After postponing my trip to Louisiana for so long, it was time I finally shook hands with the Bakers, experiencing the game that reinvigorated the Resident Evil franchise. And I won't beat around the bush — if you fancy yourself a survival horror fan, play it now!

Right off the bat, the setting and plot feel more grounded than anything previous Resident Evil games provided me with. Sure, there are still outlandish moments. But, as a whole, Resident Evil 7 is not as over-the-top as some previous iterations. Also, I was pleasantly surprised by how invested I was in the Baker family. They weren't a perfect family, but I felt genuine sadness when the revelation of their misfortune befell me upon completing the game and all subsequent DLCs.

https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2970679203
As for our new main guy, Ethan, who gets entangled in this Louisiana nightmare while looking for his sexy wife, Mia, he holds his own. Doesn't punch boulders tho. But it ain't about how hard you hit. It's about how hard you can get hit and keep moving forward. How much you can take and keep moving forward. That's how winning is done! And Ethan's willing to take the hits. Severed limbs? 'Tis but a flesh wound.

But enough about the plot. All that mysterious gooey mold on the projector screening the "Baker House Incident", you should remove it yourself. So, let's instead discuss the gameplay, which underwent a massive change — it's now a first-person game.

Some will like this change in perspective, others will die on the old is gold hill. But me gusta! It amplifies the horror, gifting me a more intimate date with all the wonderful beasties yearning for my very own, still beating heart. I could feel their touch and moldy breath as we exchanged blows.

And in many ways, Resident Evil 7 is a homage to the first Resident Evil game. A big house/mansion, survival horror put front and centre, and the plethora of hallways and interconnected paths, with many keys to find, doors to open and puzzles to solve. Perfection. The homestead was a joy to explore, with many layers and all accessible without a single loading screen. But despite it being hughmungus and having copious amounts of backtracking, skedaddling around the map never became tedious. Sadly, the endgame levels weren't as good and were a bit lacklustre.

The gameplay also changed a bit. A few times Capcom resorts to the (un)popular defenceless horror trope — an unkillable enemy stalking you. So, you'll have to be sneaky, avoid their gaze as you complete some silly puzzles the Bakers prepared for Ethan and fight a few moldy boys along the way. Overall, the gameplay is slower, more methodical, and claustrophobic, with the accent put on resource management. In other words, it plays exactly how a survival horror game should. And to help further elevate the horror element, the RE Engine delivers a masterclass in horror ambience. I was in awe, watching the shadows and light perform their sensual tango routine, effortlessly making my neck hair salute.

Now, the climax does forgo horror in favour of action, and it's the correct choice. At that point, I had plenty of ammo to feed Milunka, my trust shotty, so any attempt to arouse anxiety out of me would fail.

https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2990083646
So, let's talk combat.

It's stiff but not tank-ish like the first few games, with Ethan's movements and actions still having weight. And the shift in perspective also required re-balancing the combat. It needs to be challenging but fair.

Since Ethan's not trained in the dodging arts, he can block by using his steel forearms, cushioning incoming damage. But not fully. And the enemy design also helps make combat less frustrating. Only one mold enemy is agile with erratic movement, making him a bit tricky to headshot. It resembles that Stranger Things Demogorgon creature, walking on all fours and jumping around. But agility comes with a price, with a single headshot putting it to sleep permanently. The other moldy boys are more resistant to bullets but slower and more straightforward with their attacks. Also, just like in Dead Space, they can be crippled. However, them crawling on the floor doesn't make them a moldwalk — they will lunge at you. Lastly, be wary of the fat mold — its plumpness hides a wet surprise.

And since Ethan's sexy wife rescue operation can't be laughably easy, Capcom gives the mold an edge in some ways. The obvious one is level design, creating that claustrophobic feeling I spoke about. Lots of tight hallways and corridors await you, so movement will be limited, with the moldy boys just marching forward, despite you gifting their head full of lead. Constantly backing up without being aware of my surroundings and the moldy boys coming out of unexpected places got me cornered a few times.

https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2990048907
But just letting loose until the fat mold sings isn't a sound plan as resource management is a crucial aspect of the game. So, as the wise purple Bruce Willis once said, "You should have gone for the head." And so, I did, often. Technically, this only applies to common enemies — bosses have weak spots and they do be bullet sponges. But you get the gist — I was frugal with whom my gun's barrel kissed. Even then, I often found myself with a worrying amount of bullets in my pockets. This was completely absent during the endgame, with it being more action-oriented, showering me with ammo. I didn't mind this as it felt like icing on this delicious survival horror cake, giving me a satisfying end to Ethan's stay at the Baker's estate.

