For some reasons unknown since Resident Evil 6 I just basically ignored this series. I think the only logical reason being was 5 wasn’t great and I distinctly remember 6 being the drizzling shits. Its one of the few games I just chose to not complete rather then forgetting about it which is usually the case. It just soured the series for me, I do have an inclining that I played the first 30 mins or so of this not long after the PS5 released but I didn’t remember any of it. And I am so glad I didn’t.
Holy shit what a game and re-entry to this horror series for me. Now I imagine considering this game will be 10 years old the beginning of next year and selling a whopping 15 million plus anyone who wanted to play this game practically has. I am exceedingly late to the party and I’m kinda glad of that fact.
I love horror as a genre it’s my favourite sort of film it’s just the absolute best and back in the PS2 days I loved me a bit of this series and the likes of Silent Hill. So steam rolling straight into the deep south of the swamps of Louisiana. Even if the area is fictional was a twist on the usual racoon city centric series. It’s a bit like Tatooine in Star Wars its always fucking set there for some reason. But this direct take really helps set up a whole other sense of dread. Especially once caught early on and you immediately have your hand cut clean off and then reattached by a miracle liquid. You know exactly what you’re in for over the next 12 hours.
Something that stuck out to me considering its age was the graphics. Now I know graphics don’t make a game but it does help for the immersion in a game like this I find. Having more realistic graphics and having a high level of detail which for a 10 year old game this definitely doesn’t look its age. The hair graphics are a bit dicey at times, but the rotting houses that have fallen into a complete state of decay due to the bakers possession is a highlight. It helps build the atmosphere as you are mercilessly hunted around the new and old house. Both of which are equally falling apart and loaded with bugs, dead things, piles of rot, hanging meat and what id expect to be bagged victims. The filth and decay that pervades through the residence is highlighted by the photo realism and light particles that show the peeling wallpaper and dust covered surfaces in the most horror fashion and tighten the sense of claustrophobia that really tightens its grip on Ethan as the game progresses.
Now I mention horror films up above because this film is nothing short of being a long brutal 18 rated horror film or whatever the top rating your residence has. The violence comes thick and fast in this game, you play as Ethan Winters who has gone looking for his missing wife Mia. Now this will have minor spoilers but considering the games age I feel I can be let off a bit here. She is corrupted by a toxic mold along with the Baker family who are the primary antagonists of this title. Jack the father of the family is the best villain of this whole game you fight him multiple times and his insanity isn’t directed just at you but his family as well and he often causes self inflicted injuries which luckily he can heal from. This can range from setting himself alight, shooting himself point blank in the head or cutting chunks out of himself. Its insane, the violence is visceral like when the police officers head is shovelled in half and it slops off. Then later on to help solve a puzzle you’re forced to put your hand down his neck stump to pull a key out. It’s utterly unforgiving and would shock any one watching a film in the cinema with such scenes. The gore is high in this game but not all the time it’s spread out as the entire game takes place in the Bakers new and old home with a bit of the surroundings where the gardens are. Outside of the last section or so the amount of enemies in this are pretty sparse.
The survival aspects of this game are pretty tight with very few items you can use for crafting and ammo is plentiful enough but still not too be wasted. You can find mods for the guns or if you get the repair kits attain better pistols and shotguns. With health upgrades and the best .44 magnum locked behind bird cages in the caravan which cost the hidden antique coins you have to find. I would’ve preferred a better knife even if it was late into the game cause that just don’t do shit even for when you are attacked by swarms of bugs. The guns which are the thing you see most hanging out in front of you due to the fist person perspective look great as do the animations when pouring a first aid kit on yourself to heal from your injuries. The screen getting more and more red which helps signal its time to med up. These all have small gameplay nods to take note of like reloading as well as how the enemies and bosses move these all help with things like ammo conservation and when to run away instead of wasting bullets. Bringing the survival aspects directly into your control as well as what the game gives you.
One part of the narrative I did enjoy was the story has playable flashbacks which explain later parts of the games and help you track items or hidden objects you need for later on. With the clown puzzle game in the happy birthday tape being top end fucked up. It’s a shame that the story overall isn’t the strongest. It’s held together by finding and reading the files and documents as per usually with these sort of games. I’d also argue once you end up going onto the boat and playing as Mia for a bit which does explain the story a lot more the game tails off and doesn’t fully recover steam from it. I’d also day Ethan isn’t the strongest of protagonists there’s a fleck of personality but not a whole heap and you never see his face. So the idea I’m sure is you are the main character more so as you play in first person as well.
I’m big enough to admit I also played this first run on the easiest mode, I ain’t got time to be playing survival horror on hard difficulties from the get go. Especially as these games are designed for multiple re-runs. The first time round you explore and take your time, learn what works best against the enemies and bosses, where all the good stuff is. Then you can do the speed runs and health limiting options etc. Now on easy I didn’t really struggle but I can imagine if you wanted to go for the platinum and play it on madhouse difficulty then that’d be nothing short of a right fucking nightmare.
There are couple of add ons for this as well with a couple more mini episodes that fill in some slight gaps of the main story, but the two meaty ones are Not a Hero where you play as Chris Redfield and its more action heavy. Far more molded to kill and is around an hour and a half or so and is self contained story that centres around the Bakers son Lucas whose a right ballbag so it’s nice when you eventually kill him. Then you have the End of Zoe where you play as Jacks brother and you have to save the daughter Zoe who helps you in the game via phones calls but doesn’t do much else outside of the pointers she gives you. But this one is way fun you just go round punching the fuck out of everything and find little voodoo dolls that increase your damage output. Whilst finding something akin to the ballistic fists in Fallout. I’d have happily taken a DLC a good twice the size of this. I had a blast playing this one and I found it a reasonable send off to the story before jumping into Village to finish the Winters saga.
Overall I’d rate this a highly Tasty 8/10.
The horror and gore are tight as can be here and the terror is right up there for the first two thirds of the game and it drops off a bit for my liking. The gun play is a bit dicey which I think is more purposeful but not great when ammo at times is fairly scarce and there isn’t a learning curve to master. The story could’ve been stronger and Ethan could’ve been highlighted a tad more. But none of this detracts from the immediate return to form for one of the best survival horror series of all time. It hooked me enough to pretty much jump straight into number 8 so it did many many things right.
Released June 13th 2022 on Sony Playstation 5.
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