Well, after playing so many Resident Evil games i thought it might be a good idea to share some findings. As good as spoiler free.
The Good:
- Amazing polished experience on the graphics and animation side of things. A lot of attention to detail, great animations, really sucks you in to the whole atmosphere. Combine this with top-tier sound design; guns, monsters, footsteps and roaring of zombies, it's all there.
- Grace is a good addition to the series; a simple, young, insecure but strong woman that's smart and in a way nothing 'special', except that she has a lot of nerve to find out the truth, this makes her interesting enough.
- Switching between playable characters adds to the tension and bonding, combined with the option to switch from first , to third-person really adds up to the gameplay value. Although i would not like to be only stuck in first-person.
- The first part of the game really is more on the horror-side of things, the second part more on action, on the end they mix it up a bit (too much).
- Leon is as cliche and bad-ass as always, its fine as we now him this way, with kinda-funny lines. But there are a few more 'sentimental' scenes which make him a bit less hollow as a character.
The 'Meh' stuff
- Level design is okay, i liked the switch between Leon and Grace, but there is a lot of really basic backtracking going on and the discover-able areas just seem more compressed. Which means running around the same area a lot without additional gameplay or story-depth.
- Really missing the more old-school and atmospheric save-rooms, the soundtrack is also lacking here. The charm of these games is within this balance of calming, romantic peace and terror. The new game world does not help with this.
- It's for what you pay pretty short, especially if you don't count in the more story-driven scripted parts. Maybe 12 to 14 hours of actual gameplay as we know it.
- Most of the enemies are great, they have some unpredictable behavior and there is a bit of diversity to them. That said, there are not many greater monsters or new ideas.
- Most of the enemies are too easy to defeat when playing your first play trough as Leon
- A lack of boss-fights
- If you love the Victorian, romantic settings with old mansions you will miss some of that in this game. It has a bit of it, but leans more towards grey, Silent-Hill, underground and post-apocalyptic settings.
- I think that i must agree with a lot of reviewers that the execution of the character switch combined with
the slower and more boring gameplay parts kill the pacing.
- Some really unnecessary scripted scenes
The Bad:
- There seems to be a part towards the ending with just way to much walking-simulator-vibes, as if they wanted to fill up more gameplay time. A lot of it could have been told in a classic manner with shorter video's and files laying around so there would be more time for action and exploring.
- Some of the things that happen to the characters are out of bounds for me and just too far fetched, i really like the whole first part of the game. With more focus on a realistic and adult storyline within this fictional, zombie-infiltrated world and focus on one strong villain. In older games in the series it is clear that it does not want to deliver a convincing, realistic story. I learned this series is build around B-movie horror's from the 90's, which is fine. In these newer installments Capcom seem to struggle how to bring about a convincing, serious horror story or just go for all-in-cheezy. It is possible that the realism the graphics and atmosphere suggest do not resonate with the characters and story anymore and so RE dis-balances between a convincing story and a cheesy horror-shooter.
- There is practical no fleshed-out encounter or boss-battle with the main villain, which is just really annoying. And the minimal one that is there, is just almost all scripted stuff.
- It seems that Leon's weapon unlocks are not really there, everything you could get is there in the first run and you soon have enough credits to pay for the upgrades. It is just way different than with RE 4 where you really had to work for your upgrades.
The Really bad:
- Puzzles; these are just ridiculous. A 10 year old kid would find these easy. It is not even on basic escape room level, actually it is sometimes just the same as giving you the answer in the same room as the puzzle, without you doing any thinking or searching. Absolutely destroying a part of the survival aspect of the game and some of the storytelling. It makes you feel dumb and it is just stupid. This is going on since the remasters began if i remember correctly. Capcom please take your players more serious or make an option to make the puzzles harder...
Sum up:
Graphics and atmosphere: 9
Gameplay: 7,5
Level design: 6,5
Puzzles: 2
Average: 6,5, i'll raise it to a 7
Verdict: Only recommended for fans of the series or general survival-horror fans and casual gamers, don't pay the full price. Definitely a polished experience where you will be sucked in a thrilling survival-horror experience. But at the same time remember that there are just not that many survival-horror games with this kind of budget. The characters are fleshed out a bit more but the overall shortness of the game, combined with teeth-grinding easy puzzles and some annoying story and gameplay choices with a lack of focus on the gameplay and story makes this one passable, just as RE Village.
Play if: You just want a immersive, one-way, survival-horror experience with some more classic horror sequences in between. Without you actually thinking about puzzles, but more about strategy on which weapon to use on what enemy and to blast your way to the ending.
Don't play if you: Don't like gore in games, want more than just average storytelling, want to be taken more serious with puzzles, want more and better boss-fights, want to be more immersed in a believable horror-story.
Recommended Pricepoint: 15,- max 30,-
