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How scary is 'Resident Evil 7' in VR? Watch terrified people play for the first time

The Resident Evil series of video games has had a lot of highs and lows over the years, but lately it's been a lot of lows. Resident Evil 6 was a disappointment and action-focused spin-offs have been panned by critics.

Capcom's answer? Burn it all down and build it back up again. For the first time in series history, Resident Evil is entirely in first-person. And for one of the first times for a major video game release (by any company) the entire game is playable in virtual reality (on the PlayStation 4, via the PlayStation VR headset).

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Generally speaking, video games don't scare me as much as movies do, in large part because I'm in control of most of the action on-screen. I don't have to shout "Don't go down that hallway!" at my TV because I choose whether I want to actually take those steps or not. In VR, though? Resident Evil 7 is terrifying. Every scary moment is right in your face, and you can't easily back away from the horrors that you're seeing.

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But don't take my word for it. I ran several of my Dallas Morning News colleagues -- with varying degrees of video game aptitude -- through a couple of the more intense sections of the game. You can see their reactions in the video below.

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Resident Evil 7 begins when your character, Ethan, receives an e-mail from his long-missing wife, Mia. The message is shortly and cryptic implores Ethan to come get her at the Baker farm in Louisiana. What waits for him is not a happy reunion, and you quickly realize that something is seriously wrong with the Baker family.

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Beyond being generally scary, it's kind of impressive just how much Resident Evil 7 feels like a throwback to the original Resident Evil, which was released on the original PlayStation back in 1996. You don't get the campy, B-movie horror vibe with terrible voice acting, but many of the core gameplay elements are the same. Ammo for your guns is extremely scarce. Your inventory space is small and must often be managed so you can make room for items you need for puzzles; you use weird keys to open weird doors adorned by crows, scorpions and snakes; and so on.

Marguerite Baker doesn't exactly offer the kind of southern hospitality you'd hope for.
Marguerite Baker doesn't exactly offer the kind of southern hospitality you'd hope for.(Capcom)

While you can usually fight back, sometimes the best option is actually to hide. While the monstrous "molded" enemies you'll encounter will go down with a couple of shotgun blasts, you will sometimes be stalked by a member of the Baker family, and they don't go down easily at all. You might be able to get them out of your hair for awhile, but there's no shame in running from danger if it means you have the chance to survive.

Even if you don't play in VR, Resident Evil 7 is easily one of the better survival-horror games in a long time, and it takes the series to a height that it hasn't seen since the smash hit Resident Evil 4. If you have any interest in scary games, don't wait until Halloween for this one. And play it with the lights off.

Thanks to Tommy Magelssen, Dom DiFurio, Dawn Burkes and Sarah Blaskovich for getting scared on camera.