inkyun

I remember starting this game way back on my PS2. I only got a couple of hours in and then so much time passed, that the remaster's announcement felt like a calling to return to what could've been. I'm glad I did return. It honestly didn't evoke much thought beyond a "this is fun" and "this is tedious." The game's story was nothing to write home about. In fact the way it was presented sometimes had me skipping dialogue a few times. It was serviceable, and some fun moments were had, though. The game's combat was not very interesting, but there were often satisfying moments. The bosses were really where all the mechanics shone, and I enjoyed almost all of the big encounters. Just not the fighting in dungeons and such; those were much more tedious. The art direction is pretty cool; this is the point in time where character and demon designs were still under Kazuma Kaneko-san, and they have aged superbly well. If there's one thing ATLUS's internal teams always nail, it's style. The music included, of course. I had fun, though I wish I hadn't attempted to platinum it for a while there. That quickly dragged this playthrough longer than I wanted. Trophy hunting is just not for me. All in all, an entertaining worthy experience.

Resident Evil (Remake) is one of the most beautiful games I've ever played. As I venture forth more into this relatively new hobby of mine, I'm sure that list will get more and more competitive, but how many of those games can call themselves beautiful while also being incredibly scary? This game is truly one of a kind in that regard. I salivated at every perfectly curated perspective angle. It felt like the game's director pointed an eager finger from the best vantage point and went, "Look at my shadows. Look at my textures. Look my lighting." And I could only enthusiastically nod as I did just that every time. It was an endless pursuit of trying to find an area which peaked visually, and the game going "no, there's more" again and again. That this could happen is no surprise, because I am a visual snob, and I eat with my eyes primarily with any medium except literally only books (and even then my eyes find something to comment on regardless), but that simultaneously I was cowering, screaming, and yelling in rage whilst being enamored is no small feat. This game is a marvel. The puzzles were all fun (minus one that was messed up by the devs [clue: gas chamber]), the shooting was immaculate, and I was never bored. Frustrated at times at both myself and the game yes, but bored? Never. My biggest complaint in actuality is one I don't think fans can appreciate as the games were never known to be good at this: the story. Unfortunately I am a big proponent that I need to be invested in the game's narrative to even care about the rest of the package, even if it mouthwateringly gorgeous. The narrative here wasn't a total loss; it's a product of its time and its intentional direction. It's a shlocky action film from the 90s/2000s. I am generally fine with that, but the characters in my opinion felt like cardboard cutouts, and though not a dealbreaker, as is clear from my overall positive score, it does knock it down a peg. This was my first Resident Evil game ever, but certainly not my last.

[SPOILER ALERT: This review contains spoilers.]

The tone, music, atmosphere--all of which I look for in a gothic fantasy. The character designs, the voice acting, the script--oozing charm and smart writing. The platforming was awkward and scary in many places, but still managed to lend to the charm of the game many a time, and they were still part of the fun bits in the game. The shooting was serviceable, some powers were more fun than others, but the melee was pretty awkward; frustrating in a sizable amount of the game. Save scumming IS the meta in this game, so to speak. Still, even with the unfair deaths, the jank here and there, and the awful bosses; this game won me over in a big way.

[SPOILER ALERT: This review contains spoilers.]

I enjoyed myself. I felt sufficiently unnerved by the atmosphere. The environments felt really nicely designed; a sort of dreamscape that reminded me heavily of American McGee's Alice. (I saw his name under the backers list in credits,I wonder if it's actually him.) In execution, it's just kinda whimsical, and the 'symbolism' so to speak felt very kid friendly, so I never felt particularly horrified by the implications of the game's narrative reveal, even though in real life I would be. I did enjoy the final walk through the house, seeing all the objects and the mess that correlate to the surreal environments we experienced before; how it all just kinda adds up in the end was satisfying. I wouldn't play this again, but I'm glad I did.