#also who gave grin grin access to a chainsaw

[cablestwisted]

A collection of Festival of Thrills images! More coming over the course of this month. The lore surrounding this event is Phenomenal and I'm having a fantastic time!

[verdigrisprowl]

April 7 Bevel’s Movie Night - Star Trek: TNG and Steven Universe

We watched the first episode, with Q. Prowl said almost nothing because I can’t fucking stand Q.

Bevel 7:51 pm *don't anyone mind the scattered machine parts and tools, she's in the process of moving them off important surfaces like couch seats and trying to make the place look a little more presentable, hope everyone likes the broken engine with a long flat piece of metal welded atop it, it's the new table* ItsyBitsySpyers 8:02 pm *Gave up on fixing the engine, did she? Soundwave stretches feelers down to see the, uh. New furniture. Before moving to his seat.* Bevel 8:02 pm *she might have broken it permanently by mistake while trying to fix it* *it's ok, she's building a new one upstairs* Bevel 8:05 pm Hi, Soundwave. *she tries to wave and nearly drops the armful of items she's carrying over to a crate* ItsyBitsySpyers 8:06 pm *Soundwave nods.* [[In a mood for romantic music, are you.]] Omicron 8:08 pm *Icy stumbles in, and pretends she didn't, nope, she's a strong predacon thank you* Bevel 8:08 pm *shrugs and dumps her armful* Sometimes it is really nice sounding. ItsyBitsySpyers 8:10 pm *Soundwave politely pretends her pretense worked.*

