Resident Evil: Revelations 2 (PS4)

Note: This review contains spoilers for Resident Evil 5, Resident Evil: Revelations and Resident Evil: Revelations 2.

Soon after the release of Resident Evil: Revelations (REV1), Capcom greenlit a sequel, Resident Evil: Revelations 2 (REV2), this time for home consoles and the PlayStation Vita instead of the Nintendo 3DS. For this entry, however, producer Michiteru Okabe suggested taking the episodic structure of REV1 one step further and releasing REV2 with a weekly episodic model like a traditional TV series, as popularized by Telltale Games. As such, the writing took more influence from episodic TV shows, which included ending each part with a cliffhanger to encourage players to download the next part. Each of the four episodes released as planned in 2015, followed shortly after by a complete retail release that also included both Bonus Episodes, originally released as DLC. REV2 garnered positive critical reception and, as of 2022, outsold REV1.

Since I committed to playing the Revelations games as part of my deep dive through Resident Evil (RE), I ended up at REV2 on PS4 after playing through Resident Evil 6 (RE6) instead of jumping straight to Resident Evil 7: Biohazard (one of my personal favorites). Due to my disappointment with both preceding titles, I didn’t expect much from REV2 and thought I’d face another boring slog before “getting back to the good stuff”. Instead, much like how I felt going from Code: Veronica X to Resident Evil 0 (RE0), I found myself actually having fun with REV2, as it had learned from the mistakes of its predecessor and ended the pre-Winters portion of the mainline series (according to the Resident Evil Wiki) on a high note.

Claire Redfield, who now works for the anti-bioterror organization TerraSave, meets her new partner, Moira Burton, at an office party in TerraSave headquarters. During the party, Claire, Moira and several other TerraSave members are abducted by masked assailants and taken to an island against their will by a woman known only as the Overseer. As Claire and Moira escape from an abandoned prison and search for a way off the island, the Overseer speaks to them through GPS-enabled bracelets that track their fear levels for a malicious purpose. Later, Barry Burton arrives on the island by boat in response to a distress signal sent by his daughter. Upon his arrival, he is accompanied by Natalia, a little girl who has escaped from the Overseer and not only knows her way around the island, but can sense the presence of the monsters that inhabit it.

Claire (right) and Moira (left) seek an escape from the Overseer.

First off, REV2 fixed just about every issue I had with REV1. The story takes place in only one location, the island, and has fewer characters, not to mention it feels much more like RE than REV1 did in following some of the expected beats, which helps it feel more focused. Although the Terragrigia Panic from REV1 gets acknowledged as a way of connecting both games, we don’t get Natalia’s perspective of the event, meaning the story continues moving along at a good pace. Rather than place the entire world at stake, the main threat is confined to a single large island and the stakes feel more intimate and personal. There’s even more of a connection to the main games beyond just teasing RE6 at the end, as RE5’s Uroboros and Albert Wesker’s failure both play a significant role.

One surprising connection from RE5, however, is Alex Wesker. RE5’s Lost in Nightmares DLC originally mentioned her in a random file as a bit of world building and opening a back door for a potential follow-up. In REV2, she makes her first formal appearance as the main antagonist, determined to outdo both her brother Albert and Oswell E. Spencer. While her plan never gets as far as her brother’s, she’s no less diabolical through her experiments with the T-Phobos Virus, one of the series’ most unique viruses that triggers in response to strong emotional trauma, and how she views other human beings as nothing more than mere test subjects she can discard at will. Her fixation on Natalia also comes into focus as the story progresses and helps bridge the gap between the two storylines.

Speaking of, one of the most interesting aspects of REV2’s story is that Claire and Barry’s stories, which alternate between each other during all four Episodes (each of which typically run about two hours long during a normal playthrough), occur six months apart from each other. The way the first Episode delivers this idea adds an air of suspense to the remaining three Episodes and both storylines ping pong new information about Alex’s plan that builds up an intriguing mystery. It helps that the story has a great payoff at the end that ties everything together, although whether you get the Good or Bad ending depends on a single choice you make during Episode 3. Since I got the Good ending, I’ll also mention that the post-credits scene in this outcome baits a potential follow-up that, as of this writing, has no signs of bearing fruit. I also saw the only thing connecting REV2 to RE6, a tease at the end where Claire is informed that her brother Chris is in China.

They also couldn't help themselves with referencing the original Resident Evil.

