Feel free to watch my comments in the video below or read the article the old fashioned way.
So Resident Evil 7: Biohazard is releasing next week, Tuesday 24th. In preparation and because I’ve just got my new toy, a PSVR headset, I thought I’d give the demo a try. I’ve heard a lot about the demo, with many articles stating it’s really creepy and scary. Does it deserve that reputation? Well let’s find out.
The demo is set in an abandoned house of which you start in the living room. I have to say that despite the fact I’m using a bog standard PS4, and not the pro version, the graphics in the VR headset was stunning. From the paintings on the walls to the ceiling boards and peeling wallpaper, the 3d rendering is exquisitely detailed. While I’m sure the textures will be slightly clearer on the pro version, after seeing what my faithful PS4 can do I’m not going to be upgrading just for a slight clearer, higher res picture when the PS4 version still looks great.
Now VR really is a completely different experience. I felt far more exposed when moving around the house and much more aware of blind spots such as dark recesses and corners. I also really love the freedom of vision in VR which allows you fluid camera movement and to really get up close to scrutinise the paintings, pianos and decomposing food. The house is a creepy environment, to be sure, and the lighting does well to accentuate that, leaving plenty of dark shadow spots to feed your imagination.
I’m not going to go into the specifics of the events which happen in the house, as I don’t want to spoil the demo for people, but I’ll confess after all the reports I’d been hearing, I didn’t find it anywhere near as scary as I’d expected. I’d expected to cry out like a sissy at list once, but the worst I released was one swear word as an object clattered nearby. That being said, I’ve played a lot of the Silent Hill games and the early Resident Evil games and nothing I saw in the demo was particularly shocking in comparison but let’s be fair Capcom wouldn’t want to scare potential purchasers away with the demo so I’m sure there’s a lot more scares in the full game. While it didn’t scare me silly, I enjoyed the demo all the more for that. Exploring the house at my own pace, was a great experience and there is so much to see in there. The demo has a nice narrative, and Capcom have done a great job of maintaining interaction while delivering it. There’s also two endings depending on how well you’ve played it.
I’d already put in my pre-order for the full game, prior to playing the demo, and I’m actually looking forward to playing it even more now. I’m going to be camping out on my front doorstep waiting for the postman to deliver on Tuesday. I really can’t wait. There will, of course, be a full review of the game coming in the next few weeks.