[[It is, at that.]] Bevel 8:10 pm *sticks her tongue out at him and then sings quietly along to the Song of Durin while she finishes cleaning up* Omicron 8:11 pm hello friends 😀 *yes is grinning, good mood almost rolling off Icy, chirps at Bevel!* Bevel 8:11 pm *chirps back* Omicron 8:13 pm ((icy's redesign is almost done...well the first stages is)) ItsyBitsySpyers 8:13 pm [[Good evening, queen.]] Bevel 8:13 pm ((congrats, hope it goes smoothly Love songs. *amused look at Soundwave* ItsyBitsySpyers 8:15 pm [[What.]] Omicron 8:15 pm to you as well soundwave, *shakes a wing and shakes Racer down, but catching him to let him run along after as she finds a place to settle* Bevel 8:16 pm ((gonna start after this song is over if that's ok? Omicron 8:16 pm (yep) VProwl 18:16 pm *appears* Ratchet 8:16 pm *pops in* Omicron 8:16 pm Racer: *startled meep at the appearances* Bevel 8:17 pm *waves to Prowl and Ratchet* Ratchet 8:17 pm *waves* Bevel 8:18 pm *watch your steps, she might have missed a tool or twelve* Omicron 8:18 pm *Ice Queen lifts a wing to them and lays down in her beast mode, pauses and gets up to pick up a tool and lean over and hand it back. yay for long necks* Ratchet 8:19 pm [[ did that say micheal bell ]] [[ is ratchet gonna think someone sounds a lot like prowl ]] ItsyBitsySpyers 8:20 pm ((it is exactly who you think it is)) ((he's in ds9 too)) Omicron 8:21 pm ((I never realized that)) Bevel 8:21 pm ((I love Star Trek guest stars VProwl 18:22 pm ... Is this the beginning of their serving together? ItsyBitsySpyers 8:22 pm [[For this crew.]] Omicron 8:22 pm Racer: *sniffing pedes if its okay* VProwl 18:22 pm Mm. Ratchet 8:22 pm [[ isn't this like episode two or three ]] Bevel 8:23 pm ((It's the 1st and 2nd episode. Omicron 8:23 pm [oooh god XD] .....the frag ItsyBitsySpyers 8:27 pm [[As bad as the greyfaces.]] Omicron 8:27 pm Who is that? *icy frowns* Bevel 8:27 pm Queue? Omicron 8:28 pm Racer: *puzzled, but sniffing to look for prowl if aloud* VProwl 18:29 pm *back by Ratchet.* ((i'm sorry i just. i hate q so much.)) ItsyBitsySpyers 8:29 pm ((feel free to yell ooc)) Omicron 8:29 pm ((you're not the only one)) Bevel 8:29 pm ((or ic if need be VProwl 18:29 pm ((i don't even want to yell i just hate it)) Ratchet 8:30 pm [[ i also hate q ]] Omicron 8:30 pm Racer: *pats at Prowl's pede once finding it* (he's such an aft) Bevel 8:31 pm ((*loves him* >_> Ratchet 8:32 pm [[ i wish they had kept the cute miniskirt uniform forever ]] VProwl 18:32 pm ((i prefer them to have gender-neutral uniforms)) ((therefore: i'll accept the miniskirt only if spock wears it too)) Omicron 8:32 pm (he's a well written character, I'll admit, for what he's supposed to be but...meh) Ratchet 8:33 pm [[ what no i meant the one that male crew member was wearing ]] VProwl 18:33 pm ((oh i thought you were talking about tos)) Bevel 8:33 pm ((there's only one more Q episode I'll be showing after this two-parter, much as I love most of the Q episodes, so y'all won't have to suffer too much TNG with him. Omicron 8:36 pm ...what the frag? ItsyBitsySpyers 8:37 pm ((god)) VProwl 18:37 pm ((no, yeah, i can see this in 20 years)) ((ten. ... five. five years.)) Bevel 8:38 pm ((next week? Omicron 8:38 pm ((ews)) ItsyBitsySpyers 8:38 pm *Soundwave blips. How dramatic.* VProwl 18:38 pm ((i read that as soundwave bleps and it was adorable)) ItsyBitsySpyers 8:38 pm ((LMAO)) Bevel 8:38 pm ((awww ((was just thinking this would remind Prowl so much of a Quintesson courtroom Omicron 8:39 pm ((that would be awesome for soundwave)) Racer: *sitting on a prowl pede if needed?* VProwl 18:40 pm *...... reaches down to awkwardly pet?* Omicron 8:42 pm RAcer: !! *loves touch, but has a present* ItsyBitsySpyers 8:42 pm *Tired thought-mumbling.* [[Mockery court.]] Omicron 8:43 pm *Icy rumbles an agreement to soundwave, reminded of predacons being judged for their more primal ways* ItsyBitsySpyers 8:45 pm *Perk.* [[Pleasant.]] *Not often a gift like his is shown.* Omicron 8:47 pm are all of that race that...aftish Bevel 8:48 pm I never met an alien like that. ItsyBitsySpyers 8:49 pm ((michael bell everyone)) Ratchet 8:52 pm [[ GEORDI ]] [[ i love ]] Bevel 8:56 pm It can not be that hard to reconnect the two sections. VProwl 19:01 pm ((he looks like such a dweeb)) Bevel 9:02 pm ((Who? VProwl 19:02 pm ((riker)) ((a shaven-faced dork)) Bevel 9:02 pm ((He looks so much better with the beard Omicron 9:02 pm (XD) VProwl 19:02 pm ((yep)) ItsyBitsySpyers 9:02 pm [[Ah! The Doctor Bones.]] VProwl 19:03 pm *ugh.* Omicron 9:03 pm *Icy tilts her head* VProwl 19:04 pm *anyone who hates mechs AND Vulcans is someone who gets absolutely none of Prowl's support.* Omicron 9:07 pm Racer:: *been trying to get something unstuck from his teeth, and pops out one of his crystal shards, offers it to prowl* VProwl 19:08 pm ... *did he take it out of his mouth* ItsyBitsySpyers 9:09 pm ((i forgot how rough the pilot was))

