Resident Evil 7: Biohazard (Gold Edition) Review (PS4)
Introduction
This is the latest edition of Resident Evil 7: Biohazard. It has most of the DLCs included in the Blu-Ray disc such as The Banned Footage Vol. 1, Banned Footage Vol. 2, and End of Zoe. Unfortunately, Not A Hero is not included in the game disc, which must be downloaded from the PlayStation Store for free. This game also supports PlayStation VR and Trophy support.
This game is first person and survival horror game. You will be exploring in different areas, fight monsters, and solve puzzles like the classic Resident Evil games. The main difference is that you are playing this game in first person view at all times.
Gameplay
1) Main Game Section
This game plays like the classic Resident Evil games, albeit in first person view. You will be playing as Ethan, and you must explore in this game as well as fighting enemies to survive the horrific night. To progress in the game, you must complete objectives such as solving puzzles, traversing to new areas, finding keys, and fight bosses. You can check your objectives from your Map menu, and you can use the Map feature to check areas, like the previous Resident Evil games.
In this game, you will explore in full-person view. You may examine objects scattered throughout areas, pick up supplies, pick up key items, and examine files. Most of the time, you have to be really observant and inspect objects to progress. You may also find videotapes that may provide you solutions on certain puzzles or item locations.
As you progress in the main game, you must find supplies hidden around in the game, and you must also find weapons to help you survive in this game. You will fight a number of boss fights in this game, and ammo should be stocked as much as you can. Like the classic Resident Evil games, you may mix items in your Inventory menu to create different items, such as mixing a packet of chemical fluid with a pinch of gunpowder to create handgun ammo.
The game's combat is simple, as you can engage with enemies using your firearms or your melee weapon. Most of the time, ammo are fairly limited, so you shoot only shoot at important enemies that are blocking you way, as well as boss fights. Each enemy has different attack patterns and movement, which you should try to predict before attacking them. As enemies deal high damage on you, you may use the blocking technique to reduce damage. It is an extremely vital technique to survive in this game. Most of the enemies that you will encounter in this game are called the Molded, and you will also have to fight against other enemies such as Baker family members.
2) Downloadable Content Section
This game's downloadable content offer a variety of game modes that you can play, such as this game's version Blackjack, which is called 21 and is more sadistic than the usual Blackjack game. You may also play other game modes such as Bedroom for an extra puzzle-solving minigame, or Daughters as a short prologue on Resident Evil 7: Biohazard. Ethan Must Die, Nightmare, and Jack's 55th Birthday are also additional game modes that you can play as well in this Gold Edition.
The two major downloadable content are the Not A Hero and End of Zoe episodes. Each of the episode serves as an epilogue to the main game, where both episodes take place directly after Resident Evil 7: Biohazard's canon ending. Not A Hero features a familiar veteran character in Resident Evil series, which you will be taking control to apprehend a villain from the main game. End of Zoe on the other hand, features a brand new character named Joe Baker and he must save his niece in his episode. Each of the episode also presents different fighting style and equipment for the playable characters, such as the Not A Hero's playable character uses his firearms to defeat the Molded enemies, whereas Joe Baker must use his fists to fight off the Molded enemies most of the time.
3) Gameplay Conclusion
This game has very good gameplay. Despite being a first person view game, Capcom did a great job in putting the classic Resident Evil gameplay features such as item mixing, puzzles, and progression style in this game and make it work very well. I am also pleased that ammo creation return in this game, since Resident Evil 3: Nemesis' introduction. The puzzle placements and difficulty felt the same as Resident Evil 2's puzzles design, which is a good thing. The downloadable contents are varied enough for players to enjoy, such as 21, Jack's 55th Birthday, and etc. The main game also has good gameplay length,
This game still has issues however. The lack of enemy variety is a major issue in the main game, so you won't fight or encounter many new enemies throughout the main game. The downloadable contents quality may vary also, as only few of the downloadable content are not combat-based. The side episodes such as Bedroom, Daughters, End of Hero, and End of Zoe have short completion time, which I think may not be enough for some players, especially the later two. The later two character episodes are the most important downloadable contents despite short completion time. The main game's final boss fight is boring to me, as I find the previous boss fights are a bit more exciting to fight against. I am also disappointed the Gold Edition does not include the Not A Hero DLC in the game disc as well.
