Resident Evil 7: Biohazard VR

Resident Evil 7: Biohazard VR brings the entire main game into virtual reality without any compromises or cuts – the player can experience Ethan Winters's whole story from start to finish in first person directly in the headset. The game takes place in the dilapidated house of the Baker family in Louisiana, where the player explores dark corridors, solves simple puzzles, manages a limited supply of ammunition and healing herbs, and faces mutated family members and fungal monsters. In the VR version, all the tension is amplified by the fact that the player physically turns their head to see around corners, and enemies can appear literally anywhere in their field of view. The slower pace of the first hours, when the player mostly explores the house cautiously and conserves resources, feels much heavier in VR, since the distance provided by a screen no longer protects them, and the feeling of physical presence in the Bakers' house is almost constant.

Technically, this was an extremely demanding undertaking, because Capcom had to adapt not just the camera but also movement, combat, and environmental interactions so they would work in a full game packed with detail and stressful situations. The game offered several movement and aiming options, from smooth walking to teleportation and head-aimed targeting, so every player could adjust the settings according to their own tolerance for motion sickness. The sound design plays an even bigger role here than on a regular television – creaking floorboards, distant footsteps, or the character's breathing literally surround the player from every side, multiplying the atmosphere of gloom and claustrophobia.

After release, the VR mode became one of the reasons many players bought a PSVR headset at all, and it's still cited today as one of the most intense horror experiences virtual reality has to offer. The game significantly influenced how VR is approached for big-budget titles – it showed that a complete transfer of an entire game, not just a short demo, is both technically possible and desired by players. Even years later, Resident Evil 7 in PSVR remains a showcase of how strongly spatial perception can amplify fear and tension.

Proč hrát: For one of the most intense horror experiences VR has to offer, worth buying an entire headset just for it – it shows how strongly spatial perception can amplify fear and tension.