Survival of Horror — Resident Evil: Revelations 2
I’d have hated to be the next main game to release after Resident Evil 6. After 2012 brought us some positive reception (Revelations and Damnation) and an overwhelming wave of negative reception (Operation Raccoon City and Resident Evil 6), faith in the brand was at an all-time low. For a couple years after, there was lots of talk about how badly Capcom was struggling financially. In fact, at one point there were rumors circulating that Capcom was so dirt poor that they were going to sell off.
Obviously, that never happened, and they weathered the storm as they turned Resident Evil 6 to their backs and strode confidently into the next generation in 2013. By which I obviously mean they released Dead Rising 3 as an Xbox One exclusive launch game, and then nothing else for the new console launch periods. The next year was not much better, with their only new release at all being a small reboot of their old IP Strider. Things were bleak for the yellow-and-blue logo, but fortunes were about to change for Resident Evil fans in a big way.
September 1st, 2014. Capcom decided to drop two bombs on people. The first is a trailer for a highly-requested game. Remember way back in the Resident Evil Remake article, when I mentioned that it was exclusive to Nintendo platforms for nearly 13 years? This is when that period ended. The trailer showed off the gorgeous remaster, coming to Xbox 360, PS3, Xbox One, PS4 and PC in early 2015. Great start, and a smart way to regain trust from fans.
The second video, however, was a lot more cryptic. It was the announcement, and concept teaser trailer, of a brand-new title! Resident Evil: Revelations 2 would also be coming to the same five platforms above, and the trailer was meant to get people guessing until Tokyo Game Show later in the month. After a couple years with nothing on the horizon, finally, there would be something that could hopefully wash away the bad vibes from the blockbuster disaster from 2012.
During TGS, there was a big information blowout. First, they showed the entire trailer that the concept teaser was cut from. They revealed that Resident Evil: Revelations 2 would mark the return of fan favorite Claire Redfield, alongside Moira Burton. Yes, one of Barry Burton’s daughters was a protagonist now, as was the man himself. It seemed so much like a game made with the fans in mind, it was hard not to get excited.
The only thing that was a little strange was that Capcom was jumping on the trend of the time that was episodic gaming. Resident Evil: Revelations 2 would release in four episodes over the course of a month, with disc versions containing the whole game being released the same day as the final episode. Personally I wasn’t thrilled about it, but at that point as long as the game was good, I would be able to let it slide. It was Claire freaking Redfield, in her first main appearance since CODE: Veronica!
December rolled around and we got our release dates for both the Resident Evil HD Remaster and Resident Evil: Revelations 2. As an appetizer, fans would get to play the remaster the very next month, while Revelations 2 began its one-month journey right behind it in late February. I actually had to steel myself, determined to wait until all four episodes were released so that I could tear right into it. And wait I did, deftly avoiding all spoilers and such for a full month until the final episode released in March.
Hopefully this game actually reveals more about the plot than the last Revelations did. I was ultimately disappointed by Revelations for a multitude of reasons, but I always had hope that this one would be better. There’s only one way to find out. Don’t get too scared, now; despite what the REmake loading screen tells you, this time fear can kill you.
Resident Evil: Revelations 2 — February 24, 2015 (X360, PS3, X1, PS4, PC, PS Vita, NSW)
Version used for review: PC version, February 2015
Warning: This review will spoil the entirety of the game!
Story
“We will all die. There’s no question of that. But one of you still has a chance of dying well.”
Much like the previous Revelations title taking place between Resident Evil 4 and 5, Revelations 2 follows suit. Set between 5 and 6, the game opens at a little office party for a company called TerraSave. This organization, first seen in the CGI film Resident Evil: Degeneration, is a non-profit advocacy group that opposes bio-terror and takes a more caring approach to outbreaks. While the BSAA may go in to neutralize a threat, TerraSave is the Red Cross equivalent that rushes in to give medical attention and aid to people trapped in an infected area.
Claire Redfield is a member of this more peaceful-approach organization, and is currently enjoying the little soiree alongside new recruit Moira Burton. The game makes it clear early on that she has daddy issues, constantly talking down about her father Barry at every opportunity. During this party, Claire’s chatting up the head of their team, Neil, before the lights suddenly go out in their office. A bunch of people in military gear crash in through the doors and windows, and before they know it, a bunch of TerraSave members are being drugged and taken away, Claire and Moira included.
