Log Status
Completed
Playing
Backlog
Wishlist
Rating
Time Played
--
Days in Journal
7 days
Last played
November 8, 2022
First played
November 2, 2022
Platforms Played
Library Ownership
This review contains spoilers
Resident Evil made a jump to a new console generation, and omg, the backgrounds scroll as the characters move now! It's still the fixed camera angle though which imo hasn't been effective as a horror tactic since 2 at the latest.
This game, man. Part of me wants to call it the best Resident Evil game up to its release, because it acts as a great sequel to 2, paying off Claire's story in that game (whereas 3 was just kind of a standalone game that didn't do anything for the lore as a whole, or even Jill's individual story besides just...she survived another zombie invasion). This game is WAY more character focused in general, with 2 human enemies who have prominent roles, including the return of Wesker himself. The tyrants in these games have always been mutated humans, but this is the first game where we see a character we've known and cared about (maybe) turn in to one. Like, personally I wasn't a big fan of Steve, no thanks to his English voice, but having him be a monster, even just for a minute, was a great dramatic turn.
Alexia is in a similar position to Birkin in 2, we never personally knew her as a human, but we hear her backstory so much that there's still a human element to her. But like Birkin by the time she actually comes into the story, she's a mutant and has no personality or lines.
But I think my favourite monster in this game has to be Nosferatu. This is all thanks to his great introduction where he's foreshadowed through notes you can find, then you first see him from the grating in the floor. But when you first meet him for real, he's coming up the stairs - your only escape route - through a thick cloud of fog. It's such a great moment that imo far surpasses the final boss who is just another "turns in to a huge blob of flesh, ooo scary".
Anyway, despite all this, I can't call it my favourite because the gameplay just isn't that good. There's good individual locations in this game, but the way they're all put together just feels so messy. There's no hub areas like most past games (except maybe 3), combined with huge scale buildings like the training facility that have you backtracking all the damn time. Combine this with the fact puzzles in this game tend to be way more obtuse and it's just a frustrating first time experience.
I imagine this game is way better on repeat playthroughs.
This game, man. Part of me wants to call it the best Resident Evil game up to its release, because it acts as a great sequel to 2, paying off Claire's story in that game (whereas 3 was just kind of a standalone game that didn't do anything for the lore as a whole, or even Jill's individual story besides just...she survived another zombie invasion). This game is WAY more character focused in general, with 2 human enemies who have prominent roles, including the return of Wesker himself. The tyrants in these games have always been mutated humans, but this is the first game where we see a character we've known and cared about (maybe) turn in to one. Like, personally I wasn't a big fan of Steve, no thanks to his English voice, but having him be a monster, even just for a minute, was a great dramatic turn.
Alexia is in a similar position to Birkin in 2, we never personally knew her as a human, but we hear her backstory so much that there's still a human element to her. But like Birkin by the time she actually comes into the story, she's a mutant and has no personality or lines.
But I think my favourite monster in this game has to be Nosferatu. This is all thanks to his great introduction where he's foreshadowed through notes you can find, then you first see him from the grating in the floor. But when you first meet him for real, he's coming up the stairs - your only escape route - through a thick cloud of fog. It's such a great moment that imo far surpasses the final boss who is just another "turns in to a huge blob of flesh, ooo scary".
Anyway, despite all this, I can't call it my favourite because the gameplay just isn't that good. There's good individual locations in this game, but the way they're all put together just feels so messy. There's no hub areas like most past games (except maybe 3), combined with huge scale buildings like the training facility that have you backtracking all the damn time. Combine this with the fact puzzles in this game tend to be way more obtuse and it's just a frustrating first time experience.
I imagine this game is way better on repeat playthroughs.