 

As with REV1, REV2 includes literary elements in its story and setting, this time following the work of Franz Kafka rather than Dante’s Inferno. Where the Inferno references in REV1 felt superficial, however, the Kafka references here are more involved. Not only do we occasionally see Kafka quotes that feel relevant to the situation, the Episodes themselves take inspiration from certain Kafka stories, including the famous Metamorphosis. While I wouldn’t call myself a Kafka expert, I appreciated this change in approach.

On startup, before you experience any of the gameplay, players are asked to download a compatibility pack so they access some features of Raid Mode, as well as some unique costumes. I feel like this move means that these features will eventually become lost media, but it’s worth it for now if you’re a completionist.

When you do actually play, you have the option between Single-player and split screen couch Co-Op (no Online Co-Op this time outside of Raid Mode). Either way, REV2 builds upon the foundation of REV1 while improving the experience and introducing its own twists. For one thing, there is now a dedicated dodge button, much like the later RE3R, so it feels much more consistent and reliable both in and out of combat. There’s no Genesis Scanner this time, so no clumsy enemy scanning, but hidden items are more visible in the environment and two of the playable characters have their method of revealing them (focusing with Moira’s flashlight or pointing with Natalia’s finger). Workbenches are no longer restricted to one character, so Claire and Barry can exchange and upgrade the weapons they find, plus any surplus weapons are sent to the Workbench (and the game even tells you so this time). Movement also receives a boost in how holding X while running will automatically transition into vaulting and opening doors where possible. In a similar vein, reload and picking up items are mapped to the same button, though I never found this an issue during my entire playthrough.

Speaking of items, REV2 not only brings back the emblem mechanic, it also lets you shoot environmental items so you can pick them up, just like in RE4. In an odd step back from REV1, however, you must pick up maps before you can view them in a minimap, though at least you can find them with ease.

Continuing the tradition from RE0, REV2 has its own version of the Partner system, which feels like a more direct evolution of the original system. As in RE0, players can, in both Claire and Barry’s storylines, swap between them and their respective partners, Moira and Natalia, at any time (these swaps are forced the first time for the sake of a quick tutorial). Each character has their own abilities that incentivize switching for exploration, puzzle solving and pre-planning encounters. The AI controls whichever character you’re not playing as, though letting Claire or Barry attack on their own requires the Unholstered Skill (more on that later), which doesn’t deplete ammo reserves, but lowers firepower. You can’t program the AI’s behavior in a menu, but you can issue simple commands: Follow (Triangle + Up) and Wait (Triangle + Down) commands, the later of which comes in very handy for solving puzzle that require separating both characters. Separation carries a risk, however, in that if your Partner dies, it’s an instant Game Over.

Apart from the AI’s combat requiring a Skill, there are some other noticeable differences. One is that the Partner icon indicates both their health and whether or not you can switch, as there are some restricted moments. Although Item Boxes didn’t return, managing your inventory doesn’t require leaving items on the ground, as you can view, exchange and use both inventories through the same real-time menu that improves on RE5’s inventory system. Both campaigns also reward exploration with locked boxes that either Moira or Natalia can open for special items like Expansion bags or more powerful weapon upgrades. Opening boxes requires completing a minigame where you search for Unlock Points based on the cursor color and controller vibration, though this isn’t too hard and messing up doesn’t mean starting over from scratch.

Although Claire and Barry’s campaign share many gameplay similarities, they have enough differences that add their own twist on the Partner system. In Claire’s campaign, Claire can arm herself with most in-game weapons while Moira only has a crowbar that also doubles as a method of opening certain doors. However, Moira has more utility through melee follow-up attacks and her flashlight, which can not only highlight items or illuminate dark places, but also temporarily blind enemies by focusing its harmful light in their face, though this ability has limited use before entering a cooldown. In an interesting integration of the six-month gap, Claire and Moira can sometimes stumble across boxes that only Natalia can open and certain actions in Claire’s campaign have an effect on Barry’s, such as the way they defeat enemies that have red pus.

On the other hand, Barry, who has his own weapons and inventory separate from Claire, takes on most functions otherwise split between Claire and Moira, with the caveat that he can’t stun enemies with his flashlight, only illuminate the area in front of him. Instead, most of the differences come from Natalia’s utility brought on by her special powers. She can not only spot hidden items, but also sense monsters, including those invisible to other characters, and spot blue footprints that lead her in the right direction. Even crouching gives her unique advantages, as it not only increases her range in sensing monsters, but silences her footsteps. In exchange, however, she’s far more vulnerable than the other characters and can only arm herself with a brick that breaks after a number of uses or a certain subweapon.

