Halloween Horror With Resident Evil VII: Biohazard

Why Capcom's Horror Sequel Is One Of My Go-To Horror Games.

Halloween is here, and like every Halloween, the candy comes out, cobwebs adorn every crevice, and we settle down to play a horror game, or maybe even watch a horror film. The main thing to note is that tonight is all about the scares.

Growing up, I was a huge scaredy cat, and the idea of anything spooky or horror-related gave me the biggest fright alive. Oddly enough, my younger sister was the exact opposite and relished in all things spooky and horrific. That was until just a few years ago, when I braved the courage to explore the horror genre in all its forms and was completely absorbed into it. Horror stories create such tension and fear, but also provide some of the most creative stories out there, stories that I was missing out on. One particular story that grabbed me was, as you may have guessed, Resident Evil VII: Biohazard.

The game starts with systems engineer Ethan Winters driving to a remote location in Louisiana after receiving communication from his missing girlfriend, Mia, to pick her up. Arriving at an abandoned house within an overgrown wood, Ethan makes his way into the rundown house. He soon finds Mia trapped in a cell below before trying to free her, but she has no recollection of sending for him. Soon she transforms into a tormented version of herself, scrapping with Ethan and possessing heightened strength, leading to Ethan lodging an axe in her, seemingly killing her. Confused and scared, Ethan tries to escape before Mia returns and plunges a screwdriver into his hand, before sawing off his hand with a chainsaw. Mia then stumbles away, dealing with an internal struggle, telling Ethan to leave her here and escape. Not so long after, another fight ensues, before Mia is shot down in self-defence. Turning to finally escape, Jack Baker appears and smacks you to the ground, knocking you out. "Welcome to the family, son."

Now you're in the messed-up world of Biohazard.

Biohazard is one of the best games I've played in terms of creating an atmosphere or ATMOSFEAR (hahaha... I apologise for nothing). The first-person camera angle, very, very limited weaponry, coupled with the sense of dread that any one of the deranged Baker family members is lurking around every corner. The derelict estate is filled with creepy places to explore and overgrown mould seeping through the walls. You never feel safe, and even when you do grab your breath, you know you've got to head back out to try to find Mia and escape this dreaded estate of horror.

Aside from the Baker family members looking to capture you, there are the odd monsters of mould lurking around the grounds that will waddle towards you. They're not exactly fear-inducing, but when there are a few, they start to overwhelm you, and with your scarce resources, you'll soon be feeling that dread.

Simply put, Biohazard is a horror game classic, up there with the very best. The claustrophobic setting, unforgiving fear and relentlessness of the Bakers create one of the best gaming experiences you can experience on Halloween.

What game/film have you picked for Halloween?