Five Nights at Freddy's (Film)

Back in 2014, the original Five Nights at Freddy’s (FNAF) caught the internet by storm and, within a year, became a series that exploded in popularity as fans obsessively dissected the ever-expanding lore. In April 2015, this popularity led to the announcement of a film adaptation from Warner Bros. While the franchise continued its reign as a cultural juggernaut, however, the film itself had unfortunately entered a development hell that saw a change in studios, from Warner Bros. to Blumhouse Productions, multiple director changes, from Gil Kenan to Chris Columbus to Emma Tammi, and several scrapped scripts (some fans have suspected that Warner Bros. retooled one of these scripts into The Banana Splits Movie, which, if true, wouldn’t surprise us). Only in 2023 did the film finally enter production, as series creator Scott Cawthon, who had a very hands-on role from the beginning, had finally approved a script he loved.

As a fan of the series (even if I had only watched Markiplier play the games until I played Security Breach and its DLC for myself), I had experienced the emotional highs and lows from following the production for years, ending with excitement as news from the final production slowly trickled in. With final details of the story mostly shrouded in mystery until the official trailers rolled in, I had no idea what to expect, but still remained optimistic and got tickets for a screening on opening day, where I watched with someone who didn’t know anything about the games or expanded universe. As a fan, I can happily say that while the final film likely won’t go down as a classic of the genre, it’s a very enjoyable love letter to the series and its fandom that even newcomers (who the marketing doesn’t do much to entice) can still get into.

Resident Evil 4 - Separate Ways (DLC)

Note: This review contains spoilers for Resident Evil 4 (2023)

In May 2023, Resident Evil 4 (2023) (RE4R), the modern remake of Resident Evil 4 (2005) (RE4), released to critical and commercial success, though with some criticism aimed at some of the cut content, including the lack of the original Separate Ways campaign. After nearly six months with no official word on any additional content apart from the free The Mercenaries DLC, Capcom would finally announce, and subsequently release, RE4R’s version of Separate Ways as DLC in late September 2023 for $10. While one could reasonably question the idea of holding this content back for later, I nonetheless bought the DLC on release and ended up loving the experience.

Willy's Wonderland

While Scott Cawthon’s smash hit Five Nights at Freddy’s (FNAF) didn’t invent the horror subgenre of killer animatronics originally designed for amusement, one need only look at Michael Crichton’s 1973 film Westworld to see where the seeds were truly planted, it’s pretty safe to say that the runaway success of the game brought this concept to new heights, leading to other media utilizing it inevitably being compared with the series. In the time during the official FNAF film’s rocky development came a pair of films with their own takes on the genre, the first being the infamous The Banana Splits Movie, whose background details have raised suspicion of reusing a rejected FNAF movie screenplay for a quick cash grab. The second, Willy’s Wonderland, is an independent project made on a shoestring budget originally slated for release in 2020 before the COVID-19 pandemic forced it to move to 2021 instead, gaining attention for starring Nicolas Cage and putting its own unique twist on the subgenre. With it being a horror film and me having a low threshold for the genre, I hesitated at first to watch it even after it piqued my curiosity, only to finally watch it in preparation for the then-upcoming FNAF film and finding myself thoroughly enjoying it for what it is.

Resident Evil 4 (2023) (PS5)

Note: This review contains spoilers for Resident Evil 4 (2005) and Resident Evil 4 (2023)

Since 2019, Capcom has released remakes of the Resident Evil games, going beyond the remake of the original Resident Evil from 2002 (RE1), which had until then been the only game in the series with a substantial update. While this has produced some mixed results so far, with critical praise towards Resident Evil 2 (2019) (RE2) and mixed response towards Resident Evil 3 (2020) (RE3), it was inevitable that they would apply the same treatment to 2005’s Resident Evil 4 (RE4), which gradually gained (and earned) a reputation as one of the series’ best games. Although fans naturally had their reservations with the announcement of Resident Evil 4 (2023) (RE4R), it released to critical acclaim and became one of the fastest-selling games in the series.