Combat feels similar to REV1, but with some improvements. Assigning weapons to the d-pad makes swapping between them much easier, as does the dedicated melee button that doesn’t require selecting a melee weapon. You also get a dedicated subweapon button and can swap subweapons with the d-pad while holding that button down. Although both Claire and Barry can stealth kill enemies while crouching, Barry had more plentiful and obvious opportunities, but both characters can still deal big damage with headshots (I have no idea if playing on the lowest setting affected the damage output).

Accessing weapons feels easier.

Perhaps as a form of balancing the increased power level of the player characters, REV2 introduces two exclusive states: Bleeding and Blinded, both indicated by an effect on the screen. Getting hit by a particularly powerful attack triggers Bleeding, continuously dealing damage while preventing the player from running; you can only stop the bleeding with a Tourniquet (your partner will automatically apply it if they have it in their inventory). Meanwhile, certain enemies will spew fluids that trigger the Blinded state, which will go away on its own, but using a Disinfectant will reverse it much faster (your partner will automatically apply it if they have it in their inventory). Dealing with both of these statuses feels overwhelming at first, but experience can help you either make it more manageable or learn how to avoid either one entirely.

What helps is that you can now craft items through recipes as long as you have the right materials in your inventory. These items include Tourniquets, Disinfectant and the various subweapons, though the Herb system carries over from RE6 (combining Red and Green Herbs creates three Green Herbs). Although I loved how this made preparing for different situations easier, managing crafting items on top of multiple ammo types creates tight inventory space, sometimes even after obtaining every Expansion Bag. I’m sure playing on a lower difficulty affected this, but I still dealt with some frustration from not finding the right item, like Empty Bottles, when I needed them most.

As for the enemies you unleash all of your firepower on, you primarily encounter the Afflicted, created those who gave into their fear and triggered the T-Phobos Virus in their system. Although the game features arguably less enemy variety than REV1, I found that REV2 made up for it by designing the enemies in a way that you need different strategies or weapons without overwhelming you, like saving your more powerful ammunition for Vulcanblubbers or conserving ammo and using melee on regular Afflicted, though many enemy encounters involve exposing and exploiting obvious weak points. Dealing with certain enemies enough times helped me figure out the best way of avoiding their attacks, like keeping your distance against an Ironhead, though I didn’t like how the Dhurlga and invisible Glasp enemies have insta-kill attacks, which may work as a penalty after a short encounter, but feels frustrating after a long and drawn-out firefight. On top of that, you sometimes have obstacles in the form of exploding red pustules on the floor, which Moira and Natalia can disarm.

Throughout the campaign, you'll earn BP, which you can spend on Skills. Unlike RE6, however, these Skills operate more like a Skill Tree, as unlocking certain Skills requires possessing other Skills and you can upgrade a good number of them for increased effectiveness. I liked that these Skills persisted between characters so that you don’t have to come up with new builds each time and can instead focus on the Skills that will help you the most.

This is one of the Skills you want.

BP has an additional use, however, in that you can unlock additional content that you’ve unlocked in the Rewards menu after clearing certain conditions. Though many rewards are cosmetic, there are some that affect gameplay, like Bonus Weapons, Countdown Episodes (a gameplay variant that encourages speedrunning) and Invisible Episodes (a gameplay variant that renders all enemies invisible). Since these rewards draw from the same BP pool as your Skills, however, you should choose your rewards wisely depending on how you approach the game after completion.

Ona technical level, REV2 holds up better visually than REV1 due the difference in original hardware, though it may look a little rough by virtue of releasing for lower powered SKUs, as well as some minor texture loading. Howeve,r you can customize your experience with any unlocked Costumes and Screen Effects under Special Settings when playing the Main Campaign. I also though that REV2 had some good audio, mainly the voice acting and sound effects, as I couldn’t recall any specific parts of the score.

That said, you still get the occasional bug.

Alongside the release of Episode 4, REV2 received DLC in the form of two Bonus Episodes, The Struggle and Little Miss. Since they are included on the retail disc, I will cover these here individually in the order listed in the game. Since these Bonus Episodes are canon, this section will have spoilers for the main game.

The Struggle fills in the six-month gap between Claire’s escape and Barry’s arrival, depicting Moira’s struggle to survive on the island with the aid of Evgeny Rebic, an old Russian man Claire and Moira ran into in the sewers. Though short, the story does its job effectively and adds more emotional depth through Evgeny’s story, which makes his fate in the main game more tragic, as well as the bond the two characters form over six months. The way Moira’s story connects the two campaigns also confirms that the Good Ending is canon, which suited my playthrough well.

