Update for those who play RE a lot (speedrunners and such):
The new game system is likely not what you expect. Unlike other RE titles, you don't have a "cleared" save in which you can do subsequent NG+ runs with your inventory and your weapons. You can only do a "new game"... but the "new game" is not really a "new game".
New games after clearing the game are fundamentally different than the very first run. Leon gets the item boxes right away and can collect credits right away. He also doesn't find weapons like he did in the first run, he has to buy them from the box.
So for example [spoiler]you won't find the shotgun before Chunk, it's not there, you have to buy it. And you won't find the rifle before the shooting section while Grace is opening the Chapel's door, it's not there and you have to buy that too.[/spoiler]
Collected charms are in the item box right away, you won't find them in the map. And Grace also has some differences, for example, [spoiler]the basement safe that originally contained the Mr. Raccoon Map[/spoiler] now contains 15 bullets.
If you're interested in challenging runs or in speedruns, this game may not be for you, since the first run and subsequent run are fundamentallly different and, to my knowledge, that cannot be reverted.
It's also far easier to get unlimited ammo and such from the points shop. Unlocking OP gear is pretty much a joke in comparison to other RE titles (just do a casual run without crafting and healing since the healing is automatic and enemies die with 2 shots).
I'm not sure if that's good or bad, but personally I'm not too interested in replaying the same game over and over again if I already have the OP gear... that was the final reward... in theory. It also explains why some many people have all the achievements, Insanity runs are not that insane if you can use [spoiler]the unlimited Requiem[/spoiler] all the time.
--- Story and stuff ---
Amazing game. I enjoyed almost all of it; I'll try not to spoil but there were a couple of things I did not enjoy.
99% of the game is good, the [spoiler]Care Center[/spoiler] is that modern yet classic RE experience of exploring, finding items, saving them, deciding what to kill and what not. Lots of backtracking that actually pays off, what's great is that [spoiler]you can pretty much kill anything if you have the resources[/spoiler]. Enemies routes do change, but you can deal with it as the map opens up.
[spoiler]The Girl[/spoiler] is annoying. During the demo part it's ok, I get it, but once you [spoiler]reach the basement[/spoiler] it's just a nuisance. It's the classic "hope it's not there and if it is just wait it out" type of thing, yeah, you can stun it, but it's not worth the ammo. It's also one of those unpredictable behaviours that yeah, made it mildly "scarier" but do ruin subsequent speedrun, which in my opinion are a core component of RE games.
The one thing I didn't like was the [spoiler]first Raccoon City[/spoiler] section. In short, it's an open map part where, if you want to go for the "let's explore everything" route, you'll end up wasting a lot of time but virtually no benefit. You'll get ammo that you'll use right away, it's pretty much an "it costed me 50 and it gave me 50 back"... doesn't make sense.
Most of the weapons are also useless. During the first phase, the double choice Grace has makes sense, and in general I believe her gameplay and her resources were a bit more curated.
Leon's however... pointless. There is this system that awards points for defeating enemies, the more points, the more you buy stuff. Cool. Your gun is worth two zombies. All the guns you find (except maybe one) are essentially worse than the ones you buy and only take up space. If you improve them they don't have any extra value (unlike RE4), which makes them pointless. Yet to see the bonus ones, but c'mon, what's the point of exploring a large map to find a thing that becomes useless in 2 seconds?
That aside the rest of the game is great and I really can't recommend it enough. Personally I do believe that the Leon section could have been more action that it was, I feel like his gameplay is a bit stiff but, oh well, it's RE. Grace was incredibly enjoyable.
Very satisfied with the game. Also it looks gorgeous, but ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ is it heavy at max graphics.
If you have a 4090, you're looking at max settings with DLSS upscaling set to quality and framegen, it will give you around 120 FPS or so depending on the place. And it's worth it, it has some artifacts in the image here and there but this has to be the best looking game I've ever seen.
