A step in the right direction
I have been a fan of Resident Evil since the first release, but unfortunately I have waned off the series since Resident Evil 5 came out, just because every release felt more and more action oriented and less about the horror. They took the action right back out with this release, and turned the horror up to the maximum. From the start this game feels beautiful to play, from the graphics being INSANE for a console game (I played the PS4 Pro version), to the sheer dread of going down every hallway and into every room, it feels like a wonderfully crafted masterpiece in horror. Resident Evil 7 has been consistently scary, more than any other game I have ever played, and that is really saying something. From the beginning just walking around the beautifully grotesque scenery gives you moment after moment of "What can they possibly throw at me now" feelings, and it makes it terrifying to continue. I actually had to stop a few times just because I didn't have it in me due to how well they have scares paced and how unpredictable it would be.
There were only a couple missteps that brought the game down to 4 instead of 5 stars. First there is the fact that the game starts to give you too many items and gets you feeling a bit too comfortable near the end, it just starts to feel a bit like they were trying to drag it on by throwing enemy after enemy at you. Which leads to a problem really common in horror games where you know exactly what enemy type does what, and how to counter everything, so you don't feel scared anymore. But this occurs so late in the game it isn't really much of a problem. Another minor annoyance, there is a small part of the game that feels as if you are playing some add on DLC to get more story (if you beat it you probably know which part I am referring to), it just feels tacked on and has bad pacing compared to the rest of the game including parts directly after it. Kind of like they cut it in afterwards to stretch the game out.
If you like horror games, and like the idea of a reimagining of Resident Evil, get this. There is no reason not to. It is almost the perfect horror game.
