Resident Evil Revelations 2 - Video Review

Textual review by Giulia Ambrosini Single Reviews: EPISODE 1 - EPISODE 2 - EPISODE 3

We have spent the last few weeks in the company of Resident Evil Revelations 2, the first Spin Off with episodic structure of the famous Capcom saga, which has reached a difficult moment in its history, between nostalgic glances towards the past and a constant desire for novelty. Having reached the fourth and final chapter of the main campaign, we are ready to sum up a bit of this particular product that has made fans discuss a lot. To specifically retrace the analysis of the various episodes, we refer you to the previous reviews, while here we will focus above all on the features of Resident Evil Revelations 2 as a complete product.

ESCAPE, FIGHT FOR SURVIVAL AND SEARCH FOR TRUTH

Resident Evil Revelations 2, like its predecessor, was born with the intention of bringing the series back to darker tones and more tense situations, full of operations related to the exploration of the environment to find passages or access keys to continue the adventure. The location that is the backdrop to the adventures of our characters is a mysterious island where a Criminal Colony has fallen under the control of a crazy woman who calls herself Guardian. As two different teams: Claire Redfield with Moira Burton and Barry with little Natalia Korda, we will follow a fragmented story of survival and research that spans a six-month story arc. While in the role of Claire and Moira we will try to escape from the island, getting closer and closer to the truth about the experiments in progress on the prisoners and the inhabitants, we will continue in parallel the search for Barry who six months after the capture of the two women will go to the isolates to clarify what happened in the hope of finding his daughter. The real fulcrum of the story revolves around Natalia, a childlike presence that immediately raises many questions, especially for her mysterious ability to perceive the monsters of the island. The little girl will help Barry in his mission with some confusing memories that bring to light several baffling revelations, starting with the one that at the end of the first episode opens the story to different possibilities. In fact, the little girl claims that Moira Burton is dead, but she could be the truth as well as a misperception and it will therefore be our task to continue the investigation.

EVERYONE HIS SKILLS

The choice of making available four different characters translates, in terms of gameplay, into need to go through the support check on several occasions. With Moira, who for personal reasons refuses to use firearms, we will be able to use a crowbar to open crates and force passages, while with the torch we will be able to focus on different objects to collect that otherwise would remain hidden and blind the enemies. to make a melee attack. With Natalia instead we will be able to find the position of the monsters that infest the area and reach places otherwise inaccessible thanks to her small stature (a bit like in Telltale's The Walking Dead with Clementine). The control system remains substantially unchanged compared to the previous chapters, with the recently introduced ability to shoot and reload while walking. To be able to combine different elements and build objects it is instead necessary to open the menu and then stop for a few moments. The crafting system turned out to be very interesting from the very first moments and has expanded with subsequent episodes by adding some objects such as bait bottles, smoke and explosive bottles, as well as a number of alternative weapons to collect hidden in different points on the map. The upgrading of weapons is managed through the collection of particular toolboxes containing weapon parts, which can be used in specific rooms with a work counter where we can also choose which ones to equip. There is also a character growth system managed through a skill tree to be unlocked with the points obtained at the end of each episode. The mechanics of the shootings turned out to be convincing, with a sufficiently precise aiming system, tainted only in part by a somewhat poor reaction to shots. The enemies we will meet in our adventure (as already mentioned in the previous reviews) are quite canonical and take up some classic concepts such as that of the armored man armed with an ax or infected animals attacking in packs. We have witnessed more intense but less engaging shooting phases and exploratory phases supported by a more tense and captivating atmosphere. There was no lack of environmental puzzles to solve, especially with the help of the support, which broke the pace of action sometimes with a little too much emphasis but in general the variety is appreciable. Paradoxically, the repetitiveness of certain actions was perceptible in a stronger way precisely because of the clear division into episodes, while by reconsidering our path in a complete way we can say that it was an intense journey enriched by many locations and different game situations.

A SEASON RICH IN CONTENT

What surprised us most in Revelations 2 is the care in the construction of a plot whose pieces in the final phase fit together perfectly, adding value to the overall experience that had been enriched with numerous quotes and important details. The choice of the episodic structure therefore proves to be successful when the player is encouraged to replay the previous ones to notice additional details, and this is made even easier given the high replayability due to the upgrading of weapons and the presence of 3 levels of difficulty, which are also linked to various bonuses such as alternative costumes and filters. We were then faced with a very pleasant discovery about the presence of an alternative ending. Comparing ourselves with some considerations on the plot we in fact discovered that we have played two very different versions of the ending, both of which are consistent with the rest of the plot. The campaign also kept us busy for about ten hours, to which are added those expenses in the company of the RAID mode, already encountered in the first Revelations, characterized by many missions to be carried out even in two-player cooperative. By purchasing the full season digitally, or the Retail edition of the game two Spin Off episodes dedicated to Moira and Natalia are added. In the episode "The Trial" we will be able to enjoy a series of rather demanding survival challenges as Moira, in the different locations already faced in the campaign. In the episode "Little Woman" instead, in the role of Natalia we will have to face a stealth adventure in search of the letters of her teddy bear Lottie, on the notes of a disturbing soundtrack with dreamy tones. From the point of view of the contents therefore, Resident Evil Revelations 2 proves to be very rich. Its nature as a Spin Off, created by a small team using a slightly backward engine, highlights some technical limitations and a somewhat superficial interaction with the environment, but the artistic concept and the attention to detail put in the plot it manages to raise the initial impressions a lot and today we would like to strongly recommend the purchase of the complete product.

CONCLUSION

The prejudices we had matured towards Revelations 2 due to its episodic structure were largely overcome by the ability of the developers to get involved with a plot that with a certain underlying simplicity managed to sustain the action until the end. Unfortunately, the title fails to keep its promise to raise the horror register in a decisive waya, but we believe that at this point it is really difficult to be able to keep the tension high with situations that have already been seen hundreds of times. We therefore advise heart attack fans to wait for Kojima's Silent Hills, while for those who want to enjoy an adventure that mixes action and plot we absolutely recommend the purchase of Resident Evil Revelations 2.