Resident Evil 7 feels like the interactive, dirty-secret bastard child of The Texas Chainsaw Massacre and The Hills Have Eyes coupled with the series signature gameplay mechanics. A lean n' mean return to the essence of horror. Purists as well as series virgins will be enchanted. 2017’s first must play title.

A terrifying survival horror experience. It offers the best spooky atmosphere in the franchise with many of the classic mechanics that built the original formula. Yet it has enough new elements to stand its ground amidst similar games. Without doubt, a must play horror experience.

After the fifth and sixth games, the Resident Evil series was in dire need of a re-think. That’s exactly what Capcom have done, and they’ve done so in a way that’s braver, bolder, and more assured than I could ever have dreamed. They’ve refreshed the series for modern times, incorporating new techniques to ensure the horror is both sickening and chilling, while re-focusing the core structure around the things that made these games so great to begin with. The result is something that will almost certainly go down as a Resident Evil classic; a title that will be spoken about with reverence in the future, and an excellent turning point for the series as a whole. In those respects, Resident Evil 7 is the new Resident Evil 4.

By wiping the slate clean and beginning again, Capcom have gained perspective. With Resident Evil 7, they’ve identified the core tenets of the franchise – the building blocks of terror that captivated and inspired a generation of fans and creators alike. The first-person perspective isn’t Resident Evil, but the feelings it elicits certainly are.

Resivent Evil 7 revitalizes the series. Thanks to the first person view and the outstanding atmosphere it's a real highlight of the horror genre.

The best Resident Evil game in years is only bogged down by the blatantly RE bits. [Issue#259, p.58]

Resident Evil 7 has a strong opening, a sagging middle, and a disappointing finale. In other words, it hews closely to the arc of most horror. But to Capcom’s credit, this Resident Evil is taking pages from books it hasn’t previously read. I’m not convinced it understands those pages, but at least it’s attempting something other than the usual roiling mass of black goo with bright orange weak points you have to shoot. For a while at least. It’ll get to that. But before it plods through its sagging middle to its disappointing finale, Resident Evil 7 is at least trying.