Back in October, I spent 500 dollars on PlayStation 4's virtual reality headset, PSVR. It was a gamble, I know. Luckily, because of some horrible handling of my order on Amazon's part, I got almost 100 dollars of it back, so that helped soften the blow. Still, it was a gamble, investing that amount of money on something that may or may not yield fruit. My, oh my, what an apple this tree has made.
I did enjoy my virgin outing with the PSVR. I played an amazing game called Thumper, and spent a good deal of time with demos. I played through the disappointing Here They Lie, but marveled at some of the trickery they had near the end of the game, even if the game didn't make sense whatsoever. I chuckled and yelled out of frustration at the incredibly short I Expect You to Die. I knew what it felt like to live in Jurassic Park as I delved into Crytek's world of Robinson: The Journey. The PSVR has given me many unique experiences, and for the most part I've enjoyed them. But none so far have proved to me as impressive as a recent particular game: Resident EVII.
I've spent about about seven hours in the Baxter house so far, and there have been a lot of unnerving moments. There have been several "HOLY SHIT" moments as well, jump scares that delivered their effects far more potently, because my brain is being tricked into believing they're real. I haven't yet played the game in normal mode, because I simply don't want to. Every new room I explore, every sound that I hear, every fight I partake in, I want to be there. I want that depth, that perception, that extra layer of realism that isn't afforded on merely playing the game on a flat screen.
It comes at a cost, though. REVII is a beautifully yet disgustingly detailed game and because of the loss of resolution in the headset, I lose a good deal of fidelity as a result. Graphics whores will probably never get behind VR unless the tech is able to start displaying in 4K, and I'm sure that kind of power would only serve to make each VR session that much more special. But special to me is being there, seeing the blood from a chainsaw splattering in my face, seeing the twisted face of Margeurite Baxter suddenly appear before me, almost feeling the fetid breath from a molded as it opens its toothy maw right in front me. I'll gladly give up that resolution for feeling right there in each and every moment.
As for the game itself, I'm really enjoying it. It didn't feel much like a Resident Evil game when I first started playing it, but as the game's progressing, there's a lot of Resident Evil-esque gameplay going on. Puzzles and keys and even some boss fights have that authentic Resident Evil feel to it. I just wish that the story would feel somehow connected to past Resident Evil games, but maybe there will be later developments that tie everything together.
I'm hoping this game does well. I hope it does very well. I hope that Sony and Capcom see a lot of people playing Resident EVII in VR, because I want more VR games that make excellent use of this tech to be released. So far, it's just been mini games that were nothing more than tech demos, and little self contained games that were more experiences than they were games, but Resident EVII is the first substantial game that I've played that can also be experienced in its entirely with VR. If we get more games of this caliber, then maybe we don't have another Move on our hands. We'll finally have a VR system that will stick around for a few years.
If you have the means, I strongly urge you to get a PSVR and Resident EVII. It really is something else. For the longest time, I've been searching for a game that's truly terrifying, but I've played so many horror games that I started becoming immune to them. REVII in VR is finally a game that makes me uneasy about turning on my game console again. Great work, Capcom!
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