This review contains spoilers
A fun experience with some low times, but that sticks the landing really well.
The game opens with a cheesy, but intriguing sequence, followed by a strong opening level that is genuinely scary. A special note during this section is the sound design, the game tricks you into a sense of hyper-awareness by playing small sounds in the environment, to the point that I would get scared by my own footsteps.
After the first dungeon the game truly opens up, and while it is fun to revisit the areas in the VIIIAGE, this is when the game is at its most awkward moment. At this point, Ethan is incredibly powerful, and you are encouraged to confront enemies head-on. At the same time, the game still tries to hold on to some horror elements and the result is unfortunately a awkward and incoherent experience.
In the end, however, the game fully accepts itself as an action game and that is when all the different weapons and mechanics can truly shine. Plus the Chris Redfield sequence was just a ton of fun and I was smiling throughout.
There are a lot of complaints that could be leveled, such as the bosses being damage sponges that really don't threaten the player, the AI being pathetically predictable and easy to manipulate, and the puzzles being just out of place and completely killing the mood most of the time.
That being said, I feel this was an experiment to see how the first-person camera would fit in a more action-oriented experience, and though the results were mixed I feel very confident in Resident Evil 9, whatever that ends up being.
The game opens with a cheesy, but intriguing sequence, followed by a strong opening level that is genuinely scary. A special note during this section is the sound design, the game tricks you into a sense of hyper-awareness by playing small sounds in the environment, to the point that I would get scared by my own footsteps.
After the first dungeon the game truly opens up, and while it is fun to revisit the areas in the VIIIAGE, this is when the game is at its most awkward moment. At this point, Ethan is incredibly powerful, and you are encouraged to confront enemies head-on. At the same time, the game still tries to hold on to some horror elements and the result is unfortunately a awkward and incoherent experience.
In the end, however, the game fully accepts itself as an action game and that is when all the different weapons and mechanics can truly shine. Plus the Chris Redfield sequence was just a ton of fun and I was smiling throughout.
There are a lot of complaints that could be leveled, such as the bosses being damage sponges that really don't threaten the player, the AI being pathetically predictable and easy to manipulate, and the puzzles being just out of place and completely killing the mood most of the time.
That being said, I feel this was an experiment to see how the first-person camera would fit in a more action-oriented experience, and though the results were mixed I feel very confident in Resident Evil 9, whatever that ends up being.