*Soundwave looks at Racer's crystal shard from afar. He's offering mouth gunk?* Bevel 9:10 pm ((1st season in general is a little rough Omicron 9:11 pm That's one of the crystals he dug up in the mine, he keeps getting things stuck in his fangs. *Icy glances over, its not gunk, racer has no subspace access yet* Bevel 9:11 pm ((ah yes when the ferengi were still supposed to be threatening VProwl 19:11 pm ((*ferengi waving chainsaw* "Capitalism!")) ItsyBitsySpyers 9:11 pm ((LOL)) Bevel 9:12 pm ((lol Ratchet 9:12 pm [[ i keep falling asleep...... ]] ItsyBitsySpyers 9:12 pm ((fabu go sleep)) Bevel 9:12 pm ((*pats Fabu* Omicron 9:12 pm Racer: *drops the crystal shard, picks it up after licking it clean, then offers it to prowl* ItsyBitsySpyers 9:12 pm ((Friday the 13% Interest Rate)) Bevel 9:12 pm ((omg cro *whistles* Omicron 9:13 pm (*offer blanket for snugles*) VProwl 19:13 pm *kind of, stares it.* ... I see. Omicron 9:14 pm he's been learning how to give gifts, if you don't like it set it aside and offer it back after a time VProwl 19:15 pm *No, Data, you should never want to give up being what you are to be an organic. You're fine the way you are.* Oh, is that what—? All right. *Better help him learn about gift-giving. He takes it and sets it next to himself.* Thank you. Omicron 9:17 pm RAcer: *excitedly dances in place, not on prowls pede, and sits very proud of himself, meeping a welcome attempt* ItsyBitsySpyers 9:18 pm ((oh hey so fun fact: when i was little i used to take this hairclip my mom had and wear it and pretend to be geordi because i thought it looked like his visor. a couple years ago i found out his visor is literally that kind of hairclip painted.)) VProwl 19:18 pm ((oh wow)) Omicron 9:19 pm (that's awesome) ItsyBitsySpyers 9:19 pm ((it's not easy to see through, for the record.)) VProwl 19:19 pm ((it must not have been functioning correctly)) ItsyBitsySpyers 9:20 pm ((LMAO)) Bevel 9:21 pm ((they also designed it like that so Levar could see some, earlier versions were so hilariously bad looking VProwl 19:21 pm (("god i can't see a thing" "good, you're already getting in character")) Omicron 9:21 pm they need a living ship, doesn't matter if the sparkling touches anything...most of the time Bevel 9:21 pm ((omg ItsyBitsySpyers 9:22 pm *He feels Picard's frustration.* Omicron 9:22 pm though messing with captain chairs isn't wise VProwl 19:24 pm (("as my son tries to tell you" yeah how dare the captain express immediate concern over a fucking child ignoring an instruction not to touch things and messing with the buttons on his chair, this literal military officer should be grateful at this civilian minor casually inserting himself into the chain of command.)) *... picks up the crystal to look at it.* Omicron 9:29 pm hmmm VProwl 19:33 pm ((I CAN' F UCKING STAND THAT PIECE OF SHIT)) Omicron 9:33 pm *its a relatively large sodalite slice, a sliver-white-blue* VProwl 19:33 pm ((T)) ((I WANT TO DRIVE A PICKAXE INTO HIS STUPID LITTLE CHIN CLEFT UNTIL IT CLEAVES HIS HEAD IN HALF)) Omicron 9:33 pm ((*offers and anger pop-stick*)) ItsyBitsySpyers 9:34 pm ((my goodness)) Bevel 9:35 pm ((it's ok, this episode is almost over and then it's just one more episode with him after that ((but that episode also has Guinan and stuff VProwl 19:35 pm ((daft, smug, sanctimonious, arrogant little shit)) ((i spelled EVERY SINGLE ONE OF THOSE WORDS WRONG MORE THAN OCNE)) Metrotitans. Alien metrotitans. ItsyBitsySpyers 9:37 pm [[Hmm?]] Omicron 9:37 pm ....living ships *Icy purrs fondly at that idea* VProwl 19:37 pm The ship and the city are independent sentient beings. Bevel 9:37 pm Oh! VProwl 19:38 pm *Was kind of obvious the first time Zorn started talking to his surroundings, but the ship made it obvious.* ItsyBitsySpyers 9:38 pm *He thought perhaps there was someone camouflaged hiding in the room.* Omicron 9:39 pm can we get Primus, somehow to be aware of this...Q thing? ItsyBitsySpyers 9:39 pm [[And do what?]] Omicron 9:39 pm Flick him? VProwl 19:40 pm ... It's a prisoner. Bevel 9:41 pm Space jellyfish. Omicron 9:41 pm jellyfish ship VProwl 19:41 pm ((jellyship)) Omicron 9:42 pm ((Rapture would love to meet them...and try to snuggle them)) VProwl 19:43 pm ((Q YOUR COMMENTARY IS COMPLETELY FUCKING UNNECESSARY JUST GET OUT OF THE SCENE AND LET THEM TALK ABOUT THE JELLYSHIP)) ItsyBitsySpyers 9:44 pm *...It's kind of pretty, for an organic. It has good taste in limbs, anyway.