Overall:
The UI is ugly as sin, there are waaaay too many QTEs and despite the melee combat having some sick-ass animations, the shooting and cover mechanics are both massive downgrades from RE5. Worst of all though is the co-op. RE5 is possibly the best co-op experience going, it's engaging and balanced, you work as and feel like an actual team, but in 6... No shared loot, no way to give each other items or ammo. Sure you open doors and give boosts, but otherwise it's like playing on the same map as someone rather than playing with someone. It's a huge shame.
No map also means keeping track of your partner is more awkward, and the comms prompts don't even align with the dialogue the characters say. (Follow = "Fall Back" and Call = "Follow Me" ...)
All that said, they did add the ability to move while shooting and dive/slide, shimmying on the floor as you shoot. So 10/10 for that.
Jake Campaign:
Aside from having a great name, Jake is a better protag than people give him credit for. He's obviously not on the level of our recurring characters, but there's really nothing particularly wrong with him beyond an edgetastic intro and a few dumb jokes.
The story of his/Sherry's journey was pretty decent, with a bunch of cool scenes to boot. The trouble is that the game isn't really capable of making the scenes cool, instead interrupting them constantly with QTEs and really poorly-controlled interactions. My gf said that it'd be better as a movie and she's hit the nail on the head. It was entertaining enough to watch, but trying to actually do it was often hellish
Overall Jake score: 3/5
Chris Campaign:
Chris's campaign places an emphasis on his relationship with his squad/s. Or at least, it kinda tries to.. almost. There are attempts at tense and touching scenes involving characters we've known for all of two minutes, and some half decent levels where you get to watch the squad members get in your way or shoot zombies you were trying to kill with coup de grace attacks. It's really just, not good. The story told through Chris/Piers is.. fine? Imagine any 90s film about a soldier that lost his squad having to lead a new one while struggling with PTSD, and then replace 90% of the psychological struggles with him TKOing zombies and sliding into boxes. I honestly think that despite being an established and beloved character - and the fairly interesting but totally fumbled ending - Chris's Campaign is the worst of the three.
Overall Chris score: 2.5/5
Leon Campaign:
Leon's campaign started out strong, way stronger than the others. In fact his first chapter is easily the best in the game, which in hindsight is downright cruel and misleading. Things start off with a slow-building, tense atmosphere as things gradually fall to shit around you, reminiscent of earlier titles. Sure my gf had to tell me to stop running around and walk slowly to feed into the vibe, but once I did it was excellent, best 2 hours hands down. But then.. the game pretty quickly transitions to more action-focused, with I believe the first 2 chapters having a few 'defend the area' scenarios, which were admittedly pretty fun, but it was all a trap! Not 3 hours later, there I was watching these huge helicopter chase scenes and buildings collapsing and Leon/Helena just doing the dumbest shit you'd never think of, it was so disappointing to reach the end and think "wow.. This is the same game." I suppose if nothing else it gives you a taste of something good to draw you in before showing you what you're actually in for: a hot mess :p
Overall Leon Score: 3/5
Ada Campaign:
Ada's campaign is kinda bad all-round. It's the only one that isn't built for co-operative play and yet it still finds a way to allow it, assigning player 2 as the mystical 'Agent' - A faceless character that doesn't appear in cutscenes and teleports to Ada's side any time she decides to progress or use her grappling hook. There are no points in which both players must be present to proceed, so if you're gathering loot and Player 1 decides to open a door? Well fuck you, you're out there now. At multiple times doors would close trapping Ada in an area with a 'survive' objective, only for poor Agent to be locked on the wrong side until she's done. Worst of all, you can't even interact with switches up pick up keys, it's like playing as her imaginary friend. Player 2 gripes aside, Ada's campaign works to give some insight on the underlying plot I suppose, but the problem is the levels are so dull and the fights so irritating that it's really hard to care at all. Not to mention the things it reveals are dumb and confusing anyway. Simply not a good time, no matter how hot she may be.
