Resident Evil 7: Beginning Hour (2016, PS4) - Phantasmic Tribute

The mainline Resident Evil series has gone through some interesting transitions, forming two pretty clear trilogies: Resident Evil 1-3 are horror-action games with a b-movie aesthetic, focused on tight inventory management and nutty puzzles. Resident Evil 4-6 keep some horror elements but shift the focus, and the camera angle, to a much more action-oriented one, with our heroes punching boulders and suplexing monsters instead of running around finding puzzle pieces. With Resident Evil 7, Capcom looks to once again shake things up in a major way, with a new, first-person view and a focus on exploration over combat. It also has the most cleverly designed title text of the series, and finally unites the series' western name with its Japanese origin, Biohazard.

Resident Evil 6 (2012, PS3) - Out with the Good, in with the Bad

For all of their clunkiness, dated gameplay, and awful writing, I still enjoy the old Resident Evil games. I know that nostalgia is a large part of that, but these sometimes scary, largely corny games really nail the feeling of playing through a b-movie unlike almost anything else. In 2005, Capcom attempted to retool the series, and after years of shaky development, released Resident Evil 4, a game that remains the high point of the series and actually holds up well today. It blends the series' horror and humor in a more self-aware but rarely winky way while standing up as one of the most finely designed action games of its generation.