Due to the timing of RE4R’s release, I had the unique opportunity to play both the original and the remake back-to-back, which I did for the sake of an easier comparison between the two in terms of both gameplay and story. Although that inevitably leads to the question of “Which one is better?”, I would instead say that although not perfect, RE4R manages to improve on many aspects of the original to the point that it’s overall a fantastic game in its own right.

Haunting Ground

 

Back in 2005, Capcom released the video game Haunting Ground, known as Demento in Japan, which shared many similarities to their prior Clock Tower series to the point it’s considered a spiritual successor. Although it received mixed reception when it originally released and sold poorly due to competition with the widely renowned Resident Evil 4 (RE4), is has gained a reputation as part of the “Trinity of PS2 Survival Horror” with Kuon and Rule of Rose, all three of which are known for their expense and rarity due to poor sales, as well as their (arguable) status as “hidden gems” of the PS2 library.

What drew me to Haunting Ground, however, was not necessarily its newfound reputation, but its relation to the development of RE4. The short version is that there were four previous attempts at developing RE4 before the final build. The first of these builds is informally considered the “stylish” build and would famously spawn the Devil May Cry franchise, while the other three builds were known internally as “Castle”, “Hallucination” (aka “Hookman”) and “Zombie”. “Hallucination” and “Zombie” were scrapped due to technical limitations, the latter also for sticking too closely to the traditional Resident Evil formula, while one of the “Castle” scenario writers, Noboru Sugimura, would donate his draft to Capcom Production Studio 1, who had started work on a Clock Tower game that morphed into what we know as Haunting Ground. The elements that ultimately made their way from “Castle” to Haunting Ground were a girl and a B.O.W. dog companion, both of whom would have helped Leon S. Kennedy as he infiltrated the castle of Oswell E. Spencer, one of the founders of Umbrella Pharmaceuticals.

Due to the cost of a physical English copy reaching $350-400 at the bare minimum (exceeding the value of even the most expensive Silent Hill game in my collection), I ended up buying the game through the Japanese PSN on my PS3, where you have to search for the Japanese name Demento (デメント). This did require creating a Japanese account and buying two digital gift cards through Playasia, though this meant I only spent ¥1257 (under $10 at the time of this writing) with tax. Since Demento had English audio but rendered all the text in Japanese (with no option otherwise), I had to play while following an English video guide (via Survival Horror Network on YouTube) and a GDQ speedrun while imperfectly filling in any gaps with the Clock Tower Wiki and the Google Translate app on my phone (as well as my own very limited knowledge of Japanese). Despite jumping through so many hoops, I found the experience ultimately worth the effort, even with its rough edges.

The version I actually played.

Second Look - Devil May Cry

 

Note: This review contains spoilers for Devil May Cry

While the Devil May Cry series may be more popular than ever, the original game actually started off as more of a gamble, with its roots in the development of Resident Evil 4 (RE4). Fans of both franchises aren’t unfamiliar with the story, but it’s an interesting one nonetheless. The short version is that during development of RE4, the original version, directed by Hideki Kamiya, would have gone in a different direction from traditional Resident Evil (RE) titles by going for something more “stylish” and “cool”. The scenario for this version followed Tony Redgrave, an invincible man with superhuman abilities explained by biotechnology who would fight enemies within a gothic setting through more dynamic combat, while ditching the fixed camera angles and tank controls found within the previous RE games. Series producer Shinji Mikami found this iteration too far removed from RE to keep it within the same series, but instead suggested that Kamiya spin it off into its own IP. After some rewrites that affected the setting and scenario, including some influence from Dante Alighieri’s Divine Comedy, this game turned into Devil May Cry (DMC) and the rest is history.

I’m no stranger to the Devil May Cry series myself, as I’ve previously reviewed every game in the series. While I’m not really proud of how I’ve covered most of them, this rereview actually came up during my journey through the Resident Evil series, as I thought it would be more interesting to play it after RE4 with the context of its unique development. In the nearly eleven years since I last played it, I’d say that just like the original RE4, it’s showing its age and although it's rough in places, it still remains a great game in its own right.

