Resident Evil 7: Biohazard

Resident Evil 7: Biohazard

Genre and conventions

It's a survival horror game.

It's a single- player game where the player controls the protagonist, Ethan Winters from a first person perspective.

The player controls Ethan Winters as he searches for his wife in a derelict plantation occupied by the cannibalistic Baker family, solving puzzles and fighting enemies.

It's the first game from the Resident Evil games to use a first person perspective.

Even though Ethan is a civilian in the game, he can offer a few combat skill such as arming himself with a variety of different weapons e.g. handguns, shot guns, flamethrowers, explosives and chainsaws against the Baker family and a humanoid form of fungus called 'Molded'.

He is even able to quickly turn 180 degrees to avoid enemies as well as blocking incoming attacks to reduce damage.

Various portions of the game are spent being pursued by members of the Baker family, who if engaged in combat, can only be temporarily incapacitated. However, these encounters are avoidable by means of stealth or running away.

The game can be played on Microsoft Windows, XBox one and Playstation 4.

The playstation game can be played in virtual reality using the headset that comes with it.

Industry

Production and Distribution
The game was developed by Capcom, a Japanese video game developer and designed by Keisuke Yamakawa.

Marketing and Publicity

The internal marketing team at Capcom collaborated with the creative agency iam8bit to produce an escape room called Resident Evil Escape Room Experience,in which groups of 6 are guided through a series of rooms by Umbrella Corporation employees. It was held at a gallery space in Echo Park, Los Angeles. In London, there was a similar event.

Shortly after the game was released, a playable teaser named Resident Evil Teaser: Beginning Hour was released in the Playstation Store.

The demo takes place in a dilapidated(a building or object in a state of disrepair or ruin as a result of age or neglect.) house, which the unnamed male player character needs to escape.

Capcom later revealed that the teaser was a standalone experience and not a segment of the game, which has more variety in its environments and additional mechanics such as combat.

The first downloadable content package for the game, titled Banned Footage Vol. 1, was released for the Playstation 4 in January 2017.

Reviews and Feedback
Critics praised the gameplay, graphics and design, but criticized the boss battles and the final chapter. The PlayStation VR version received positive reviews with some criticism including decreased resolution and physical discomfort.

Social and Cultural Contexts

Audience Appeal 

Over 2,000,000 players accumulated worldwide, with over 200,00 of them being VR (Virtual Reality) users.

By September 2017, it had sold over 4.1 million copies worldwide.

Representation

The game is seems to be aimed towards teenagers and adults. However the game is not a good representation of the real world.