. A year prior to its announcement at E3 2016, it was presented as a virtual reality demo called Kitchen. The team took inspiration from the 1981 film The Evil Dead, scaled back the game to one location, and used a first-person perspective to immerse players. Two downloadable content scenarios were released, Not a Hero and End of Zoe.
Resident Evil 7 was released in January 2017 for PlayStation 4, Windows, Xbox One, followed by a cloud version for the Nintendo Switch in May 2018 in Japan and December 2022 worldwide, and PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S versions in June 2022. It also supports the PlayStation VR headset. The game received generally favorable reviews and was considered a return to form for the series; critics praised the visuals, gameplay, story, innovation, and uses of virtual reality, but the boss battles and final chapter drew some criticism. By December 2023, the game had sold 13 million units. It was nominated for several end-of-year accolades. A sequel, Resident Evil Village, was released on May 7, 2021.
Gameplay
Resident Evil 7: Biohazard is a survival horror game viewed from the first-person – the second game in the series and the first main line game to use such a perspective. The player controls new protagonist Ethan Winters as he explores the Baker family's abandoned rural estate in Dulvey, Louisiana, to try and save his wife Mia. Ethan can freely rotate the camera around to view his surroundings, move in any direction, alternate between walking and sprinting to cover more ground, and interact with his surroundings to find helpful items such as weapons, ammunition, and healing items. New commands include guarding, allowing Ethan to block attacks to reduce damage, and crouching, which lets him fit through confined spaces or use stealth to evade enemies.
Throughout the game, Ethan confronts various members of the Baker family, as well as humanoid fungal creatures called “Molded”, that will attack and attempt to kill him on sight. While Ethan is a civilian with relatively little combat experience, he is nonetheless able to find and use various weapons from around the estate, from melee weapons like pocket knives and chainsaws, to stronger firearms such as handguns, shotguns, and a makeshift flamethrower. Ethan can shoot down the hip or focus through the scope, and move while shooting, but firearms are less powerful than those from previous action-oriented titles – enemies are tougher, can sidestep and block to avoid taking damage, and won't stay down forever, emphasizing use of stealth and fleeing encounters when necessary. Damage taken is shown by the amount of blood visible on-screen, and by a codex on Ethan's wrist shown while navigating the inventory. Items such as herbs and first aid solution can be used to heal.
Ethan has eight inventory slots (plus four slots connected to the D-pad which he can assign weapons to) but can obtain more space by finding backpacks. Safe rooms scattered throughout the game, which enemies cannot enter, provide item boxes, where Ethan can store excess items to retrieve them later, and tape recorders used to save the player's progress. Items can be examined in the inventory, which may reveal a hidden purpose or detail, discarded, or combined with others to produce key items or craft consumables like first aid solution, ammo, and psychostimulants which show the location of uncollected items for a short time. Exploration is key in the game, as puzzles scattered around the estate must be solved to open up routes, obtain key items, and advance the story, some of which may require specific items to complete. Ethan can also find VHS tapes around the estate and place them in VHS players to play through a short section as the character filming – while optional, these tapes provide insight into the story and can reveal puzzle solutions, and is similar in concept to the “Zapping System” from Resident Evil 2.
The player can also choose one of three difficulty settings: Normal (the default), Easy, and Madhouse (unlocked after beating the game). These affect the strength of enemies, abundance of items, and how often the game autosaves – Madhouse also requires Ethan to use a cassette tape in order to save at a tape recorder. Various bonus items unlocked by beating the game in a specific time limit or difficulty, for example, can also be added to the item boxes for all subsequent runs, such as infinite-ammo weapons or special items that grant buffs – e.g. glasses that provide a permanent psychostimulant effect, shoes that raise Ethan's speed, etc. The PS4 version is playable in virtual reality via PlayStation VR.
Release Date
- PS4, Windows, Xbox One
WW: January 24, 2017
JP: January 26, 2017 - Nintendo Switch
JP: May 24, 2018
WW: December 16, 2022 - Amazon Luna
US: December 9, 2020 - Stadia
WW: April 1, 2021 - PS5, Xbox Series X/S
WW: June 13, 2022
Sound Effects Used
- Hollywoodedge, Bone Breaks Gushes He FS044001
- Hollywoodedge, Gun Handling Light 1 EVL067401 (Used as idle rattling when walking and drawing two-handed guns.)
- Hollywoodedge, Gun Handling Light 2 EVL067501 (Used as idle rattling when walking and drawing two-handed guns.)
- Hollywoodedge, Gun Handling Light 3 EVL067601 (Used as idle rattling when walking and drawing two-handed guns, one click is also used when drawing pistols.)
- Hollywoodedge, Gun, Load then Sharp, Fast Movement (A small snippet of the movement can be found in the game files, possibly unused.)
- Hollywoodedge, Metal Hits Metal Pipe FS010605 (Ring off used as a sound when a bullet hits metal.)
- Hollywoodedge, Rifle Strap Movement PE408901 (Various mixes found in the game files, possibly unused.)
- SoundDogs, Weapons Handguns | Handgun Movement : Clip Slide Snap Into Gun (End snap heard when reloading handguns.)
- Sound Ideas, BAR, GLASS - BARTENDER HANDLING GLASSES AND BOTTLES, FOLEY (Clink towards the 0:07 used when picking up First-Aid Meds, needs clarification)
- Sound Ideas, BOTTLE, PLASTIC - VITAMIN PILL BOTTLE: REMOVE TOP, LID
- Sound Ideas, GAS, CAN - GAS SLOSHING IN PLASTIC CAN (Heard in a somewhat higher pitch when picking up Remote Bombs.)
- Sound Ideas, GUN FOLEY / HANDLING - .22 LR ROSSI RIFLE CHAMBERING 01 (Heard when equipping a handgun for the first time.)
- Sound Ideas, GUN FOLEY / HANDLING - .22 LR ROSSI RIFLE CHAMBERING 02 (2nd half only, heard when reloading the P19 Machine Gun.)
- Sound Ideas, GUN FOLEY / HANDLING - .223 COLT AR-15 ASSAULT RIFLE CHAMBERING (Last two sounds heard when reloading the P19 Machine Gun.)
- Sound Ideas, GUN FOLEY / HANDLING - .762 - AK-47 ASSAULT RIFLE CHAMBERING 03 (Heard when reloading the P19 Machine Gun.)
- Sound Ideas, GUN, MACHINE, FOLEY - M-16: REMOVE CLIP (Sometimes heard when opening the Grenade Launcher, mixed with Sound Ideas, GUN, MACHINE, FOLEY - MP5: RELOAD.)
- Sound Ideas, GUN, MACHINE, FOLEY - MP5: RELOAD (2nd half of cock element only, mixed with Sound Ideas, GUN, MACHINE, FOLEY - M-16: REMOVE CLIP sometimes when opening the Grenade Launcher.)
- Sound Ideas, GUN, RIFLE, FOLEY - REMINGTON, M 700 BDL, 7MM BOLT ACTION RIFLE: CLOSE BOLT 02 (1st half heard in a slightly faster speed when closing the Grenade Launcher during reloads.)
- Sound Ideas, GUN, SHOTGUN, FOLEY - FRANCHI, SPAS 12, 12 GAUGE AUTOLOADING SHOTGUN: PULL BREECH UP (Ring off from 1st half used when closing the M21 Shotgun during reloads.)