You can feel the game try to emulate RE4 and RE7 (two of my favorites in the series) but can't really do either of their strengths well.
RE4's action and mostly linear levels were offset by the ways you could approach combat and how creative the enemy variety and level setups were. You had to reposition, aim at knees or hands or heads depending on the scenario. There were not many choices and optional routes because the combat was all the choice. Your inventory being big was OK because crafting materials like herbs took up space in your inventory and you had to manage all that by combining and rearranging. RE7's survival horror and different routes meant that ammo was scarce and you would almost always constantly be barely clinging on to life. Because of limited inventory space, you would always have to choose. "I have some chem fluid. Do I use it to make health or more ammo? If I have more health, I will be safer. But if I have more ammo, I will be able to defend myself." You also had to backtrack around the house and surrounding areas so much that you would get accustomed to it and the enemies that were there. You could choose to clear it now and use up your bullets or dodge them for now and get rid of them later, at the risk of later being a worse time for you (like if you had no bullets or health at the time.) Exploration was also rewarded because the keys needed for progression were hidden everywhere. You go explore this room and find an unassuming object that you will put in the box. When stuck on a puzzle, you think "remember that random object from 2 hours ago? I wonder if I can somehow use that to solve the puzzle." Both of these games were fantastic in their own way, and they couldn't be more different. I was skeptical when I heard it was like a mixture of the two.
As an RE7 survival horror game, it fails because you are constantly given ammo and crafting supplies and weapons and inventory space and practically everything you need. I never ran out. Key items not only took no inventory space but were also basically always right around the corner. If not, they are just given to you on the linear path you take. There's this illusion of exploration but what really is happening is you get chased by the enemy into this room where you find the key and Ethan says "I wonder if I can use this statue head to open that statue head hole key at the coordinates 37.6460, -115.7507." Theres no way you could fail to find the statue and wander around the vast castle, looking for a key or something to progress. No, you get the item. There is ONE time in the final area where you have to backtrack to create the key but that's about it. In fact, that final map (factory) is the only good one in this game. Multiple floors, backtracking, different keys, unique rooms, and it may be surface level but at least these enemies need specific shots to the weak point. But other than that, you need a key, you'll find one in the room right next door. The puzzles are dead simple. But that's how it was in RE4. And it worked for that game. Why? As I said, the combat was super interesting. How's this game's combat? eh...
The pistols you get are reliable. The shotguns are pretty good. The reload animations are satisfying. You get cool weapons for exploring optional areas. All the weapons are good. So what's the problem? The enemies and the enemy variety! Village moved from zombies and mold people to werewolves to try something new but these are just hairy zombies. There's nothing interesting you can do with the combat. You can't shoot a TNT wielding Ganado's hand and detonate the bomb killing the crowd around him. You can't shoot the kneecap of a dude and then suplex him. Just shoot them wherever until they die. The AI is so braindead and the enemies are so weak that you could just shotgun and stun them so you could move on. Near the end, the enemies started getting armored but of course, they have big, glowing weak points on their chests. And since you can run and gun and Ethan just doesn't seem to get tired, they're not a threat either.
So, it fails at making you fight for your life in survival horror. It has no interesting puzzles and it's as linear as a non-bendy straw. There are no choices and the only reward for exploration are optional treasures. The combat isn't challenging or deep, the enemy variety is extremely lacking and the bosses are spongy and repetitive. You can play the game on autopilot. How about the story?
It's pretty good! I like the setup of saving your baby and the 4 lords have cool personalities and I liked it. And Ethan is the best protagonist since RE4 Leon. Such a great character.
RE4's action and mostly linear levels were offset by the ways you could approach combat and how creative the enemy variety and level setups were. You had to reposition, aim at knees or hands or heads depending on the scenario. There were not many choices and optional routes because the combat was all the choice. Your inventory being big was OK because crafting materials like herbs took up space in your inventory and you had to manage all that by combining and rearranging. RE7's survival horror and different routes meant that ammo was scarce and you would almost always constantly be barely clinging on to life. Because of limited inventory space, you would always have to choose. "I have some chem fluid. Do I use it to make health or more ammo? If I have more health, I will be safer. But if I have more ammo, I will be able to defend myself." You also had to backtrack around the house and surrounding areas so much that you would get accustomed to it and the enemies that were there. You could choose to clear it now and use up your bullets or dodge them for now and get rid of them later, at the risk of later being a worse time for you (like if you had no bullets or health at the time.) Exploration was also rewarded because the keys needed for progression were hidden everywhere. You go explore this room and find an unassuming object that you will put in the box. When stuck on a puzzle, you think "remember that random object from 2 hours ago? I wonder if I can somehow use that to solve the puzzle." Both of these games were fantastic in their own way, and they couldn't be more different. I was skeptical when I heard it was like a mixture of the two.
As an RE7 survival horror game, it fails because you are constantly given ammo and crafting supplies and weapons and inventory space and practically everything you need. I never ran out. Key items not only took no inventory space but were also basically always right around the corner. If not, they are just given to you on the linear path you take. There's this illusion of exploration but what really is happening is you get chased by the enemy into this room where you find the key and Ethan says "I wonder if I can use this statue head to open that statue head hole key at the coordinates 37.6460, -115.7507." Theres no way you could fail to find the statue and wander around the vast castle, looking for a key or something to progress. No, you get the item. There is ONE time in the final area where you have to backtrack to create the key but that's about it. In fact, that final map (factory) is the only good one in this game. Multiple floors, backtracking, different keys, unique rooms, and it may be surface level but at least these enemies need specific shots to the weak point. But other than that, you need a key, you'll find one in the room right next door. The puzzles are dead simple. But that's how it was in RE4. And it worked for that game. Why? As I said, the combat was super interesting. How's this game's combat? eh...
The pistols you get are reliable. The shotguns are pretty good. The reload animations are satisfying. You get cool weapons for exploring optional areas. All the weapons are good. So what's the problem? The enemies and the enemy variety! Village moved from zombies and mold people to werewolves to try something new but these are just hairy zombies. There's nothing interesting you can do with the combat. You can't shoot a TNT wielding Ganado's hand and detonate the bomb killing the crowd around him. You can't shoot the kneecap of a dude and then suplex him. Just shoot them wherever until they die. The AI is so braindead and the enemies are so weak that you could just shotgun and stun them so you could move on. Near the end, the enemies started getting armored but of course, they have big, glowing weak points on their chests. And since you can run and gun and Ethan just doesn't seem to get tired, they're not a threat either.
So, it fails at making you fight for your life in survival horror. It has no interesting puzzles and it's as linear as a non-bendy straw. There are no choices and the only reward for exploration are optional treasures. The combat isn't challenging or deep, the enemy variety is extremely lacking and the bosses are spongy and repetitive. You can play the game on autopilot. How about the story?
It's pretty good! I like the setup of saving your baby and the 4 lords have cool personalities and I liked it. And Ethan is the best protagonist since RE4 Leon. Such a great character.