Resident Evil 7: Biohazard (PSVR)

System: PSVR 1
Price at Time Of Review: £15.99
Comfort Rating: Yellow (Mild Movement)
Genre: Horror
Input: DualShock Controller
Best Playing Position: Sitting, Standing
Multi-Player: No
Age Rating: 18+

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Description: Menace and isolation seethe through the rotting walls of an abandoned farmhouse in the American South. ‘7’ marks a new beginning for survival horror and a full model change to the frightening and immersive ‘Isolated View ‘player perspective. Powered by the cutting-edge RE Engine, horror reaches new heights of photorealism so overwhelming you won’t be able to turn away. Enter a terrifyingly new world of horror and survive.

Review: Knowing how good horror games are in virtual reality I knew it was pretty much only a matter of time before a Resident Evil game showed up in VR and Resident Evil 7: Biohazard is the first one Appart from the demo experiences). Set within a sinister plantation mansion in modern-day rural America and taking place after the dramatic events of Resident Evil 6, players experience the terror directly from the first-person perspective for the first time in the Resident Evil series. Embodying the iconic gameplay elements of exploration and tense atmosphere that first coined “survival horror” some twenty years ago, Resident Evil 7 biohazard delivers a disturbingly realistic experience that will define the next era in horror entertainment.

But what about the VR aspect? The good news is Resident Evil 7: Biohazard is built from the ground up on the new VR compatible Resident Evil Engine in tandem with industry-leading audio and visual technologies to create a disturbingly photorealistic experience for an unprecedented level of immersion. Placing you in each scene really ramps up the scare levels and with the surround audio, you will be spinning your head around trying to see where the noises are coming from. Played in a first-person perspective (a massive change from the previous games) you get walk using the normal controller keys, but you get to look all around you, experiencing the horror first hand and travel around mostly with the teleport system of movement.

Resident Evil 7: Biohazard is it is a great game, with stunning visuals and some of the best surround sound you will ever hear. In VR it also helps to add to the intensity of the game, but I am not sure it really benefits much from it. Playing the game with the PlayStation VR headset does at least come with a tutorial that gives you access to some comfort level options. The biggest people with the VR side of the game is that it runs with lower visuals and when it comes to the Resident Evil series, the graphics are one of the best things about the later games. But if you are willing to overlook this aspect, you will find it really ramps up the terror with every sound making you more and more nervous. But it will also slow the gameplay down significantly which in the heat of the moment can cause a few problems.

If you already have a PlayStation VR headset, this will make you very happy indeed. But if you plan on buying one just to experience this game, I wouldn’t bother unless you are a serious hardcore fan.