After that bombastic first few minutes, Resident Evil: Revelations 2 really begins as Claire wakes up, groggily examining her surroundings before noticing a strange bracelet with a green light on her wrist. She finds herself in a rusty, dingy prison cell before the door slides open apropos of nothing. Wandering the creepy halls for a moment, Claire quickly comes across Moira in another cell. The door opens again, with both of them confused as ever by the sudden and extreme circumstances they’ve been dropped into. However, the more experienced Claire takes the lead, knowing that Barry will never forgive her if something happens to his daughter.
Things go from bad to worse quickly as they make their way through the prison, coming across a knife for Claire and a flashlight for Moira. Soon after, a crazed individual attacks the two of them and gets spooked off after a few well-timed slashes. They continue forward until they find a bloodied and mutilated TerraSave member, Gina Foley. Yes, as in Rachel Foley from Revelations. This family is cursed, I swear. She tumbles into Claire, terrified as she gasps her last breath and falls over dead.
Realizing how much danger they’re truly in, Claire leads Moira through the area, finding a handgun along the way. Once they find a storeroom, Claire mentions the need for Moira to have a gun of her own, to which Moira replies with terror that she “doesn’t go guns”. Instead, they find a crowbar in the room that she feels more comfortable using, and with that, the two head off further into the prison in order to find a way out, fighting a bunch of crazed freaks called the Afflicted along the way.
After a while, they hear a voice come through speakers in their bracelets, taunting them and telling them that they don’t know what true fear is yet. With that lovely sentiment, they continue and finally break out of the prison into a grassy area. They go up a hill, being told by this voice of the mysterious “Overseer” to go to a place called the Wossek. Once they ascend the hill, they see a radio tower and realize they can call for help. As Claire climbs to the top of the tower to get the tower turned on, she realizes that they’re completely trapped, on an island in the middle of the sea with nothing but water for miles in every direction. Moira tries to broadcast a message, sobbing as she explains they’re trapped and scared.
Thankfully, after the chapter midpoint screen, it seems their pleas for help have been heard. We see Barry Burton on a small boat, heading right for the island, replaying the message left by his daughter on a small MP3 player. Upon reaching the island, he docks his boat and immediately comes across a little girl named Natalia. She demands to come with him, scared to be left alone on the boat, and he reluctantly agrees to allow her to follow him. She reveals that she doesn’t have parents and she’s not sure why she’s here on the island.
As they enter into the prison area, though, she makes it clear she’s not just some ordinary girl. She whispers that she can see shades of enemies through the walls, much to Barry’s immense confusion. However, her ability is helpful in getting them through the area, and soon the two find themselves at the very same radio tower where we saw Claire and Moira. The first big twist is revealed here as they run into the room and check the broadcast equipment: the recording from Moira is dated six months prior, and Natalia starts to have a massive headache upon hearing the name Moira. She grunts and reveals that Moira Burton… is dead.
Following this gut-wrenching reveal, the next chapter begins with Claire and Moira picking up where they left off, as we now know we’re dealing with a split timeline and are currently six months in the past. They’re in a shanty town, at a bar called the Wossek. Here, they come across several other TerraSave members, including a man named Gabe and another named Pedro. Gabe is taking the lead and enlists the help of the others to find parts to help fix up a helicopter nearby. Pedro helps them access some extra areas with a giant two-handed power drill he finds in the small seaside town. Sadly, things go horribly awry when they find what they need for the helicopter, Gabe staying behind in the wall-off area to work on it while a loud alarm begins blaring, giving away their location to all sorts of enemies.
Trapped in the bar, Claire, Moira and Pedro do their best to fend off the attack on their lives as waves of enemies show up to assault them. Claire and Moira manage to keep a level head, but this is where the sinister experiment is revealed: Pedro starts to panic and his bracelet begins flashing red. The Overseer tells them that they’ve all been infected with a virus, and it’s perfectly safe… unless triggered by norepinephrine, which is released by the body in response to stress or fear. Green is fine, orange means your body is producing norepinephrine but not enough (essentially keeping your fear in check), and blinking red means you’ve triggered the virus. Unfortunately, Pedro falls victim to this trap and begins to mutate rapidly, becoming a hulking beast of a man that swings the heavy power drill around like a kid’s toy.
