Resident Evil VII Biohazard
There was a lot of deliberation over which of the Resident Evil games had the best story as titles like Code Veronica arguably had the best villains, while the original Resident Evil did a fantastic job embracing the B-movie idea. However, we settled on the gruesome and dirty world of Resident Evil VII which had some of the most intimate and frightening moments in the entire franchise. Set in the deep south, players assume the role of a young man named Ethan who is searching for his missing wife, Mia. Turns out she has been kidnapped by the worst family in existence, the Bakers, who are made up by father Jack, mother Marguerite, and their son Lucas.
Resident Evil VII is clearly pulling inspiration from grindhouse-esque films like The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, however, it’s the characters that really make this title so memorable. Unlike antagonists from previous games in this series, the Bakers are full of personality, layered with an interesting amount of depth that makes them more than just your average, angry stalkers. Their relationships not only with the player, but between each other are complex and unique. There’s a lot of time spent giving them proper backstories to those willing to read everything they come across, which gives the Bakers a tragedy to them.
On top of this is a fantastic story that doesn’t overdo it with the typical Resident Evil campy moments and aims to tell a darker story. Scares are paced nicely throughout and there is never a moment when the game feels like it’s betraying the iconic source material it draws from.
