Resident Evil: Revelations Review

Resident Evil: Revelations Review

Developer: Capcom
Publisher: Capcom
Platform(s): 3DS, PC, PS3, Wii U, Xbox 360
UK Price: £20
US Price: $35

Typical criticisms don’t seem apt when levied onto Resident Evil: Revelations. There are more than a few instances where what would be unacceptable faults elsewhere seem almost integral to the experience here. Well placed intent doesn’t forgive poor design, but it does suggest that any criticism doesn’t matter. Capcom have created the game they intended to make and many changes for the sake of perfection would likely detract from the overall impact.



Revelations is a classic Resident Evil game, which is something that should conjure up knowledge that it controls terribly, is filled with laboured backtracking and nonsensical objective design, contains cutscenes that are camp to the point of unashamed ridiculousness and has limited connective tissue in the plot solid enough for any of it to make much sense at all. It’s carried through by ridiculous voice acting and dialogue, deus ex machina moments and huge logic holes. You also get the impression that all of this is functioning as intended.

The single concession that’s been made to live up to modern standards is, like in RE6, you’re able to walk while aiming now. Unlike RE6 it’s far shorter, much less concerned with spectacle over substance and mostly contained in one location, save for a few short playable vignettes elsewhere.



In this instance, Series Mainstay Jill and partner Parker are sent to the Queen Zenobia, a cruise ship that’s also host to an outbreak of a human mutation virus that turns people into varieties of shambling grey things. Along the way you’ll also play as Other Series Mainstay Chris and a variety of other newer cast members. Jill’s sections are the main course containing all the exploration, key finding and item management as is expected.

The inventory management here isn’t the traditional space-finding Tetris-mechanic. Here it’s filled by a weapon customisation system that swaps out attachments for others. Some have standard uses like increasing clip size or fire rate, others make the weapons more interesting, like firing two bullets with each trigger pull or charging before each attack for more damage at a slower pace



Interestingly, though Revelations does take place largely in recycled locations you’ll wander through over and over, mid-way through the story a great portion becomes flooded and you’ll have to swim through previously accessed areas. It adds a slight bit of variety in a game that’s largely about revisiting the same locations over and over.