* VProwl 19:44 pm ((YOU'RE CONTRIBUTING NOTHING BUT SNEERS)) Bevel 9:44 pm ((color coded pink and blue jellyfish so you know one is a girl and the other is a boy space jellyfish ItsyBitsySpyers 9:44 pm ((soundwave's ultimate forms)) Omicron 9:44 pm [let primus flick the anoyance far, far away on the godly scale of things] VProwl 19:45 pm ((I CAN SEE YOU MOVING YOUR SHITTY MOUTH Q)) ((KEEP IT SHUT)) Bevel 9:45 pm ((omg puff Omicron 9:45 pm aw, look at the squishy happy jellyfish ships VProwl 19:46 pm ((FUCK OFFFFFF)) Bevel 9:46 pm ((Q plz VProwl 19:46 pm ((UGH)) Bevel 9:47 pm ((I'd try to explain him but yeah. ((Onto better, non-Q things Omicron 9:47 pm at least their Captain has a good head and spark Bevel 9:48 pm I like Picard a lot. Omicron 9:50 pm *Icy nods, lets Racer climb over her to find another stashed crystal, resigned a long time ago for letting hatchlings hide things on her* Bevel 9:51 pm ((i want that backpack so bad sometimes Omicron 9:53 pm Racer: *inching over to Bevel, pads at what he can reach with a small paw* Bevel 9:53 pm *reaches down to pat him* VProwl 19:54 pm ... How did he successfully throw the sweaters across. ItsyBitsySpyers 9:54 pm [[Good arm strength?]] VProwl 19:55 pm The vortex should have pulled them down too. ItsyBitsySpyers 9:55 pm [[Perhaps it only registers living things.]] VProwl 19:56 pm The red one threw a rock. Omicron 9:56 pm Racer: *happy muffled meep, drops two shines and offers one to Bevel* Bevel 9:56 pm Garnet. VProwl 19:56 pm Gourmet. Bevel 9:56 pm *accepts with a smile* Is this for me? ItsyBitsySpyers 9:56 pm ((whoops i forgot the rock)) ((i'm not multitasking or anything no)) [[They're gems. It could mistake a rock for one.]] Omicron 9:58 pm RAcer: ya! -bounces and flaps a wing, then nuzzles against her- ItsyBitsySpyers 9:59 pm [[No, you broke it.]] Bevel 9:59 pm Thanks, Racer. I will have to get you something too next time you are here. VProwl 19:59 pm TECHNICALLY he didn't break it. He just completely failed in completing the one simple task that could have prevented it from breaking. Bevel 10:00 pm At least he tried. Guess he got too excited. VProwl 110:00 pm He should be blamed, but not for the thing he didn't do. Omicron 10:00 pm I have a feeling that might be my life when this one, or his clutch mats get older Bevel 10:01 pm *she tucks the shiny away into her subspace* Omicron 10:02 pm Racer: *happy hatchling, and picks up the other shiny, tail waves* ItsyBitsySpyers 10:05 pm [[It's like dealing with Smokescreen.]] Omicron 10:05 pm reality breaking somehow? VProwl 110:05 pm And here I was, trying to like him. ItsyBitsySpyers 10:05 pm [[Oh. He apologizes.]] Bevel 10:06 pm *giggles* Omicron 10:06 pm Racer: *paw pats at Soundwave's pede now* ItsyBitsySpyers 10:07 pm *Glances down.* Omicron 10:07 pm Racer: *offer the last crystal shine to him* ItsyBitsySpyers 10:08 pm *Soundwave accepts the shard and offers Racer a tiny pat.* *All right. Maybe he can relate to Garnet a little after all.* Omicron 10:09 pm Racer: *purr attempt at the pat* Bevel 10:12 pm ((wow sorry if i deafened anyone there Omicron 10:12 pm [its okay] Bevel 10:14 pm This looks like fun. ItsyBitsySpyers 10:14 pm [[...It does.]] VProwl 110:14 pm ... The instructional infographics are insufficient to describe how to accurately replicate the desired moves. Omicron 10:14 pm RAcer: *bounces around to the music, icy might be bobbing her head to it too* Bevel 10:14 pm I could find a version for Dancitron? ItsyBitsySpyers 10:15 pm [[He thinks they are reminder only. It looks like the main figure does the full moves.]] [[...And he would appreciate that. Take it to Arcade if you do.]] [[Rumble and Frenzy would appreciate it, he's sure.]] *Cover cover.* VProwl 110:15 pm Then you don't know what you're supposed to be doing until the exact moment you're already supposed to be doing it. Bevel 10:15 pm I will. *she's going to Earth anyway, might as well grab some game stuff for Arcade to play around with* VProwl 110:16 pm Unless there's an entirely separate training program. ItsyBitsySpyers 10:16 pm [[There might be. It could also be a matter of repeat exposure. Hmm.]] Bevel 10:17 pm Even mistakes are fun though. Omicron 10:17 pm true VProwl 110:18 pm *"mistakes are fun" what in the hell is bevel talking about* ItsyBitsySpyers 10:18 pm *She gets a lot of weird ideas. Blame her creators.