Regardless, the gameplay is very good. Great emulation of classic Resident Evil features in a first person view game.
This game has excellent graphics. Excellent character models, great environment designs, and good presentation with minimal HUD. However, I still has some issues with the presentation as the game's Item menu has small icons when checking an item in your inventory. Fortunately, there are text descriptions for each function while checking an item. No bugs and glitches encountered while playing this game as well. The lighting system is also impressive in this game.
I do however feel that Ethan's face should be revealed while playing the game, as it is hard for me to sympathise or relate with a faceless protagonist, either with mirrors or something. It is a missed opportunity, but not a gamebreaking issue.
This game has excellent English voice acting, by all of the voice actors. My favourites are Jack Baker's voice actor, Joe Baker's voice actor, Mia Baker's voice actress, Marguerite Baker's voice actress, Lucas Baker's voice actor, and the main villain's voice actor. A certain recurring character of Resident Evil games appear in this game, but had the voice actor replaced with a new one, which is unfortunate. The voice actor still did a good job voicing the character however.
The soundtrack is decent, but not great. Not many memorable tracks compared to classic Resident Evil games' soundtracks. The overall sound design such as the sound effects and stuff are well-done, however.
This is the latest edition of Resident Evil 7: Biohazard. It has most of the DLCs included in the Blu-Ray disc such as The Banned Footage Vol. 1, Banned Footage Vol. 2, and End of Zoe. Unfortunately, Not A Hero is not included in the game disc, which must be downloaded from the PlayStation Store for free. This game also supports PlayStation VR and Trophy support.
This game is first person and survival horror game. You will be exploring in different areas, fight monsters, and solve puzzles like the classic Resident Evil games. The main difference is that you are playing this game in first person view at all times.
Story
The story takes place in an isolated area of Louisiana in the United States of America. Ethan, a regular working man watched a video of his missing wife, Mia recently. He is determined to find his wife in a very isolated area somewhere in Louisiana. While exploring a supposedly abandoned house where Mia is located, Ethan eventually finds that the place is not as it seems, and he must use his own wits and skills to survive the horror on that day.
The story is good, but not great. I do not find the story and tone to be very similar to previous Resident Evil games' due to the lack of advanced technology and stuff in early game. However, I do find that the game's story and setting start to feel like the classic Resident Evil games from mid to late game. I also wish there were more connections to the previous Resident Evil games in terms of lore, despite some implications mentioned in this game's files.
The characters are pretty good, although Ethan is not exactly a great protagonist to me. Generic, yet skillful character with good survival instincts. The Baker family members however, are well-characterised. Jack Baker is an excellent early villain, Marguerite Baker is a terrifying woman, Lucas Baker is a psychotic yet brilliant man, and Zoe Baker is a sympathetic girl yet wants to get out of the nightmare going on in her home. The final villain in this game is decent too, being an extremely evil person who caused the horror to happen in the Baker family's home area, but have some sympathetic qualities too.
The Not A Hero and End of Zoe DLCs have good stories too, serving as good and conclusive epilogue chapters to the main game's story. Chris Redfield has a different personality than the previous games, who is very reluctant to work with the organisation that he is supervising in the DLC. Joe Baker is another excellent character with likable personality, although I think his introduction in the End of Zoe DLC seems to be rather sudden and not particularly plausible. Other DLCs such as Daughter have interesting background expositions about the characters, but not all of them make sense in the main game's timeline.
Take control of Ethan and rescue his wife, Mia.
The story is good, but not great. I do not find the story and tone to be very similar to previous Resident Evil games' due to the lack of advanced technology and stuff in early game. However, I do find that the game's story and setting start to feel like the classic Resident Evil games from mid to late game. I also wish there were more connections to the previous Resident Evil games in terms of lore, despite some implications mentioned in this game's files.
The characters are pretty good, although Ethan is not exactly a great protagonist to me. Generic, yet skillful character with good survival instincts. The Baker family members however, are well-characterised. Jack Baker is an excellent early villain, Marguerite Baker is a terrifying woman, Lucas Baker is a psychotic yet brilliant man, and Zoe Baker is a sympathetic girl yet wants to get out of the nightmare going on in her home. The final villain in this game is decent too, being an extremely evil person who caused the horror to happen in the Baker family's home area, but have some sympathetic qualities too.