A Celebration of 1500 Reviews

Below is a list of links to every review from 1201-1300, broken up every 25 links for easy navigation. Each review will also be color-coded as such: Movie, Video Game, DLC, Comic Books, Stage.

1-300. A Celebration of 300 Reviews

301-400. A Celebration of 400 Reviews

401-500. A Celebration of 500 Reviews

501-600. A Celebration of 600 Reviews

601-700. A Celebration of 700 Reviews

701-800. A Celebration of 800 Reviews

801-900. A Celebration of 900 Reviews

901-1000. A Celebration of 1000 Reviews

1001-1100. A Celebration of 1100 Reviews

1101-1200. A Celebration of 1200 Reviews

1201-1300. A Celebration of 1300 Reviews

1301-1400. A Celebration of 1400 Reviews

1401. The Nightmare Before Christmas: Oogie's Revenge

1402. Wendell & Wild

1403. Stray (PS5)

1404. Everything Everywhere All at Once

1405. Pinocchio (1940)

1406. Pinocchio (2022 Disney)

1407. Guillermo del Toro's Pinocchio

1408. Elvis

1409. Endling - Extinction is Forever

1410. Plymouth Adventure

1411. See How They Run

1412. The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special

1413. Big Business

1414. Home Alone

1415. Kane & Lynch 2: Dog Days (PS3)

1416. Little Inferno: Ho Ho Holiday (DLC)

1417. Star in the Night

1418. Adult Swim Yule Log

1419. Repeat Performance

1420. Weathering With You

1421. Codename: Kids Next Door - Operation: V.I.D.E.O.G.A.M.E.

1422. Shaun the Sheep Movie

1423. Ed, Edd n Eddy: The Mis-Edventures

1424. A Shaun the Sheep Movie: Farmageddon

1425. Samurai Jack: Battle Through Time

1426. The Automat

1427. Bluey's Big Play

1428. Marcel the Shell with Shoes On

1429. Puss in Boots: The Last Wish

1430. The Banshees of Inisherin

1431. God of War: Ragnarök

1432. Mrs. Harris Goes to Paris

1433. The Lord of the Rings (1978)

1434. The Black Cauldron

1435. Oliver & Company

1436. Anastasia (1997)

1437. Shazam! Fury of the Gods

1438. The Aristocats (1970)

1439. Shrek Forever After

1440. The Murder of Sonic the Hedgehog

1441. Puss in Boots (2011)

1442. The Real Charlie Chaplin

1443. The Super Mario Bros. Movie

1444. WALL-E

1445. Lyle, Lyle, Crocodile

1446. Dick Tracy (1945)

1447. Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3

1448. Sonic Boom: Shattered Crystal

1449. Sonic Boom: Rise of Lyric

1450. The Angry Birds Movie

 

1451. Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves

1452. Dungeons & Dragons (Film)

1453. Super Mario Bros. (Film) (Second Look)

1454. SpongeBob SquarePants: The Cosmic Shake (PS4)

1455. Five Star Final

1456. Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse

1457. Transformers: Age of Extinction (Second Look)

1458. Transformers: The Last Knight (Second Look)

1459. Transformers: Rise of the Beasts

1460. Julie & Julia

1461. Parsnip

1462. The Testimony of Trixie Glimmer Smith

1463. Three Lesbians in a Barrow

1464. Ratatouille

1465. The Flash

1466. Katamari Damacy Reroll (PS4)

1467. The Sin of Madelon Claudet

1468. Lilo & Stitch 2: Stitch Has a Glitch

1469. We Love Katamari Reroll + Royal Reverie (PS5)

1470. Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania

1471. An American Tail

1472. Snowglobe

1473. A Snow Globe Christmas

1474. Alice in Wonderland (1951)

1475. Tron: Identity (PC)

 