* Omicron 10:19 pm Soundwave? ItsyBitsySpyers 10:20 pm [[Hmm?]] Omicron 10:21 pm I have an insecticon that wants to meet you at some point. she asked me to tell you that. ItsyBitsySpyers 10:21 pm [[...Why.]] *If this is going to be a joke at his expense about Insecticon queens...* Bevel 10:21 pm *oh teaching song, sits up* VProwl 110:22 pm *Prowl's not going to be around for that meeting.* Omicron 10:22 pm She heard you got racer to eat silver, it's made her life easier. I think its to give a thank you Bevel 10:23 pm Does Racer not like silver? Omicron 10:23 pm He didn't not like it, he wasn't sure it was something to eat until soundwave said so giving him a bit Bevel 10:24 pm Oh ok. I thought maybe he did not like it like how I do not like latinum. VProwl 110:25 pm ((does she think latinum tastes... too rich)) Bevel 10:26 pm ((lol Omicron 10:26 pm since Racer is the oldest, if he's eating things the other sparklings on the ship are interested it it too. Doesn't matter if me or their sires are eating things too ItsyBitsySpyers 10:27 pm [[Then he is glad to have helped so much. A little silver is a good treat now and then, he's told.]] [[And helpful for forming new plating.]] VProwl 110:28 pm ((*hears the Robot Words*)) ((ariel is a transformer now)) Bevel 10:28 pm ((yes Omicron 10:28 pm yes, or coating other metals to get them to eat something that's not just gold sweet ItsyBitsySpyers 10:29 pm *He's feeling personally attacked by this one.* [[Indeed.]] Bevel 10:29 pm *sorry Soundwave* *not intentional* ItsyBitsySpyers 10:30 pm *He's so sure.* Bevel 10:30 pm *makes a face at mention of gold* Omicron 10:31 pm ...? Bevel 10:31 pm Too sweet. Omicron 10:32 pm ah, yes at times Bevel 10:32 pm *doesn't like sweet things* Omicron 10:33 pm do you like copper or nickle wire? *yes she knows she has a bad habit of chew on those* Bevel 10:35 pm *shrugs* I like rust sticks if I am gonna snack on something, but I usually just eat or drink energon instead. My frame-type uses a burns a lot of energy. VProwl 110:35 pm *sometimes prowl is reminded that, to most people that aren't him, most of the environment around them is at least partially edible* Bevel 10:36 pm I eat treats other people make sometimes though. It is nice eating something else. VProwl 110:36 pm *hearing them talk about eating wires is one such reminder.* *it's wild.* Bevel 10:36 pm *Cybertronians evolved from scraplets?* ItsyBitsySpyers 10:36 pm *DON'T YOU START ON THAT* Bevel 10:37 pm *"there's still scraplets how could we have evolved from them?"* Omicron 10:38 pm I don't know why, human refined copper just... tastes really good. so do some of their cars ItsyBitsySpyers 10:38 pm [[...You consume their cars?]] Omicron 10:38 pm .......not all the time? ItsyBitsySpyers 10:38 pm ((did frasier ever have a musical episode and if not WHY NOT listen to him)) Bevel 10:38 pm Earth cars are not sentient. ItsyBitsySpyers 10:38 pm *...What is this.* Bevel 10:39 pm ((it did not but Niles and Fraiser did sing a few times ItsyBitsySpyers 10:39 pm *...Is this language humor.* Bevel 10:39 pm *yes* ItsyBitsySpyers 10:39 pm *Scoot scoot.* Bevel 10:39 pm *she found it when she was struggling with learning English* Omicron 10:40 pm *knows its bad but sometimes can't help chewing on old cars when on earth....junk food like craving* VProwl 110:42 pm *... this video is stressful* Bevel 10:42 pm *oh Prowl* Omicron 10:42 pm ....huh VProwl 110:43 pm *there's a whole lot of moving things to read, it switches fast, and words are hard* Bevel 10:43 pm *yeah Bevel didn't learn much from it until she listened to it a buncha times* Bevel 10:51 pm ((didn't think y'all wanted to sit through a 20m version of the Misty Mountain song ItsyBitsySpyers 10:51 pm *Soundwave's very... VERY very tired from recent events, and his ability to mask in public is running thin. He'll probably leave shortly. But not until after this song.* VProwl 110:54 pm *he's not alone.* ItsyBitsySpyers 10:55 pm *Soundwave stands and dusts himself off, as though he'd been sitting there long enough to collect any.*

