Despite my... let's say lackluster reaction to Rev 1, I was still cautiously curious about the sequel. And I can gladly say it's a MASSIVE improvement over the previous game, and I've enjoyed my time with it.
First, the good stuff: this does the dual character stuff better than RE Zero. There, it's clunky as hell, here it just flows nicely with the game. Each character playing differently also gives it an interesting dynamic, and I'd imagine makes for an interesting co-op experience (I've played solo).
But that also works against it, particularly with Barry and Natalia. Simply put: Natalia fucking sucks. She's just a little girl and yep, she plays like just a little girl. I can't possibly imagine a co-op playthrough being fun for the Natalia player, as Barry does literally everything.
Imagine playing an RE game with Sherry from RE2. That's Natalia.
Even stranger, the first episode puts a somewhat heavier emphasis on stealth, and Natalia's ability to "sense" monsters. Given that Claire's first episode I didn't even know you could stealth kill, I thought this meant that Barry would be more focused on silently taking out fools. But no, it's designed the same as Claire and Moira - as in, there's very little room for stealth. Barry ever so slightly gets more opportunities for stealth, but that's it.
And that's what this game's shortcomings boil down to: a lack of a better understanding at game design, and very clearly lack of budget and/or time. I have no doubt that had this game be given more money and time in the oven, it'd be much better than it is.
The final result ends up feeling undercooked. There's the issues with Barry campaign I mentioned, but there's also a very shallow skill tree system - I honestly didn't feel any different when upgrading my shit. What that skill tree should've given me were more health, more inventory slots, better weapons - the kind of stuff that's immediately noticeable, giving a nice sense of progression.
But when you give upgrades as exciting as "your shots are stronger when crouching", it's very difficult to care about them.
The story, after reading a summary, is decent, but I find it poorly told.
That's because you're changing perspectives all the time. So like, you get a scene with Barry, which won't be adressed until you finish Claire's next section - by then, your focus is somewhere else, and you might not even connect point A to point B properly. It feels disjointed as hell, and doesn't flow well at all.
The more I think about it, the more I feel that it would've been greatly improved if you just played through Claire's campaign from start to finish, and then you start Barry's campaign. I could go into greater detail into why I think that is, giving examples and stuff, but this review is already massive as it is.
But still, I left with an overall positive impression, and would actually appreciate a Revelations 3 that improves on this one. Though I'd probably ditch the co-op stuff, it doesn't really add that much if I'm being honest.
And another thing, the story's ending kinda sucks. It ends on a cliffhanger of sorts, and that's always fun.
The bad ending sucks entirely, and the requirement for the true ending is one of the most arbitrary nonsense I've ever seen. I still don't get it.
Let me also come in defense of Moira: I like her, but the writers get crazy over the top with her swearing at points.
"Fucking technology"
"Yeah, fuck it right up in the ass!"
Yep, that's how normal people talk... totally. She also suffers a bit from overwriting, as every now and then she'll randomly talk shit about Barry, to really hammer the fact that she hates her father. Like, did you get that? She doesn't like Barry at all! But did you really get that?
Still, I enjoy her characterization. Somewhat. I think.
First, the good stuff: this does the dual character stuff better than RE Zero. There, it's clunky as hell, here it just flows nicely with the game. Each character playing differently also gives it an interesting dynamic, and I'd imagine makes for an interesting co-op experience (I've played solo).
But that also works against it, particularly with Barry and Natalia. Simply put: Natalia fucking sucks. She's just a little girl and yep, she plays like just a little girl. I can't possibly imagine a co-op playthrough being fun for the Natalia player, as Barry does literally everything.
Imagine playing an RE game with Sherry from RE2. That's Natalia.
Even stranger, the first episode puts a somewhat heavier emphasis on stealth, and Natalia's ability to "sense" monsters. Given that Claire's first episode I didn't even know you could stealth kill, I thought this meant that Barry would be more focused on silently taking out fools. But no, it's designed the same as Claire and Moira - as in, there's very little room for stealth. Barry ever so slightly gets more opportunities for stealth, but that's it.
And that's what this game's shortcomings boil down to: a lack of a better understanding at game design, and very clearly lack of budget and/or time. I have no doubt that had this game be given more money and time in the oven, it'd be much better than it is.
The final result ends up feeling undercooked. There's the issues with Barry campaign I mentioned, but there's also a very shallow skill tree system - I honestly didn't feel any different when upgrading my shit. What that skill tree should've given me were more health, more inventory slots, better weapons - the kind of stuff that's immediately noticeable, giving a nice sense of progression.
But when you give upgrades as exciting as "your shots are stronger when crouching", it's very difficult to care about them.
The story, after reading a summary, is decent, but I find it poorly told.
That's because you're changing perspectives all the time. So like, you get a scene with Barry, which won't be adressed until you finish Claire's next section - by then, your focus is somewhere else, and you might not even connect point A to point B properly. It feels disjointed as hell, and doesn't flow well at all.
The more I think about it, the more I feel that it would've been greatly improved if you just played through Claire's campaign from start to finish, and then you start Barry's campaign. I could go into greater detail into why I think that is, giving examples and stuff, but this review is already massive as it is.
But still, I left with an overall positive impression, and would actually appreciate a Revelations 3 that improves on this one. Though I'd probably ditch the co-op stuff, it doesn't really add that much if I'm being honest.
And another thing, the story's ending kinda sucks. It ends on a cliffhanger of sorts, and that's always fun.
The bad ending sucks entirely, and the requirement for the true ending is one of the most arbitrary nonsense I've ever seen. I still don't get it.
Let me also come in defense of Moira: I like her, but the writers get crazy over the top with her swearing at points.
"Fucking technology"
"Yeah, fuck it right up in the ass!"
Yep, that's how normal people talk... totally. She also suffers a bit from overwriting, as every now and then she'll randomly talk shit about Barry, to really hammer the fact that she hates her father. Like, did you get that? She doesn't like Barry at all! But did you really get that?
Still, I enjoy her characterization. Somewhat. I think.