1476. Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning Part One

1477. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem

1478. Barbie

1479. Oppenheimer

1480. Five Nights at Freddy's: Security Breach – Ruin (DLC)

1481. Nancy Drew...Trouble Shooter

1482. Justice League: The Flashpoint Paradox

1483. Metalocalypse: Army of the Doomstar

1484. Batman: Mask of the Phantasm

1485. Batman & Mr. Freeze: SubZero

1486. Gran Turismo (Film)

1487. Batman: The Movie

1488. Stay Tuned

1489. Batman: Gotham by Gaslight

1490. Elemental (+ Carl's Date)

1491. Batman: The Doom That Came to Gotham

1492. Resident Evil HD Remaster (PS4)

1493. Resident Evil 2 (2019) (PS5)

1494. Resident Evil: Welcome to Raccoon City

1495. Resident Evil 3 (2020) (PS5)

1496. Resident Evil - CODE: Veronica X (PS2)

1497. Drácula (1931)

1498. Resident Evil 0 HD Remaster (PS4)

1499. Resident Evil 4 (2005) (PS4)

1500. Frankenweenie (2012)

Movies: 73 (952 Total)
Video Games: 24 (492 Total)
Comic Books: 1 (28 Total)
DLC: 2 (26 Total)

Book: 0 (1 Total)

Stage: 1 (1 Total)

Frankenweenie (2012)

Tim Burton’s 1984 live-action short Frankenweenie has an odd place in his career. Not only did it have a more niche audience for the longest time, only seeing a home video release within certain releases of The Nightmare Before Christmas, but the short’s creation also led to Disney firing him for what they considered a waste of company resources. Fast forward to 2007, when Disney hired Burton to direct two 3D films, one of which was a feature length remake of Frankenweenie, this time in stop-motion. The finished product would release in 2012 to generally positive critical reception and also had the honor of being both the first black-and-white feature and first stop-motion film shown in IMAX 3D. In the context of its creation and release, Frankenweenie is certainly a technical achievement, as well as a personal one considering that not many people can say they got to remake a project that got them fired by the same company that hired them. In the context of the rest of his output, however, Frankenweenie’s second chance at life doesn’t change the fact that it’s not one of Burton’s best creations.

Resident Evil 4 (2005) (PS4)

Note: This review contains spoilers for Resident Evil 4 (2005)

Since its original release in 2005, Resident Evil 4 (RE4) has seen continuous praise and success, including over a dozen different hardware ports, enough that it is widely considered one of the greatest video games ever made. Of all the Resident Evil games, however, this one had one of the most troubled developments. The short version is that starting in 1998, four different versions were proposed and subsequently discarded before the final release. The first of these, and the most well-known, started as an attempt at a more “stylish” action game directed by Hideki Kamiya that was spun off and retooled into the original Devil May Cry, which released in 2001. The second, known internally as the “Castle” version, would include story elements that made their way into the 2005 survival horror game Haunting Ground. The third and fourth versions, “Hallucination” and the lesser-known “Zombie”, were scrapped for technical reasons, though elements from both would still make their way into the final game. Interestingly, “Hallucination” would have taken some influence from the Silent Hill series and “Zombie” was criticized by Shinji Mikami for being too similar to previous Resident Evil games, as he didn’t want to bore fans by relying on tired tropes.

This consistent desire for a different kind of Resident Evil game resulted in a more action-oriented game, a direction that had a ripple effect on the rest of the franchise until Resident Evil 7: Biohazard (RE7). In the intervening time, I had tried getting into Resident Evil through the PS2 version of RE4 and the PS3 version of Resident Evil 5, but only got to around Chapter 2-1 in the former and barley got anywhere in the latter before I moved on to other games. However, with the release of Resident Evil 4 (2023), as well as a personal deep dive of the series following a playthrough of Resident Evil Village, I finally had an excuse to go back and finish what I had started in RE4, this time through the 2016 PS4 release. With this zombie from the past finally slain, I can safely say that while it’s a little rough now, RE4 has aged much better than many of its predecessors and has definitely earned its longstanding reputation.