[[He appreciates the look into the Picard human's life, but he requires recharge.]]

*Nodding to each one in turn.*

[[Prowl, Ice Queen, Bevel. Goodnight.]] VProwl 110:56 pm @S «... Can I come over?» Bevel 10:56 pm *waves goodbye* ItsyBitsySpyers 10:56 pm @P: [[Without question.]] Omicron 10:56 pm have a good evening VProwl 110:56 pm @S «I'll meet you there.» Bevel 10:57 pm I will not be able to show anything for a little while since I am leaving soon. I tried to get Rolodex to host but *she shrugs* VProwl 110:57 pm *he slides his crystal gift into a thigh compartment, and disappears.* *the crystal clatters down onto his seat.* *he has apparently forgotten things don't come with him when he disappears* ItsyBitsySpyers 10:58 pm @P: [[All right.]]

[[The ingrate. Good luck with your... mission.]]

*Soundwave moves over to where the seat was, picks up the crystal, opens a bridge and trudges through it. He's too tired to even take the opportunity to fly.* Bevel 10:58 pm Thanks. Omicron 10:59 pm good night *chirps at Bevel, standing up* Bevel 11:00 pm *chirps back* Omicron 11:01 pm *icy gets up, with racer on her back and gives a head bump, remembers the stress she had before* Omicron 11:02 pm (thanks for the stream) Bevel 11:02 pm ((np!

[game-refraction]

Game Review: Resident Evil 7 - Biohazard (PS VR)

  I opened the door to the cellar and descended down the stairs. Even before my first foot was placed firmly on the wooden plank below I could hear a heavy erratic breathing and creaking of stairs below me. Soon after hearing those disturbing noises, all while surrounded in pitch black darkness, small white arms appeared, attached to a small thin body that crawled up the stairs towards me. She lunged up at me and laughed as she picked me up and threw me back up through the door frame. I got to my feet to attempt to get away, but she charged at me, knife in hand, and starting slashing away at me, grinning the whole time.

Resident Evil 7: Biohazard brings its survival horror via a first person perspective. While this isn’t the first time the franchise has had this viewpoint, it is a new concept to the main numbered series. This perspective brings with it a new way to explore a Resident Evil game while also allowing it to return to its roots and lean far more on fear than straight-out action. Resident Evil 7 is nearly a masterpiece and a solid return to form.

As different as one would think a first person Resident Evil game would play, there is so much here that echoes that of the original 1996 PlayStation release. You still have a protagonist armed with various forms of firepower, themed keys, complex puzzles, herb based medical supplies and a maze-like home that continues to give even when you think you’ve explored each and every corner.

The Resident Evil games have commercially and critically gone downhill since the 5th in the series, with its 6th entry being the worst received of the entire franchise. Resident Evil 4 had been one of the best-reviewed games in the series and a turning point for 3rd person shooters altogether. The balance of horror and action was sublime and many thought this was, in fact, a sign that the future of Resident Evil games were going to succeed, and boy were they wrong. The series then left a lot of its survival roots behind and focused more on the shooting aspects altogether thus turning the series into action horror than one of survival.

Back at E3 in 2015 there was a tech demo from Capcom called “Kitchen” and it was for the upcoming VR headset that would eventually be called PlayStation VR. This demo was then later on revealed to be a glimpse at what the future of what Resident Evil was going to be. It was clear then that Resident Evil was going to follow in the footsteps of several recent horror games and be presented as a first person game. Throughout my playthrough of RE7, I couldn’t help but see so many horror influences here, from movies and games like Texas Chainsaw Massacre, Outlast, P.T. and even Alien: Isolation. It also should be noted that many horror games throughout the years have borrowed from the original Resident Evil released back in 1996, so maybe we have just come full circle in who inspired who.