There's also one more thing — bringing up your inventory doesn't pause the game. I had to craft consumables and ammo on the fly, adding another layer of challenge to the combat. It was a bit troublesome during boss fights, I won't lie. How dare they not wait for me to craft and then eat my green weed juice to recover!? And as I'm not that great at multitasking, I died a few times... But the fights weren't too difficult overall. Some even had fun gimmicks. Still, most did end up being a just-pump-the-boss'-weak-spot-full-of-lead-until-they're-dead fest. Ultimately, they were all fun — except one! Capcom, some things weren't meant to be seen by the human eye.

But I digress.

As for the bad, I only have one complaint — abysmal enemy variety. Sure, they would pop out of lord knows where and startle me. But I was underwhelmed by the mid point, with that initial scare factor wearing off as the more I saw of them. Besides the moldy boys, there were some flying bugs during one section. I don't really consider them proper enemies. Apart from buzzing in my headphones, making me feel icky, the butter knife I had would one-shot them. At best, I would call them pests.

And, with all that being said, I hope I was clear — Resident Evil 7 was a blast to play.

It's a soft reboot of the franchise, providing homage to the first Resident Evil game in more ways than just being set in a mansion-like complex — it went back to survival horror, the series' roots. So, bring your weird green juice and dive head-first into this welcoming piece of Louisiana land, where the misfortunate of the Baker family and tons of mold await you.

Here is my Season Pass review.

All of you who made it this far are majestic sausages. And if you enjoyed this review, come, and consume more wisdom from the Gospel of Sv. Prolivije.