Resident Evil 0 HD Remaster (PS4)

Note: This review contains spoilers for Resident Evil (2002)

With the success of the original release of Resident Evil 2 (1999), Capcom greenlit multiple Resident Evil projects. Alongside the projects that became Code: Veronica and Resident Evil 3: Nemesis, they approved Resident Evil 0, which would serve as a prequel for the original Resident Evil (1996) and the series as a whole. Though originally intended for the Nintendo 64 and its failed 64DD expansion, development restarted in earnest for the GameCube, solving a storage issue that had previously halted development and allowed for an eventual release in late 2002, the same year as the remake of the original Resident Evil, to critical acclaim save for the criticism of sticking with archaic tank controls. With the success of Resident Evil HD Remaster in 2015, this game would receive the same treatment, releasing in 2016 as Resident Evil 0 HD Remaster.

After playing perhaps the worst of the “classic” Resident Evil games, my journey brought me to the last, as Resident Evil 0 was the last based on the fixed camera angle style, which smoothed the transition between games compared with going from Resident Evil 3 (2020) to Code: Veronica X (CVX). While still flawed in its own right, this game still proved far more enjoyable than CVX in just about every way, to the point that I feel the classic entries ended on a high note.

Stubs - Drácula (1931)

Drácula (aka Spanish-language Dracula) (1931) starring Carlos Villar, Lupita Tovar, Barry Norton Directed by George Melford. Screenplay by Garrett Fort, Spanish adaptation by Baltasar Fernández Cué. Based on the novel Dracula by Bram Stoker (London, 1897) and Dracula (play) by Hamilton Deane, John L. Balderston. Produced by Carl Laemmle Jr. Run time: 103 minutes. Black and White. USA Horror

Hollywood has always had an eye on the foreign markets. When they were making silent films, it was easy to do as only the interstitial cards could be translated and inserted. The coming of sound presented a different set of issues for doing this. As an example, between October 1929 and February 1931, the comedy team of Laurel and Hardy shot 10 of their films in Spanish, French, German and Italian, relying on interpreters writing the dialogue phonetically on a blackboard just out of camera range. Laurel and Hardy featurettes La Vida Nocturna (1930) is the Spanish-language equivalent of the team’s short Blotto (1930), while Politiquerias (1930) is a greatly amplified version of Chickens Come Home (1930).

Universal took a different approach when it came to Dracula. By 1930, the studio had focused primarily on developing Spanish-language films for the foreign market and rather than have Bela Lugosi learn Spanish on the set, they instead set out to make an entirely Spanish-language version with a Spanish-speaking cast. While Tod Browning would shoot during the day, the George Melford production would shoot at night and on the same sets.

The idea originated with Paul Kohner, a producer at the studio who convinced Carl Laemmle to make Spanish language movies that could be shot simultaneously at night with their English originals. While Drácula maybe the most famous, it was not the only film shot like this at the studio.

Apparently, the cast and crew would arrive in the evening, look over what was shot that day and then shoot their own version. They were apparently not required to be slavish to the original. While they used the same marks as the daytime production, they were free to make some changes. As an example, the Spanish version has more dialogue, different costumes and some different camera work. According to Lupita Tovar, who starred as Eva, they wanted theirs to “be the best” of the two releases. As some critic referred to it, Drácula was sort of like a second draft, which are usually better than the first.

Again, according to Tovar, director George Melford did not speak Spanish and had to use an interpreter to speak with the cast. That is not apparent on the screen.

Review Hub - Assassin's Creed

Ever since its release in 2007, the original Assassin's Creed, which started off life as a Prince of Persia game, took on a life of its own and spawned a huge multimedia franchise. In the years since, the game series itself has gone through several of its own highs and lows, some of which we've covered on this blog in one form or another.

Below is a list of links to every Assassin's Creed review on this blog, listed in order of release and separated by category.