The Not A Hero and End of Zoe DLCs have good stories too, serving as good and conclusive epilogue chapters to the main game's story. Chris Redfield has a different personality than the previous games, who is very reluctant to work with the organisation that he is supervising in the DLC. Joe Baker is another excellent character with likable personality, although I think his introduction in the End of Zoe DLC seems to be rather sudden and not particularly plausible. Other DLCs such as Daughter have interesting background expositions about the characters, but not all of them make sense in the main game's timeline.
Gameplay
1) Main Game Section
Fight, survive, and find out the truth.
In this game, you will explore in full-person view. You may examine objects scattered throughout areas, pick up supplies, pick up key items, and examine files. Most of the time, you have to be really observant and inspect objects to progress. You may also find videotapes that may provide you solutions on certain puzzles or item locations.
As you progress in the main game, you must find supplies hidden around in the game, and you must also find weapons to help you survive in this game. You will fight a number of boss fights in this game, and ammo should be stocked as much as you can. Like the classic Resident Evil games, you may mix items in your Inventory menu to create different items, such as mixing a packet of chemical fluid with a pinch of gunpowder to create handgun ammo.
The game's combat is simple, as you can engage with enemies using your firearms or your melee weapon. Most of the time, ammo are fairly limited, so you shoot only shoot at important enemies that are blocking you way, as well as boss fights. Each enemy has different attack patterns and movement, which you should try to predict before attacking them. As enemies deal high damage on you, you may use the blocking technique to reduce damage. It is an extremely vital technique to survive in this game. Most of the enemies that you will encounter in this game are called the Molded, and you will also have to fight against other enemies such as Baker family members.
2) Downloadable Content Section
Try out other downloadable content available for this game, such as the two epilogue chapters Not A Hero and End of Zoe.
The two major downloadable content are the Not A Hero and End of Zoe episodes. Each of the episode serves as an epilogue to the main game, where both episodes take place directly after Resident Evil 7: Biohazard's canon ending. Not A Hero features a familiar veteran character in Resident Evil series, which you will be taking control to apprehend a villain from the main game. End of Zoe on the other hand, features a brand new character named Joe Baker and he must save his niece in his episode. Each of the episode also presents different fighting style and equipment for the playable characters, such as the Not A Hero's playable character uses his firearms to defeat the Molded enemies, whereas Joe Baker must use his fists to fight off the Molded enemies most of the time.
3) Gameplay Conclusion
Very good gameplay with some annoyances.
This game still has issues however. The lack of enemy variety is a major issue in the main game, so you won't fight or encounter many new enemies throughout the main game. The downloadable contents quality may vary also, as only few of the downloadable content are not combat-based. The side episodes such as Bedroom, Daughters, End of Hero, and End of Zoe have short completion time, which I think may not be enough for some players, especially the later two. The later two character episodes are the most important downloadable contents despite short completion time. The main game's final boss fight is boring to me, as I find the previous boss fights are a bit more exciting to fight against. I am also disappointed the Gold Edition does not include the Not A Hero DLC in the game disc as well.
Regardless, the gameplay is very good. Great emulation of classic Resident Evil features in a first person view game.
Graphics
Excellent graphics, performance, and presentation.
I do however feel that Ethan's face should be revealed while playing the game, as it is hard for me to sympathise or relate with a faceless protagonist, either with mirrors or something. It is a missed opportunity, but not a gamebreaking issue.
Sound
Excellent voice acting. Decent but not memorable soundtrack.
The soundtrack is decent, but not great. Not many memorable tracks compared to classic Resident Evil games' soundtracks. The overall sound design such as the sound effects and stuff are well-done, however.
Replay Value
This game has pretty high replay value, with all of the DLCs accounted. You can play the main game again in harder difficulties such as Normal or Madhouse for increased challenge, complete the game under a certain conditions to unlock new stuffs, unlock an alternate ending for the main game by choosing a different decision, or play all of the downloadable content available in this Gold Edition for PS4.
Conclusion
This is a very good survival horror game. Classic Resident Evil gameplay features, terrifying moments, interesting story, great villains, and good variety of downloadable contents are the major highlights for this game. Even though I am more used to third person view games like the older Resident Evil games, I do not have much troubles adjusting in this game.
