Spencer Mansion is absolutely a new favourite videogame locale of mine after finishing Resident Evil for the first time this January. An amazing realisation of a Gothic manor house, the muted colours, the sparse and strangely orderly interior convey just how haunted and uninviting it is. The sombre soundtrack exceptionally augments the art direction, constructing this palpably evil and mysterious atmosphere. The integration of the pre rendered backgrounds is still magic to me, they are just so incredibly detailed even by today’s standards. Character models look just as good, comparable even to late seventh generation titles, which is unbelievable. Yes, sure I did play the remastered version, but these are still the bones of a game that released twenty-two years ago.
Aside from the egregious door-opening cutscenes, which in hindsight I should’ve just modded out, exploring the mansion was always a thrill. The game has you slowly unlock distinct parts of the mansion, tying progression to exploration and puzzle solving which is excellent. The structure of Spencer Mansion is masterfully thought out, a true bastion of level design. Furthermore, I love the quality of deliberateness in Resident Evil’s gameplay, every choice feels important. For example, do you risk postponing saving to make the most out of your Ink Ribbons, decide to torch this corpse in anticipation that you will have to come here again. Occasionally the limited save system can lead to frustration as using your Ink Ribbons unwisely can lead to the player having to replay significant stretches, but at the same time it is fundamental in preserving the aspect of tension elicited by the gameplay. Manoeuvring around the zombies was also fun, as it can either be done by smartly directing them to the sides of a room or corridor so that you can out space their grab entirely, or for skilled players you can actually dodge these grabs by moving backwards when it is telegraphed which is extremely useful in tighter areas, when you are low on ammo or can’t warrant the usage. This again plays into resource management as it is entirely up to the player to decide whether they risk being grabbed, and wasting a healing or defensive item, or on the other hand wasting precious bullets which are essential for clearing boss fights later on, each scenario is like a puzzle in itself, leaving you to find the optimal way to overcome it.
On another note, during the early hours of my playthrough, I found myself being a bit discombobulated by the controls. This was because the default modern controls while easier and more responsive i.e. turning speed, aren’t seamless, as they don’t possess a direction that always corresponds to forward and in classic survival horror fashion the camera changes position constantly, with your directional input being dependent on this. To fix the problem that would arise from this it was made so unless you take your thumb off the stick you will keep moving in the direction you were before the camera change, however this causes the controls to be inconsistent, as it locks slightly, so repositioning Jill can become difficult. Unfortunately, I found the tanks controls even worse as they are so unbelievably stiff, in comparison to Silent Hill 2, therefore I was forced to make a compromise with the new controls which are ultimately okay for the most part once you become adjusted.
In conclusion the amalgamation of decision making, resource management and engaging exploration through a memorable locale makes Resident Evil truly special. I’m look forward to working my way through its future entries.
Aside from the egregious door-opening cutscenes, which in hindsight I should’ve just modded out, exploring the mansion was always a thrill. The game has you slowly unlock distinct parts of the mansion, tying progression to exploration and puzzle solving which is excellent. The structure of Spencer Mansion is masterfully thought out, a true bastion of level design. Furthermore, I love the quality of deliberateness in Resident Evil’s gameplay, every choice feels important. For example, do you risk postponing saving to make the most out of your Ink Ribbons, decide to torch this corpse in anticipation that you will have to come here again. Occasionally the limited save system can lead to frustration as using your Ink Ribbons unwisely can lead to the player having to replay significant stretches, but at the same time it is fundamental in preserving the aspect of tension elicited by the gameplay. Manoeuvring around the zombies was also fun, as it can either be done by smartly directing them to the sides of a room or corridor so that you can out space their grab entirely, or for skilled players you can actually dodge these grabs by moving backwards when it is telegraphed which is extremely useful in tighter areas, when you are low on ammo or can’t warrant the usage. This again plays into resource management as it is entirely up to the player to decide whether they risk being grabbed, and wasting a healing or defensive item, or on the other hand wasting precious bullets which are essential for clearing boss fights later on, each scenario is like a puzzle in itself, leaving you to find the optimal way to overcome it.
On another note, during the early hours of my playthrough, I found myself being a bit discombobulated by the controls. This was because the default modern controls while easier and more responsive i.e. turning speed, aren’t seamless, as they don’t possess a direction that always corresponds to forward and in classic survival horror fashion the camera changes position constantly, with your directional input being dependent on this. To fix the problem that would arise from this it was made so unless you take your thumb off the stick you will keep moving in the direction you were before the camera change, however this causes the controls to be inconsistent, as it locks slightly, so repositioning Jill can become difficult. Unfortunately, I found the tanks controls even worse as they are so unbelievably stiff, in comparison to Silent Hill 2, therefore I was forced to make a compromise with the new controls which are ultimately okay for the most part once you become adjusted.
In conclusion the amalgamation of decision making, resource management and engaging exploration through a memorable locale makes Resident Evil truly special. I’m look forward to working my way through its future entries.