Main Series

Assassin's Creed (Second Look)

Assassin's Creed II

Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood

Assassin's Creed: Revelations

Assassin's Creed III

Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag

Side Games

Assassin's Creed III: Liberation

Other Media

Assassin's Creed (Film)

Resident Evil Code: Veronica X (PS2)

Note: This review contains spoilers for Resident Evil (2002) and Resident Evil Code: Veronica X

What Resident Evil games deserve the “Remake” treatment? This question has floated around in the years since the release of the 2019 remake of Resident Evil 2, as well as the 2020 release of the Resident Evil 3 remake. Among the different answers, one that floated up frequently was Code: Veronica, notably the only mainline entry that hadn’t seen a physical PS4 release. Based on my own experience, the demand for Code: Veronica grew louder as the release of the highly-anticipated 2023 remake of Resident Evil 4 drew nearer. This coincidentally lined up with when I would play Code: Veronica for myself as part of my deep dive of the series.

Before we try answering the question of whether Code: Veronica deserves a remake, we should first consider its history. After the original Resident Evil 2’s (RE2) success, Capcom put more Resident Evil projects in development. One of these was a Sega Saturn port of RE2, but it was canceled because doing so would require sacrificing the game’s quality. To make up for this, the team went to work on an original entry for Sega fans. This entry, known as Code: Veronica, would release on the Sega Dreamcast in 2000. Due to low sales, however, Capcom would port the game to the PS2 the following year as Code: Veronica X (CVX), followed by a 2003 GameCube port and an eventual release on PS3 and Xbox 360 in 2011.

As my Resident Evil journey followed the order of each game’s release, I went from the remake of Resident Evil 3 to the PS2 version of CVX, fully expecting a jarring shift in experience going from a fairly polished game to one comparatively archaic. By virtue of age alone, CVX certainly deserves a remake. Beyond that, however, it desperately needs a modern update by virtue of being an overrated mess of a game that has coasted by for far too long on nostalgia alone.

Resident Evil 3 (2020) (PS5)

Note: This review contains spoilers for Resident Evil (2002), Resident Evil 2 (1999) and Resident Evil 3 (2020).

Following the success of the original Resident Evil 2, Capcom put a number of Resident Evil projects in development to capitalize on its success. One of these projects was Resident Evil 3: Nemesis, which was developed as a standalone expansion to the story to the story of Resident Evil 2 and, after a rough development period that saw a number of concepts altered or scrapped, launched the very next year in 1999 (incidentally, this also led to Resident Evil creator Shinji Mikami leaving Capcom). Later, in 2019, Capcom would officially announce a remake simply titled Resident Evil 3, though it was developed at the same time as the remake of Resident Evil 2. Like its predecessor, the remake launched to critical acclaim in 2020, but not without criticisms for its length and the extent of the changes made from the original.

After playing the remake of Resident Evil 2, the next natural step was playing Resident Evil 3. Like with Resident Evil 2, I did so through the 2020 remake, specifically the free PS5 upgrade, out of cost and accessibility. As such, I have no experience with the original release and can’t personally attest to the impact of any of the noted changes. That said, while flawed, I still had a blast from start to finish.

Resident Evil: Welcome to Raccoon City

For fourteen years, Resident Evil’s theatrical presence was dominated by the work of Paul W. S. Anderson, whose contributions had notoriously little relation to the source material. Following the release of the sixth film, Resident Evil: The Final Chapter, work on a reboot of the film series began with the idea that the new film would be more accurate to the games. After a rocky start, the final product would see a wide theatrical release as Resident Evil: Welcome to Raccoon City to mixed reception. Once I finally played the two games it was based on, Resident Evil (RE1) and Resident Evil 2 (RE2), I decided to give this film a try while the stories were fresh in my head just to form my own opinion. Unfortunately, Welcome to Raccoon City does a good job at showing that while video game adaptations have come a long way, they still haven’t cracked the code on this series.

Resident Evil 2 (2019) (PS5)

Note: This review contains spoilers for Resident Evil 2 (2019).

Shortly after the release of the original Resident Evil, development went underway on a sequel, Resident Evil 2. Thanks to a rough development period, however, the game wouldn’t release until 1998 and did so to critical acclaim. Following the 2002 GameCube remake of the original game, Capcom considered a similar treatment for this one, but Shinji Mikami didn’t want to take too much attention away from Resident Evil 4. Fast forward to 2015, where a full remake of Resident Evil 2 was formally announced. This project would finally see the light of day in 2019, when the remake would gain critical acclaim like its 1998 counterpart.

