Review for Resident Evil VII. Game for PC, PlayStation 4 and Xbox One, the video game was released on 24/01/2017 The version for PlayStation 4 came out on 26/01/2017
Well yes, we are all dirty hypocrites: there to idolize the courage of Capcom in deciding the reboot of that Resident Evil VII that terrorized all the people of PlayStation VR by renewing characters, setting and gameplay and then, at the end of the game, all there with tears in seeing none other than coming Chris Redfield, one of the most beloved and iconic characters of the "old" course of RE. So how can we not welcome with open arms Not a Hero - Resident Evil 7: No Hero in the not exactly faithful translation - which allows us to put on the shoes of the Redfield soldier again? Grab your rifle and get ready to collaborate with Umbrella (eh, yes): let's go hunting.
In the role of Chris we discover that the narrative universe in which Resident Evil VII is framed is not a parallel world, but simply a future moment compared to what was told in the previous chapters of the series. After the biological accidents and episodes of bioterrorism reported in all these years, Umbrella was dismantled and reconstituted as a private military company. According to the founders themselves, the decision was made to keep the name of the company so as not to forget the mistakes of the past and to underline the desire to restore the Umbrella name in the eyes of public opinion.
The company, however, just can't stay away from organic threats and that's how it finds itself saving Mia and Ethan Winters - the protagonists of RE 7 - and collaborating with the BSAA, of which Chris Redfield has been a part for some time. This collaboration will lead the protagonist of No Hero to explore the workshops in the mines below the Baker mansion, through a door that had remained closed in Ethan's adventure. All to contend with new and old enemies, including Lucas, antagonist who survived the events of the main adventure, in three abundant hours of adventure that, while not standing out for the plot, keep glued to the screen thanks to the use of inspired settings and never recycle, except for the very first few minutes of play.
Chris, especially in the last chapters of Resident Evil and in the first Revelations, is one of the major responsible for the action breakthrough of the series. In No Hero the soldier is no less: the gameplay largely loses the horror component in favor of the purest FPS-style action, so much so that if the developers had also included Eveline we would have found ourselves in front of a FEAR shooter.Luckily, some jumps in the chair are still guaranteed and Lucas's madness at times brings back to the sick terror felt by Ethan during his forced stay with the Bakers.
The paraphernalia available to Chris is that of an assault troop: pistol, rifle and grenades of various kinds are the main weapons, seasoned with some extras recoverable during the short adventure. Also interesting are the gas filter and the night vision device, which in the first half of the game will force a bit of backtracking and a minimum of exploration which, through a trial and error path, will be necessary to understand which areas of the map to visit and in what order. It is a bit perplexing that Chris has to retrieve a night vision device and has not brought even a flashlight with him knowing he is going to the mine, but the quality of the DLC is high enough to allow us to postpone and not be too fussy.
Worthy of note, always talking about the fighting against enemies, is the possibility of stun them with a shot from a firearm and then finish them off with a well-placed punch. Compared to the DLC The End of Zoe, where the unreal strength of the protagonist - able to kill the micomorphs with fists - made the fighting forced, in this case we are faced with a much more acceptable balance of difficulty: the training of Chris and his overcoming enemies with some well-aimed blows is consistent with what he experienced in the role of Ethan, despite himself not prepared and terrified. Although impotence and claustrophobia are less pronounced as Chris, the experience is enjoyable and traceable to what one would expect from a Resident Evil starring a member of the Redfield family.
Graphically, the game remains on the standards of the main adventure: the dark areas and those flooded by gas do not offer who knows what additional special effects, as well as the protagonist's suit and the hud which makes everything much more FPS; there is however to say that the RE Engine has already amply demonstrated that it can do its dirty job even having to come to terms with the VR resolution not always in full HD. The graphic creation of the same protagonist presents the player with a less bodybuilder and more real Chris Redfield, continuing the turn towards photorealism and partly abandoning the Japanese style of the character design of some episodes of RE, especially the spin-offs.
Very good dubbing and localization: Chris's voice is always the same (which as a fan you notice and appreciate immediately) and the soundtrack is always ready to underline the scariest phases as already done for the duration of Resident Evil 7 .
Resident Evil 7: No Hero is the fitting ending for Resident Evil that changed everything. Scary enough, it brings together old and new fans by exploiting the beloved Chris Redfield to offer a few hours of additional play in a precarious balance between horror and the most action shooter. If the new RE had been all so certainly we would have rejected it, but let's admit that the DLC's guise fits perfectly for this long-lived adventure long enough, definitely superior to the Zoe's End content and well-finished enough to deserve to be purchased.
► Resident Evil VII is a Horror-Survival-Third Person Shooter type game developed and published by Capcom for PC, PlayStation 4 and Xbox One, the video game was released on 24/01/2017 The version for PlayStation 4 came out on 26/01/2017
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