After postponing my trip to Louisiana for so long, it was time I finally shook hands with the Bakers, experiencing the game that reinvigorated the [i]Resident Evil[/i] franchise. And I won't beat around the bush — [b]if you fancy yourself a survival horror fan, play it now![/b] [h3][b]The Girl Who Wasn't[/b][/h3] Right off the bat, the setting and plot feel more grounded than anything previous [i]Resident Evil[/i] games provided me with. Sure, there are still outlandish moments. But, as a whole, [i]Resident Evil 7[/i] is not as over-the-top as some previous iterations. Also, I was pleasantly surprised by how invested I was in the Baker family. They weren't a perfect family, but I felt genuine sadness when the revelation of their misfortune befell me upon completing the game and all subsequent DLCs. https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2970679203 As for our new main guy, Ethan, who gets entangled in this Louisiana nightmare while looking for his sexy wife, Mia, he holds his own. Doesn't punch boulders tho. But it ain't about how hard you hit. It's about how hard you can get hit and keep moving forward. How much you can take and keep moving forward. That's how winning is done! And Ethan's willing to take the hits. Severed limbs? [i]'Tis but a flesh wound.[/i] But enough about the plot. All that mysterious gooey mold on the projector screening the [i]"Baker House Incident"[/i], you should remove it yourself. So, let's instead discuss the gameplay, which underwent a massive change — [b]it's now a first-person game.[/b] [h3][b]I AM THE DANGER![/b][/h3] Some will like this change in perspective, others will die on the [i]old is gold[/i] hill. But [i]me gusta![/i] It amplifies the horror, gifting me a more intimate date with all the [i]wonderful[/i] beasties yearning for my very own, still beating heart. I could feel their touch and moldy breath as we exchanged blows. And in many ways, [i]Resident Evil 7[/i] is a homage to the first [i]Resident Evil[/i] game. A big house/mansion, survival horror put front and centre, and the plethora of hallways and interconnected paths, with many keys to find, doors to open and puzzles to solve. Perfection. The homestead was a joy to explore, with many layers and all accessible without a single loading screen. But despite it being [i]hughmungus[/i] and having copious amounts of backtracking, skedaddling around the map never became tedious. Sadly, the endgame levels weren't as good and were a bit lacklustre. The gameplay also changed a bit. A few times [i]Capcom[/i] resorts to the (un)popular defenceless horror trope — [b]an unkillable enemy stalking you.[/b] So, you'll have to be sneaky, avoid their gaze as you complete some silly puzzles the Bakers prepared for Ethan and fight a few moldy boys along the way. Overall, the gameplay is slower, more methodical, and claustrophobic, with the accent put on resource management. [b]In other words, it plays exactly how a survival horror game should.[/b] And to help further elevate the horror element, the RE Engine delivers a masterclass in horror ambience. I was in awe, watching the shadows and light perform their sensual tango routine, effortlessly making my neck hair salute. Now, the climax does forgo horror in favour of action, and it's the correct choice. At that point, I had plenty of ammo to feed Milunka, my trust shotty, so any attempt to arouse anxiety out of me would fail. https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2990083646 So, let's talk combat. [h3][b]Perfectly balanced, as all things should be[/b][/h3] It's stiff but not tank-ish like the first few games, with Ethan's movements and actions still having weight. And the shift in perspective also required re-balancing the combat. It needs to be challenging but fair. Since Ethan's not trained in the dodging arts, he can [b]block[/b] by using his steel forearms, cushioning incoming damage. But not fully. And the [b]enemy design[/b] also helps make combat less frustrating. Only one mold enemy is agile with erratic movement, making him a bit tricky to headshot. It resembles that [i]Stranger Things[/i] Demogorgon creature, walking on all fours and jumping around. But agility comes with a price, with a single headshot putting it to sleep permanently. The other moldy boys are more resistant to bullets but slower and more straightforward with their attacks. Also, just like in [i]Dead Space[/i], they can be crippled. However, them crawling on the floor doesn't make them a moldwalk — they will lunge at you. Lastly, be wary of the fat mold — [b]its plumpness hides a wet surprise.[/b] And since Ethan's [i]sexy wife rescue operation[/i] can't be laughably easy, [i]Capcom[/i] gives the mold an edge in some ways. The obvious one is [b]level design[/b], creating that claustrophobic feeling I spoke about. Lots of tight hallways and corridors await you, so movement will be limited, with the moldy boys just marching forward, despite you gifting their head full of lead. Constantly backing up without being aware of my surroundings and the moldy boys coming out of unexpected places got me cornered a few times. https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2990048907 But just letting loose until the fat mold sings isn't a sound plan as [b]resource management is a crucial aspect of the game.[/b] So, as the wise purple Bruce Willis once said, [i]"You should have gone for the head."[/i] And so, I did, often. Technically, this only applies to common enemies — bosses have weak spots and [b]they do be bullet sponges.[/b] But you get the gist — [b]I was frugal with whom my gun's barrel kissed.[/b] Even then, I often found myself with a worrying amount of bullets in my pockets. This was completely absent during the endgame, with it being more action-oriented, showering me with ammo. I didn't mind this as it felt like icing on this delicious survival horror cake, giving me a satisfying end to Ethan's stay at the Baker's estate. There's also one more thing — [b]bringing up your inventory doesn't pause the game.[/b] I had to craft consumables and ammo on the fly, adding another layer of challenge to the combat. It was a bit troublesome during boss fights, I won't lie. How dare they not wait for me to craft and then eat my green weed juice to recover!? And as I'm not that great at multitasking, I died a few times... But the fights weren't too difficult overall. Some even had fun gimmicks. Still, most did end up being a [i]just-pump-the-boss'-weak-spot-full-of-lead-until-they're-dead[/i] fest. Ultimately, they were all fun — [b]except one![/b] [i]Capcom[/i], some things weren't meant to be seen by the human eye. But I digress. As for the bad, I only have one complaint — [b]abysmal enemy variety.[/b] Sure, they would pop out of lord knows where and startle me. But I was underwhelmed by the mid point, with that initial scare factor wearing off as the more I saw of them. Besides the moldy boys, there were some flying bugs during one section. I don't really consider them proper enemies. Apart from buzzing in my headphones, making me feel icky, the butter knife I had would one-shot them. At best, I would call them pests. And, with all that being said, I hope I was clear — [b][i]Resident Evil 7[/i] was a blast to play.[/b] It's a soft reboot of the franchise, providing homage to the first [i]Resident Evil[/i] game in more ways than just being set in a mansion-like complex — [b]it went back to survival horror, the series' roots.[/b] So, bring your weird green juice and dive head-first into this welcoming piece of Louisiana land, where the misfortunate of the Baker family and tons of mold await you. [i]Here is my [url=https://steamcommunity.com/id/Sv_Prolivije/recommended/540340]Season Pass review.[/url] All of you who made it this far are majestic sausages. And if you enjoyed this review, come, and consume more wisdom from the [url=https://store.steampowered.com/curator/40407656]Gospel of Sv. Prolivije.