As part of my goal of properly exploring the Resident Evil series, Resident Evil 2 was naturally my next stop. Instead of the original PS1 release, however, I went for the 2019 remake, as it was cheaper and more easily accessible. That means that I have no idea what the original game is like, but I can say that I pretty thoroughly enjoyed my experience with the remake regardless.

Resident Evil HD Remaster (PS4)

When Resident Evil originally released in 1996, it helped define the Survival Horror genre as we know it. It even reportedly had an influence on zombie storytellers like Alex Garland, who wrote 28 Days Later, and Robert Kirkman, who created The Walking Dead. Although the game was popular and released to critical acclaim, director Shinji Mikami, as part of Capcom’s GameCube exclusivity deal, decided to produce a remake, as he thought the original hadn’t aged well and wanted to bring it closer to his original vision. This version released in 2002 and despite its general status as one of the best video game remakes of all time, it sold poorly, which led to the action-oriented direction of later games starting from Resident Evil 4. The 2015 HD Remaster rerelease, on the other hand, would sell far better, with 2.8 million copies sold by June 2020.

As for my own experience with Resident Evil, I formally started the series with Resident Evil 7: Biohazard, so I’m more familiar with the tone and style of the first-person entries. After a major lore reference made at the end of Resident Evil Village, however, I decided to do my due diligence and play through all of the mainline entries, much like I did with the Silent Hill series. Not only did I want a better understanding of the series’ lore, but also a greater appreciation of the developments that eventually led to the Ethan Winters storyline. Naturally, I started at the very beginning with the remake of the original Resident Evil and, after two playthroughs, I can see why it was so acclaimed, even if certain aspects didn’t age as well.

Resident Evil Month (Part 1)

October usually marks a month-long look at horror films on this blog, though the last couple years have also included horror games. Last year, in addition to our usual survey of horror, I did a deep dive into the world of Silent Hill (or at least the “canon” material and both films), which coincidentally ended up a rather timely decision with the announcement of a full series revival. This year, I planned to do the same thing with every mainline Resident Evil game (as defined by the wiki) and the most recent film, but I ran into a major snag.

Either from 20 years of continuous gaming or from two-and-a-half years of pandemic gaming, I got diagnosed with De Quervain's tenosynovitis, aka Gamer’s Thumb, a form of repetitive stress injury. In hindsight, I started feeling pain when I did the “Finkelstein Test” while playing the original Final Fantasy VII (back in summer 2020), but I didn’t listen to my body then and have had the condition since summer 2022. I’ve recovered to the point where it’s more manageable and I can play a game for up to two hours a day (with a break) depending on the genre, but the early stages were more painful, though I’ve had to play on the lowest difficulty and it partly influenced my decision to play Kane & Lynch 2: Dog Days for last year’s anniversary (I had wanted to play it anyway, but its short length let me more easily play it in small chunks). All this to say that my plan to make this year “Resident Evil Month” didn’t quite pan out the way I had hoped due to a much slower gaming pace (and to please listen to your body).

In an effort to stay timely, however, we decided to make this more of a “Part 1” for the planned deep dive into Resident Evil. As such, this will cut off with at Resident Evil 4, with the plan to cover the rest of the series next year starting with Resident Evil 5. This doesn’t mean we don’t already have a good amount of content however, as you can expect to see reviews of the following:

Resident Evil HD, Resident Evil 2 (2019), Resident Evil: Welcome to Raccoon City, Resident Evil 3 (2020), Resident Evil Code: Veronica X, Resident Evil 0 HD, Resident Evil 4 (2005) and Resident Evil 4 (2023) with the Separate Ways DLC. As an added bonus, I’ll be honoring the history of Resident Evil 4 with a rereview of the original Devil May Cry and a special all-new review of Haunting Ground (aka Demento).

I hope you enjoy this special look at Resident Evil and also that you’ll come back next time for the rest of the series. In the meantime, if there are any other games from the series that you’d like me to try to look at, feel free to leave a comment below.