Resident Evil 7 came out earlier this year with a positive reception towards fans who have grown tired of the previous action-oriented games in the series. One noticeable aspect in the game people recognized that is now making a return was the dark, foreboding atmosphere that crept within the confines of its silent decaying corridors. Its the similar atmosphere felt by many back when played the original or its remake. And in order to understand how they pull off this atmosphere, we must take a closer look into the game's details.
Starting with the camera and its effects, Resident Evil 7 makes use of shaky cam style movements to convey panic and stress felt by the player character, Ethan. Depth of field is being used to an effect to communicate when an object is too close to Ethan's face. In particular, the best example that demonstrates this is during his first hostile confrontation of his long lost wife with a knife. The field of view itself is purposefully made everything look closer than they appear which adds to the claustrophobic element. This was complimented by the mounted flashlight effect which the vignette created puts the player into a state of tunnel vision putting more of the attention to the center making them unaware of their surroundings. Not to mention the flashlight has a limited range of what it can illuminate. All of these elements together give the game a similar style of presentation in found footage films.
Although graphics alone doesn't alone make a game scary. Its worth noting that the game's levels and assets were built using photogrammetry technology enhancing the realism of its world. This includes the character appearances who are based on the likeness of actual actors and surprisingly it manages to walk a fine line between the uncanny valley. As a result it compliments to the overall creepiness of the atmosphere. That aside, the dampness, decay, and filth that is commonly present in abandoned buildings is portrayed realistically in the game even though this is nothing special given that this is pretty common in majority of survival-horror games. However the level of detail is what makes them convincing adding to the tension when combined with the limited lighting and the claustrophobic camera style.
This brings us to the level design. Resident Evil 7 goes back to its roots in its approach to progression. Much like the original Resident Evil, its levels are laid out in a semi-open design similar to metroidvania style games. This means that certain doors are locked early on and backtracking is involved when going into newer areas. Fortunately the game's levels are small and compact which reduces the frustration that comes with backtracking but with the clutter and the other design elements its still possible to get easily lost.
In conclusion, the graphics, the camera style, level design and among other things contributed to terrifying atmosphere of Resident Evil 7 making this iteration in the series the most immersive experience so far.
Starting with the camera and its effects, Resident Evil 7 makes use of shaky cam style movements to convey panic and stress felt by the player character, Ethan. Depth of field is being used to an effect to communicate when an object is too close to Ethan's face. In particular, the best example that demonstrates this is during his first hostile confrontation of his long lost wife with a knife. The field of view itself is purposefully made everything look closer than they appear which adds to the claustrophobic element. This was complimented by the mounted flashlight effect which the vignette created puts the player into a state of tunnel vision putting more of the attention to the center making them unaware of their surroundings. Not to mention the flashlight has a limited range of what it can illuminate. All of these elements together give the game a similar style of presentation in found footage films.
Although graphics alone doesn't alone make a game scary. Its worth noting that the game's levels and assets were built using photogrammetry technology enhancing the realism of its world. This includes the character appearances who are based on the likeness of actual actors and surprisingly it manages to walk a fine line between the uncanny valley. As a result it compliments to the overall creepiness of the atmosphere. That aside, the dampness, decay, and filth that is commonly present in abandoned buildings is portrayed realistically in the game even though this is nothing special given that this is pretty common in majority of survival-horror games. However the level of detail is what makes them convincing adding to the tension when combined with the limited lighting and the claustrophobic camera style.
This brings us to the level design. Resident Evil 7 goes back to its roots in its approach to progression. Much like the original Resident Evil, its levels are laid out in a semi-open design similar to metroidvania style games. This means that certain doors are locked early on and backtracking is involved when going into newer areas. Fortunately the game's levels are small and compact which reduces the frustration that comes with backtracking but with the clutter and the other design elements its still possible to get easily lost.
In conclusion, the graphics, the camera style, level design and among other things contributed to terrifying atmosphere of Resident Evil 7 making this iteration in the series the most immersive experience so far.