Although The Struggle uses similar mechanics as the base game, complete with Moira and Evgeny taking on the Partner roles, it puts enough of its own spin on it that it feels like a different experience. For one, it follows a different structure within its four Stages: a 12-minute Hunting stage, the first Survival stage, a second 15-minute Hunting stage and the second Survival stage.

During each Hunting Stage, players can gather useful supplies for the Survival Stages, which consist of both timed missions and clearing rooms, as well as kill animals and Giant Whip Spiders for Rations to fill up their Ration Gauge, with each animal dropping a different number of Rations (Survival Stages also still have limited opportunities for gathering meat). For the most part, the time limits feel generous and while enemies still show up, you don’t have to kill all of them unless you need the supplies they guard. Filling up the Ration Gauge as much you can, however, is more of a necessity, as retrying a failed mission costs 50 Rations; Having less than 50 Rations when you die erases your Save data and you’ll have to start the entire DLC all over again.

While I found The Struggle’s writing and gameplay engaging, the idea of doing it all in one shot proved a little difficult, not only from a lack of experience on my first attempt, but also how the second Hunting Stage grew frustrating due to some inconsistent stealth logic on part of the roaming Revenant enemies. A such, I did a speedrun of this section on my second attempt and still squeaked out a win in the second Survival Stage. It helped that although Moira’s health didn’t carry between Stages, her inventory did, which let me plan ahead better.

Little Miss takes place at the end of the six-month gap, depicting Natalia’s escape from Alex Wesker up until just before she meets Barry. Alex Wesker’s influence on Natalia through her experiment is represented with a new character, Dark Natalia, who has Natalia follow a manifestation of her stuffed bear Lottie for reasons unbeknownst to Natalia. Like The Struggle, I liked how Little Miss filled in a gap in the main game’s story while also advancing the Alex Wesker story in a meaningful way, even if the execution is kind of silly.

Unlike The Struggle, however, Little Miss features no weapons or combat at all and instead plays out like a stealth game across three Stages, each one capped off by locating a postcard. Since Natalia can’t defend herself, getting caught results in an instant Game Over, though you can retry as much as you like with no penalty. Since Natalia and Dark Natalia are the Partners this time, Natalia’s abilities from the main game are split between them. Natalia can’t sense enemies this time, but enemies won’t react at all to her footsteps, which gives the player some breathing room as long as they stay out of sight. Dark Natalia, meanwhile, can sense enemies and move around freely without getting caught, which can help with “previewing” a mission and planning your route, plus she can make enemy locations visible to Natalia by pointing at them. However, Dark Natalia can only highlight one enemy at a time and can’t interact with doors or obtain key items.

Despite the attempts at balancing the gameplay and making it challenging, however, I found Little Miss very easy, especially compared with The Struggle. Not only are the correct routes rather obvious, clearing certain rooms doesn’t always require the Smokescreen Bottle the game places in the intended spots. I almost never needed a retry and didn’t find the stealth all that challenging overall. It’s not a bad DLC, as it’s still good for the story, but is still falls short in its execution.

 As with REV1, REV2 also features a Raid Mode, this time framed as a battle simulator created by Alex. When you first drop into the Vestibule, you can pick from one of ten characters at the start (obtaining Completion medallions unlocks up to five more), with some including costumes representing REV1 characters. After customizing a character’s Weapons, Skills and Gestures (for Online play), you can deploy to an available mission, some of which cost Gold. As you go through a mission and defeat/route enemies, some of which have their own Skills, you can obtain Gold and EXP, as well as find un-evaluated items in treasure boxes. Once you return to the Vestibule, you can evaluate items with Gold at the item evaluation screen (aka the Jukebox) so you can actually use them or sell the item for additional Gold. If you’re not sure whether to evaluate or sell, the game suggests that more useful items typically cost more Gold to evaluate.

Once again, I didn’t play much of the Raid Mode, just enough to get the idea, but it can easily provide a lot of replay vale for those who want to squeeze as much time as they can out of REV2 or just find satisfaction in mowing down enemies and gradually getting stronger. As an added bonus, like the main campaign itself, you can play Raid Mode with couch co-op this time.

Although I still wouldn’t consider Resident Evil: Revelations 2 a “main game”, I had a lot more fun with it than its predecessor and enjoyed how it followed up or addressed different story elements from the main games, including Alex Wesker. As such, I find it an easier recommendation than the original Revelations if you want more out of the Resident Evil universe with a game that feels closer to the others in style and tone.