2012... I'll never forget it. It was the year when Resident Evil 6 was released to the public, after a campaign titled "No Hope Left" left us wondering what would be the theme of this game, who were the main characters and how the gameplay would change from Resident Evil 5. The game was hit with below the average reviews for the franchise, hitting the quite consistent franchise by this point to it's very foundation. After going through two of the four campaigns with my sister, I sold my PS3 copy, and for all intents and purposes, I was finished with Resident Evil 6...
Twelve years had passed since that horrendous incident...
And I finally started replaying this game from the beginning on the PC version, and after finishing all four campaigns by myself.... yeah, this is as bad as I remember.
In it's core, Resident Evil 6 should feel better to control than previous titles, and the combat should feel better as well in comparison to the stiff (but enjoyable) controls of RE4 and 5. But... that's the keyword here, SHOULD. It doesn't feel satisfying enough, the enemy combat is either a drag or it just forces you to do the exact same that you did in Resi 4, which was "headshot the enemy, approach it and melee combo/finisher so you preserve ammo". With the enemies on the previous two titles, it felt very satisfying doing this, since their method of attacking was usually with melee weapons, but here.... doing this to standard zombies just hurts my muscle memory of "avoid approaching them". And this is a recurring problem on all campaigns. It can be somewhat fixed by giving yourself more weapon damage (and extra drops from enemies), but.... in theory you shouldn't require such things to finish the game on your first playthrough.
If I can complain about more gameplay elements, this game is overly cinematographic, in a very annoyingly bad way. 4-5-6 all have quick time events, but the ones here are the most jarring ones in the entire series. In theory it should look ~cool~ but on the long run it's just annoying as hell to have to button mash or to time things properly.
As for the story... This is a hot mess even for Resident Evil standards. It's both a revenge story and an abuse story, where for some reason Chris and Leon are involved into dealing with "Ada Wong" being a possible terrorist. It doesn't really help that Leon and Chris are overly broody during this game, both of them improving only on their final chapters. Thank god the Jake/Sherry campaign was a lot more fun, the chemistry between those two was so good I was almost hoping Resi 6 just revolved around them. Sherry is a delight in this game and to be quite frank, it's more of her story than it is Jake's.
So... yeah, this is the longest Resi game to date, and it feels overly bloated. I did not play the extra modes, I simply don't have the energy for it. And... for the longest time I've considered Resi 6 my very own Nemesis. The one mainline Resi game I never bothered to complete. And finishing it, and... even actually having some fun during Jake and Ada's campaign made me create some appreciation for what it was trying to do. However, it's still a hot mess of a game.
I'm so glad Resi 7 and 8 went to a completely new route, it rejuvenated the franchise in a way that it really deserved.
As for Resi 6.... I don't feel like ever touching this game again.
Shame I can't say it was a fun ride...
Twelve years had passed since that horrendous incident...
And I finally started replaying this game from the beginning on the PC version, and after finishing all four campaigns by myself.... yeah, this is as bad as I remember.
In it's core, Resident Evil 6 should feel better to control than previous titles, and the combat should feel better as well in comparison to the stiff (but enjoyable) controls of RE4 and 5. But... that's the keyword here, SHOULD. It doesn't feel satisfying enough, the enemy combat is either a drag or it just forces you to do the exact same that you did in Resi 4, which was "headshot the enemy, approach it and melee combo/finisher so you preserve ammo". With the enemies on the previous two titles, it felt very satisfying doing this, since their method of attacking was usually with melee weapons, but here.... doing this to standard zombies just hurts my muscle memory of "avoid approaching them". And this is a recurring problem on all campaigns. It can be somewhat fixed by giving yourself more weapon damage (and extra drops from enemies), but.... in theory you shouldn't require such things to finish the game on your first playthrough.
If I can complain about more gameplay elements, this game is overly cinematographic, in a very annoyingly bad way. 4-5-6 all have quick time events, but the ones here are the most jarring ones in the entire series. In theory it should look ~cool~ but on the long run it's just annoying as hell to have to button mash or to time things properly.
As for the story... This is a hot mess even for Resident Evil standards. It's both a revenge story and an abuse story, where for some reason Chris and Leon are involved into dealing with "Ada Wong" being a possible terrorist. It doesn't really help that Leon and Chris are overly broody during this game, both of them improving only on their final chapters. Thank god the Jake/Sherry campaign was a lot more fun, the chemistry between those two was so good I was almost hoping Resi 6 just revolved around them. Sherry is a delight in this game and to be quite frank, it's more of her story than it is Jake's.
So... yeah, this is the longest Resi game to date, and it feels overly bloated. I did not play the extra modes, I simply don't have the energy for it. And... for the longest time I've considered Resi 6 my very own Nemesis. The one mainline Resi game I never bothered to complete. And finishing it, and... even actually having some fun during Jake and Ada's campaign made me create some appreciation for what it was trying to do. However, it's still a hot mess of a game.
I'm so glad Resi 7 and 8 went to a completely new route, it rejuvenated the franchise in a way that it really deserved.
As for Resi 6.... I don't feel like ever touching this game again.
Shame I can't say it was a fun ride...