- Resident Evil 7 celebrates its 7th anniversary today.
- This game was a fresh start for the series, bringing it back to the top of survival horror in gaming.
- It introduced a first-person perspective and shifted away from the action-focused gameplay of prior entries.
Capcom is one of the biggest and most versatile Japanese game publishers. Despite a slew of titles spanning a range of gameplay styles, Capcom is best known for its work in the survival horror genre, thanks to Resident Evil.
While this franchise is still the publisher’s best-selling IP, it went through a period of dwindling popularity. The series struggled to find its place during the HD era of gaming, but this changed with Resident Evil 7. This entry celebrates its 7th anniversary today.
Why it matters: Resident Evil 7 faced a challenging task. A soft reboot for a series suffering from fatigue was a risky move from Capcom that paid off in the end.
Resident Evil 7 Biohazard became an undisputed success for Capcom.
Before this release, titles like Resident Evil 6 began to lose sight of the survival-horror genre, pushing Resident Evil toward a bombastic action focus, with Capcom seemingly attempting to emulate the most common tropes of the time.
While such games were by no means failures, they garnered mixed feedback. Fast forward to 2017, and Capcom flipped this approach on its head. With a fresh set of characters and a bold return to bone-chilling horror, Resident Evil 7 became a hit in no time.
Introducing a first-person perspective, the game prioritized immersion and the horrors of the menacing baker family. It also presented a slower and more methodical approach to gameplay, emphasizing resource management and careful exploration, elements that the series had lost over time.
On the subject of immersion, Resident Evil 7 was later adapted for VR. Considered one of the best representations of this technology, the game’s horror elements shined further, with Capcom embracing everything players had missed from the IP.
These strengths catapulted the horror game to immeasurable success, making it the best-selling entry of the series, though this title was taken over by Resident Evil 2 Remake last year.
Seven years after its release, Resident Evil 7 can be picked up for dirt cheap during different promotions across all platforms. This makes it a perfect jumping-on point for newcomers and one of Capcom’s most appealing titles today.
Following this release, Capcom adopted a hybrid model for Resident Evil. Balancing remakes with original entries in the Winters family saga, the publisher breathed new life into the IP.
Last year’s Resident Evil 4 Remake enjoyed unprecedented success, selling 5 million units. Similarly, Resident Evil Village sold 8 million units, and much of the credit for these results directly goes to the momentum created by Resident Evil 7.
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[Senior News Reporter]
Avinash is currently pursuing a Business degree in Australia. For more than 5 years, he has been working as a gaming journalist, utilizing his writing skills and love for gaming to report on the latest updates in the industry. Avinash loves to play action games like Devil May Cry and has also been mentioned on highly regarded websites, such as IGN, GamesRadar, GameRant, Dualshockers, CBR, and Gamespot.
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