GAMETECH: Resident Evil sends real chills

Resident Evil VII is a masterpiece in crazy game design — and a frightening virtual reality experience, writes Ronan Jennings.

THERE’S a point in Resident Evil VII when Ethan, the stoic hero of the game, mutters to himself: “Who designs this shit?” Ethan is referring to an obscure door-locking mechanism involving a projector, a statue and light-shadows, but he might well have been talking about the game developers. Resident Evil VII is a masterpiece of pioneering, crazy game design.

This is the first big-budget release to make virtual reality a foundational aspect of the experience. While Resident Evil VII can be played ‘normally’ in first-person mode, the game has truly been built to accommodate VR and is simply astonishing in a headset.