Resident Evil 7: Biohazard Review: The First Big Console Game That Can Be Played Properly on iPhone 15 Pro

Here comes the release of one of the most popular games in the Resident Evil series – Resident Evil 7: Biohazard for iPhone, iPad and Mac.

So all the AAA-news on the iPhones had problems releasing. They either handled poorly, or were slow, or didn’t care.

We have already tested the game and are in a hurry to share our impressions. Spoiler: the situation here is completely different.

Briefly. What is the game about?

It is the seventh installment in the main series, excluding the spin-off. It follows former American television research engineer Ethan Winters as he travels to Louisiana to find his kidnapped wife Mia.

It turns out that her power is in the mysterious house of the Baker family, which managed to capture the “mold”. When Ethan finally finds her, it turns out that Mia is also infected with a dangerous biological virus.

Now he needs to figure out what happened and save his wife at any cost. This is where the plot ends.

What are the system requirements?

Like previous AAA games, the new product definitely requires high-end hardware. In this case, one of the following devices is required:

iOS 17 and A17 Pro chip or higher

• iPhone 15 Pro
• iPhone 15 Pro Max

Full versions of the game are required for installation. 25 GB free space. For the past free prologue is enough and 11 GB.

iPadOS 17.0 and M1 chip or higher

• iPad Pro 11-inch (3rd generation)
• iPad Pro 11-inch (3rd generation) Wi-Fi + Cellular
• iPad Pro 12.9-inch (5th generation)
• iPad Pro 12.9-inch (5th generation) Wi-Fi + Cellular
• iPad Air (5th generation)
• iPad Air (5th generation) Wi-Fi + Cellular
• iPad Pro 11-inch (4th generation)
• iPad Pro 11-inch (4th generation) Wi-Fi + Cellular
• iPad Pro 12.9-inch (6th generation)
• iPad Pro 12.9-inch (6th generation) Wi-Fi + Cellular
• iPad Air 11 inches (M2)
• iPad Air 11-inch (M2) Wi-Fi + Cellular
• iPad Air 13-inch (M2)
• iPad Air 13-inch (M2) Wi-Fi + Cellular
• iPad Pro 11-inch (M4)
• iPad Pro 11-inch (M4) Wi-Fi + Cellular
• iPad Pro 13-inch (M4)
• iPad Pro 13-inch (M4) Wi-Fi + Cellular
Poppy

macOS 13.0 or later and a Mac computer with an Apple M1 chip or higher.

How to play on iPhone 15 Pro

Capcom warns from the start that Resident Evil VII is best played with a gamepad.

And it’s not just that. Playing with a gamepad is much more enjoyable, especially in action moments that require quick reactions. There is no keyboard and mouse support, so a controller is the best option.

Plus, this way you won’t block part of the screen. So it’s really much more convenient to play with a gamepad than without one.

Anyway, the touch control is also successful. The buttons no longer take up 60% of the screen, they have become more compact. They also respond much faster to the actions performed by the gamer. Input lag is minimized here, everything is implemented much better than in the village or the remake of the fourth part.

The game runs smoothly. This is the first major release on iPhone where I haven’t noticed any drops below 30 fps.

There are three graphics presets available in the game:

• Performance
• Balance
• Quality

The differences between them are in the quality of shadows and textures. In the first two modes, the game produces a stable 60 FPS, but provides stair-stepping in some shadows and on the characters’ hair. In general, it is not critical, but such “soap” can sometimes be annoying.

In the “Quality” mode, anti-aliasing also increases, due to which the “soap” almost completely disappears. This is an undoubted plus, but in this format the game gives 30 frames per second (provided that you set the resolution to 2556×1179 pixels – this is the maximum). In general, a standard console indicator. And the frame rate does not drop even in the most “difficult” moments, for which respect to Capcom.

General impressions. Finally, you can participate

All previous releases of major console games on iPhone left much to be desired. You could play them while turning a blind eye to optimization problems and often clumsy controls.

In the case of Resident Evil 7: Biohazard, the situation is completely different. You can comfortably play with any preset, and even the touch controls will not annoy you much. But it is better to use a gamepad.

The new product is already available in the App Store. There is a free prologue, the full version will cost 1430 rubles, a set of additions costs the same. The game shows Russian subtitles, but the voice acting is English.