Overall Ada Score: 2/5
The UI is ugly as sin, there are waaaay too many QTEs and despite the melee combat having some sick-ass animations, the shooting and cover mechanics are both massive downgrades from RE5. Worst of all though is the co-op. RE5 is possibly the best co-op experience going, it's engaging and balanced, you work as and feel like an actual team, but in 6... No shared loot, no way to give each other items or ammo. Sure you open doors and give boosts, but otherwise it's like playing on the same map as someone rather than playing with someone. It's a huge shame.
No map also means keeping track of your partner is more awkward, and the comms prompts don't even align with the dialogue the characters say. (Follow = "Fall Back" and Call = "Follow Me" ...)
All that said, they did add the ability to move while shooting and dive/slide, shimmying on the floor as you shoot. So 10/10 for that.
Jake Campaign:
Aside from having a great name, Jake is a better protag than people give him credit for. He's obviously not on the level of our recurring characters, but there's really nothing particularly wrong with him beyond an edgetastic intro and a few dumb jokes.
The story of his/Sherry's journey was pretty decent, with a bunch of cool scenes to boot. The trouble is that the game isn't really capable of making the scenes cool, instead interrupting them constantly with QTEs and really poorly-controlled interactions. My gf said that it'd be better as a movie and she's hit the nail on the head. It was entertaining enough to watch, but trying to actually do it was often hellish
Overall Jake score: 3/5
Chris Campaign:
Chris's campaign places an emphasis on his relationship with his squad/s. Or at least, it kinda tries to.. almost. There are attempts at tense and touching scenes involving characters we've known for all of two minutes, and some half decent levels where you get to watch the squad members get in your way or shoot zombies you were trying to kill with coup de grace attacks. It's really just, not good. The story told through Chris/Piers is.. fine? Imagine any 90s film about a soldier that lost his squad having to lead a new one while struggling with PTSD, and then replace 90% of the psychological struggles with him TKOing zombies and sliding into boxes. I honestly think that despite being an established and beloved character - and the fairly interesting but totally fumbled ending - Chris's Campaign is the worst of the three.
Overall Chris score: 2.5/5
Leon Campaign:
Leon's campaign started out strong, way stronger than the others. In fact his first chapter is easily the best in the game, which in hindsight is downright cruel and misleading. Things start off with a slow-building, tense atmosphere as things gradually fall to shit around you, reminiscent of earlier titles. Sure my gf had to tell me to stop running around and walk slowly to feed into the vibe, but once I did it was excellent, best 2 hours hands down. But then.. the game pretty quickly transitions to more action-focused, with I believe the first 2 chapters having a few 'defend the area' scenarios, which were admittedly pretty fun, but it was all a trap! Not 3 hours later, there I was watching these huge helicopter chase scenes and buildings collapsing and Leon/Helena just doing the dumbest shit you'd never think of, it was so disappointing to reach the end and think "wow.. This is the same game." I suppose if nothing else it gives you a taste of something good to draw you in before showing you what you're actually in for: a hot mess :p
Overall Leon Score: 3/5
Ada Campaign:
Ada's campaign is kinda bad all-round. It's the only one that isn't built for co-operative play and yet it still finds a way to allow it, assigning player 2 as the mystical 'Agent' - A faceless character that doesn't appear in cutscenes and teleports to Ada's side any time she decides to progress or use her grappling hook. There are no points in which both players must be present to proceed, so if you're gathering loot and Player 1 decides to open a door? Well fuck you, you're out there now. At multiple times doors would close trapping Ada in an area with a 'survive' objective, only for poor Agent to be locked on the wrong side until she's done. Worst of all, you can't even interact with switches up pick up keys, it's like playing as her imaginary friend. Player 2 gripes aside, Ada's campaign works to give some insight on the underlying plot I suppose, but the problem is the levels are so dull and the fights so irritating that it's really hard to care at all. Not to mention the things it reveals are dumb and confusing anyway. Simply not a good time, no matter how hot she may be.
Overall Ada Score: 2/5
2 Comments
Thanks! It's getting much longer than I'd anticipated but making 4 or 5 to split the campaigns out felt like a bit much 😅
Nancyfly
2 years ago