This game still has issues, however. The game's tone in the first half of the main game does not feel like classic Resident Evil games' tone, which could be an issue. Fortunately, the game's tone feels more similar from mid-to-late game. The exclusion of Not A Hero DLC in the game disc should be noted as well, as not every player has access to high speed Internet to download the episode. The lack of Ethan's face reveal is disappointing as well, as it is difficult for players to relate to a faceless protagonist from the start.
This game is a bold new attempt by Capcom, which could serve the path for future Resident Evil games. I personally feel that third-person view games like Resident Evil HD Remaster and Resident Evil 4 are still the best, but this game is no slouch either and is now one of my top Resident Evil games. I highly recommend this game to both survival horror and Resident Evil fans for bold attempt on increased gameplay immersion as well as classic gameplay features retained from older Resident Evil games.
Score
Story: 7/10
Gameplay: 8/10
Graphics: 10/10
Sound: 8/10
Final Score: 8.25/10 or 33/40
Pros and Cons
Pros
- Interesting story.
- Overall great villains.
- Good supporting characters such as Zoe and Mia.
- Classic Resident Evil gameplay features are present, such as item mixing.
- Good combat system.
- Good use of jump scares at certain times.
- Scary Molded enemy designs.
- Great survival horror experience.
- Tons of unlockables.
- Variety of Downloadable content to be played.
- Good boss fights.
- Not A Hero and End of Zoe are good, high quality and conclusive epilogue episodes.
- Superb graphics, animations, and presentation.
- Great English voice acting.
- Pretty good replay value.
Cons
- Ethan is a generic playable protagonist.
- True villain in the main game feels a bit out of place in a Resident Evil game.
- Lack of explanation or introduction of Joe Baker.
- Early game tone does not feel Resident Evil-like.
- Timeline issues with some of the DLCs.
- Lack of enemy variety.
- Disappointing final boss fight in the main game.
- Not memorable soundtrack.
- Short completion time for story-focused downloadable contents such as Daughters, Not A Hero, and End of Zoe.
- Exclusion of Not A Hero DLC in the game disc.
**Images are from official PlayStation game page and PlayStation US PlayStation Store.
Pretty high replay value.
Conclusion
A very good survival horror game.
This game still has issues, however. The game's tone in the first half of the main game does not feel like classic Resident Evil games' tone, which could be an issue. Fortunately, the game's tone feels more similar from mid-to-late game. The exclusion of Not A Hero DLC in the game disc should be noted as well, as not every player has access to high speed Internet to download the episode. The lack of Ethan's face reveal is disappointing as well, as it is difficult for players to relate to a faceless protagonist from the start.
This game is a bold new attempt by Capcom, which could serve the path for future Resident Evil games. I personally feel that third-person view games like Resident Evil HD Remaster and Resident Evil 4 are still the best, but this game is no slouch either and is now one of my top Resident Evil games. I highly recommend this game to both survival horror and Resident Evil fans for bold attempt on increased gameplay immersion as well as classic gameplay features retained from older Resident Evil games.
Score
Story: 7/10
Gameplay: 8/10
Graphics: 10/10
Sound: 8/10
Final Score: 8.25/10 or 33/40
Pros and Cons
Pros
- Interesting story.
- Overall great villains.
- Good supporting characters such as Zoe and Mia.
- Classic Resident Evil gameplay features are present, such as item mixing.
- Good combat system.
- Good use of jump scares at certain times.
- Scary Molded enemy designs.
- Great survival horror experience.
- Tons of unlockables.
- Variety of Downloadable content to be played.
- Good boss fights.
- Not A Hero and End of Zoe are good, high quality and conclusive epilogue episodes.
- Superb graphics, animations, and presentation.
- Great English voice acting.
- Pretty good replay value.
Cons
- Ethan is a generic playable protagonist.
- True villain in the main game feels a bit out of place in a Resident Evil game.
- Lack of explanation or introduction of Joe Baker.
- Early game tone does not feel Resident Evil-like.
- Timeline issues with some of the DLCs.
- Lack of enemy variety.
- Disappointing final boss fight in the main game.
- Not memorable soundtrack.
- Short completion time for story-focused downloadable contents such as Daughters, Not A Hero, and End of Zoe.
- Exclusion of Not A Hero DLC in the game disc.
**Images are from official PlayStation game page and PlayStation US PlayStation Store.
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