The basic structure of the story here is equally reminiscent to that of mid-2000 horror movies, with a few of those references I can’t mention due to ruining the core story, let alone the whole reason for the freaky things that go on here. You play as Ethan, a man who learns his dead wife Mia isn’t quite so dead and goes to Louisiana to track her down. You end up at the homestead of the Baker’s, a family that seems lifted right out from Texas Chainsaw Massacre.

Almost the entirety of RE7 takes place at or around the Baker homestead, a location that has just as much creativity and mystery as the Spencer Estate did back in the original Resident Evil. There are themed keys and secret areas that unlock through your natural progression in the story, with a few locations that need some backtracking to locate or unlock once you’ve discovered a special key or lockpick. This location is the gift that just keeps on giving and it is these small intimate locations that trump the atmosphere you get in any open world game. The level design in RE7 is just superb and constantly had me paranoid around every corner, even when I knew the danger had passed.

Where the original Resident Evil had many things to kill, this is where RE7 sadly stumbles; enemy variety. You only have a small handful of enemy types and they can become more frustration than excitement. While I’ll get to my opinion on VR and non-VR later on, because there is a huge divide on quality there, the monsters tend to be more bullet sponges than anything else. You have what are called the “Molded” and these tar-like monsters come in upright on two legs or ones that tend to stay on all fours. These encounters on harder difficulty can be nightmarish and with the aiming system what it is, you’ll spend a ton of bullets taking them down or attempting to. There are also some large flying bugs later on that pretty much are limited to a few encounters and are not found in high numbers outside of those moments. Other than that, you have your boss encounters; Jack, Marguerite, Lucas and two more encounters I’ll not reveal. I’ve also seen a few encounters happen differently than that of my own, adding a bit of unpredictability to each playthrough, and creating a greater sense of paranoia when you don’t know what is going to happen.

Several encounters with the Baker family take place in VHS tapes that you’ll find and view during the roughly ten hour playthrough. These tapes are essentially playable scenes where you embody another character and see events that happened before you entered the Baker home. These tapes almost act as a time machine as you can effect things in the past to help Ethan in the present. One of those effects is unlocking a locked drawer early on by finding the lockpick at your feet at the start of the first VHS tape. Unlocking this drawer as Clancy will allow Ethan to benefit from what is in the drawer. There are a small handful of these tapes and each of them are vastly entertaining with one resembling something straight out of a saw movie.

The Baker family is easily the true highlight of the game as each member of this family is sick, twisted and just pure fun. The problem with a lot of the gaming industry is its lack of inclusion of genuine silliness in games. When the original Resident Evil came about, it featured awful voice acting, absurd situations and a campiness to it that garnered it a cult status. With lines like “That was too close. You were almost a Jill sandwich!” or “Jill, here’s a lockpick. It might come in handy if you, ‘the master of unlocking’, take it with you.” Both of which are famously remembered when discussing any cheesy dialogue from video games history and is right up there with “All your base are belong to us.”

Games like Outlast had you escape encounters instead of embracing them, putting the “survival” in survival horror. Resident Evil allows the use of powerful weaponry, so there is no need to stuff yourself into a locker and hope that whatever is chasing you didn’t notice you pop in there. While there are moments in RE7 that require you to hide, it is usually behind some sort of box, table or pile of debris. Bringing the heat to the Molded and said bosses, Ethan has access to various handguns, shotguns, a knife, grenade launcher, flamethrower, and more. Depending on the difficulty you’ve chosen you’ll find ammo littered around to use sparingly or just go Rambo on anything that moves.

There are some issues with regards to combat that can hurt the overall enjoyment. Some of the encounters when you are trying to escape can be a pain when you are boxed in, as there is no shove or dodge mechanic at all, forcing you to expend ammo when you really wanted to conserve it. Speaking of ammo, let’s discuss the best way to play Resident Evil 7; VR.

