Resident Evil 7 was my perfect gateway into horror games

I’m the type of guy that loves JRPGs, especially the Kingdom Hearts games. I also love 3D platformers like Super Mario Odyssey and Rayman Legends, so it was a journey for me to play something as horrific and nerve-wracking as Resident Evil 7 with my buddies.

Hunched up in the darkness, I was terrified, but getting past the possessed zombie-like Southerners, I pushed through its scariest moments for the story and a need to share with my friends. That’s why Resident Evil 7 is the perfect gateway for my introduction to horror games; if the fear factor has you cowering, the need to know propels you through.

Find a friend

Accompanied by my friend Jeric and his brother, I was coerced into playing my first horror game. I briefly tried out Resident Evil 5’s demo before but chickened out from the man with a chainsaw. I never was willing to get spooked for a thrill, but with my friends by my side, I was more willing to go head first.

Part of what makes the Resident Evil series so outstanding is how the gameplay is entrenched in the horror. What made Resident Evil 7 so special to me was having a buddy guide my way through puzzles and how the series works. It was so refreshing at the time — a makeshift co-op experience for a new genre I hadn’t tested myself with before. Rather than shooting hundreds of rounds of bullets, you have to conserve.

Your fear grows as you run out of ammo. You’re listening for enemies around you, and you shouldn’t feel like a badass. Ethan Winters was certainly a more relatable protagonist. He isn’t as beefy as Chris Redfield. He is just as scared as us as he is forced to fight his possessed wife. Hitting and shooting at his wife and looking at the tortured souls of the family you’re with is extremely effective in first person. I can’t even imagine what it’s like in VR.

The Resident Evil 7 storyline seemed hokey – until it wasn’t

The Baker family dinner scene genuinely creeped me out when I played it at first. I remember my friends laughing while I was gritting my teeth. The dinner table is filled with all manner of nasty food, rotten to the core. You see the father and the son Lucas arguing with each other and then the former slicing the son’s hand off. I cringed backward, looking away from the screen.

They then get angry with you for not eating the worm that is fed to you. The mother shouts her head off, offended and screaming, “He’s not eating it!” Witnessing heretics like this on-screen shocked me, entrancing me further into the horror genre.

The father is also very threatening as he resorts to violence, cutting your mouth with his knife. This scene illustrates the danger your protagonist is in, setting the mood for the rest of the game. My friends brought me back to reality, trying to get me back into the game.

From this point onward, I was extremely vigilant and felt weak in comparison to the crazies in the house. I now understand that’s exactly what a horror game should do. Resident Evil 7, like other entries in the series, sets up the tension perfectly from the confusing beginning all the way to the action-packed conclusion.

I’m now invested in the Resident Evil and the horror genre

Toward the end of the game, the plot engaged me. I wanted to know how this happened to the Baker family, who is the culprit, and how the overall narrative is going to end. The experience made me invested in the Resident Evil series as I’ve played the remakes and the follow-up Resident Evil Village. It’s become one of my favorite franchises now; it’s up there with Kingdom Hearts and Final Fantasy for me.

The horror genre isn’t just jump scares. There can be more to the tale. Resident Evil has some stellar action and character moments, especially in the most recent entries. Additionally, other horror games like The Evil Within do an outstanding job of putting you in a surrealistic place and not knowing what to expect next. There’s also Dead by Daylight, which has elevated the asymmetrical multiplayer genre. I’m now invested. I can’t wait to play the likes of Alan Wake 2 and whatever future Resident Evil games lie in wait.