My first and full playthrough of RE7 was entirely in VR, from start to finish. After completing the game I booted it up in 4K on my PS4 Pro and started up a new game. Once I had to shoot down my first enemy, I suddenly realized that RE7 in non-VR just wasn’t nearly as good. Well, that’s not true, I realized that well before I had my first gun. The way the VR allows you to see your entire peripheral vision is unmatched as is the way it allows you to aim. In VR you only have to move your head small amounts to get that much-needed headshot and the cursor for doing so is far more apparent. Without VR I was struggling to get a solid shot and it was frustrating.

The way VR enhances Resident Evil 7 is incredible, and not once did I get sick or too dizzy to keep playing. Sure, I had a moment or two where I had to slow down and pause the game for a second, but eventually, I went three to four hours of straight play without becoming light-headed or nauseous. There are vast amounts of settings to enhance or assist in how VR works for you. RE7 does the same thing another VR game I’ve seen do, and that is fading in and out each time you move the right stick, this assists in turning so that the fluid movement doesn’t make you sick. It takes a while to get used to and turning it off resulted in getting dizzy real fast, so I recommend to stick with the default setting. There are several moments in the game that are not in VR and it pans out to a theater style view. These are moments when the camera must be directly focused on something and needs to prevent you from looking around. There are also several moments when you are knocked down or jump down to a lower location that results in a quick fade in and out.

Despite any issues with VR, I enjoyed the game far more with the added perspective and immersion that VR brings. Locations gave me a sense of claustrophobia that I didn’t feel when not wearing the headset. Locations and people felt far more real and made me truly appreciate this game for what they intended to do. When a character grabs your hand, you feel far more connected to them as opposed to just seeing it happen on screen. There are also several moments in the game where it gets right in your face, a design that is obviously crafted for VR in mind. About the only thing that VR doesn’t have that non-VR does is a full body given to Ethan, as well as shadows that accompany said body; VR has floating arms and no shadow given to Ethan.

Health is another issue that is problematic with VR and non-VR as it can be a visual nuisance on both, but a far bigger one in non-VR. Ethan has a pebble watch attached to his wrist, not joking, and it shows your health as you take hits and cuts from various foes. In VR this is a circle effect around you, growing more red the closer you are to death. in non-VR you have blood effects on the screen and should you even be at 90% health, there will be blood effects on the screen, annoying you. Ethan already has a watch to show his health, these effects could have been completely left out and had us rely on the watch until giving us some visual warning for extremely low health.

Visuals will vary depending on how you play Resident Evil 7. The Xbox One and PS4 versions are virtually identical, whereas the PS4 Pro’s 4K mode and PC versions are easily the best in terms of visuals. The VR approach on the PS4 is far less impressive due to the resolution restraints the headset has, but rest assured this is the best way to play this game – bar none. The locations are packed with detail, dirty and filthy and just impressive. Sinks are filled with dirty plates, cockroaches and various bits of food, equally detailed with hundreds of maggots. RE7 is an aesthetically pleasing game on all fronts.

After playing through the entire game in VR and a solid portion without, Resident Evil 7 is superb regardless of platform. I will state that my 4.5/5 rating of the game is for its VR offerings and my experience with RE7 not in VR rates a solid 3.5/5. The game is just vastly better in VR in terms of difficulty, immersion, and function. Playing Resident Evil 7 in VR was thrilling, terrifying, and made me paranoid with each step. There are so many settings to make sure that your VR experience is an enjoyable one, it makes me wish that games like Robinson Journey, a game made solely for VR, would offer as many settings there to allow me to enjoy it without feeling ill. While my experience with it not in VR may be the result of a ‘been there done that’ approach to a second playthrough, I didn’t feel nearly as scared or immersed in my surroundings, because well, these locations were not really around me and neither were the threats looking to soak up my bullets. If you have been on the fence about purchasing a Playstation VR, well, this is that killer app that makes the purchase, albeit an expensive one, worth it.

Resident Evil 7 is a solid return to form for the Resident Evil series, a horror game that while not terribly original has us all excited about taking another trip to this once wonderful franchise, and that, regardless of any platform, is a very good thing indeed.

To get a taste of what Resident Evil 7 offers, check out the following trailer. As is the case with all the launch trailers surrounding this game, it does contain a lot of scenes from later on in the game, so huge caution for spoilers and story elements I’ve kept quiet on in this review, you have been warned.

  Game Review: Resident Evil 7 – Biohazard (PS VR) was originally published on Game-Refraction