As Claire and Moira run out of the bar, both of their bracelets orange, Neil shows up on a rooftop, kicking down a ladder and beckoning them to follow. They escape the monstrous Pedro and leave Gabe behind, hoping that he makes it out alive. Eventually, the three of them find their way through to another part of the island, getting closer to the tower in the center before a bunch of monsters show up. Neil says he’ll meet up with them and grabs the mob’s attention, running away down another path to keep the way clear for the two women.
Eventually, after some running around, Claire and Moira come across Natalia, who is clearly scared and worried about where she’s at. Moira is the one who comforts her and befriends her, telling her that they’re going to keep her safe. Unfortunately, as they reach the tower, all hell breaks loose. Gabe shows up flying the helicopter, but the Overseer has him shot down. As Claire and Moira stare in horror at the chaos unfolding, we see Natalia being quietly abducted several feet back from them, and it cuts their part of the episode there.
Upon hearing this story, Barry decides to examine the tower as well. He and Natalia head toward the tower entrance, discussing Moira a bit along the way, as well as the “nice man” that had led her away from the two of them. She explains that her parents were killed during the Terragrigia Panic from the first Revelations game, leaving her an orphan at the young age of 5. She was shuffled around from place to place by the BSAA, basically getting lost in the system before somehow ending up on this island. Barry realizes how much the group has failed her, and it starts to become clear to me that he’s determined to keep her safe not just because she’s a helpless little girl in need, but because he feels doubly guilty that he couldn’t protect his daughter when she needed him most.
Eventually, they come across the tower entrance and inside, find all sorts of very strange symbols and crafts, almost cult-like in their appearance, alongside a bunch of files talking about a virus called “T-Phobos”. Not much further in, and Natalia finds a picture on an altar. She mentions the name Wesker, and Barry immediately takes notice. Sure enough, Albert Wesker is standing aside a woman in a white suit, sitting in a chair. When he mentions that of course he’d be involved, Natalia makes an odd comment that she wasn’t talking about the man. She points to the woman and calls her Alex Wesker, revealing the second big twist of the game: Alex Wesker, the other prodigy of the Wesker Children experiment mentioned as far back as the Resident Evil 5 DLC Lost in Nightmares, is the Overseer that has been conducting awful experiments all this time on the island. Right after this revelation, a grotesque humanoid creature in a robe with the ability to talk shows up and addresses Natalia menacingly before the chapter ends.
Back in the past, Claire and Moira realize that Natalia has gone missing and hurry to find her, eventually making their way through a trial set up by the Overseer in the process. They survive what is meant to be an unwinnable scenario, and they jump into a sewer beneath the tower as the room they’re in explodes, giving them the element of surprise now that the Overseer thinks they’re dead. They make their way up the tower, finding a strange, ragged old man with a rifle as they enter the sewer area, who claims that this is “his spot” to die in. After regarding him for a moment, they decide to press on and make their way up the tower.
Finally, Moira sighs and realizes she has to admit something to Claire once the Redfield sister worries about finding Neil again and bats away accusations that he’s her boyfriend. Moira mentions that the entire time they were under duress and he was being chased, his bracelet never once changed from green. This implies that he was either superhuman in his ability to not feel fear, or he simply knew what was going on from the start and knew what to expect. Claire rebukes this angrily, but almost immediately they come across a computer with live security footage of Neil arguing with the Overseer, who laughs about Neil being one of “Morgan Lansdale’s dogs” for the FBC. She shoots him with an injection gun filled with T-Phobos, and it’s only then that Claire realizes why they’re here on the island: Neil has indeed betrayed them all.
She doesn’t have long to ruminate on this crushing realization as they make their way toward the elevator in the large room where they plan on going up to confront the Overseer. Instead, they’re met with the quickly-mutating Neil, who they successfully fend off after an intense fight. However, as they try to enter the elevator and go up, Neil attacks them again, putting them in a precarious position. Claire and Moira fall a distance enough to knock the wind out of both of them, and Claire attempts to hold off Neil as her gun is smacked out of her hand.
Now, pay attention, because this moment can decide how the story ends. You’ll notice that there’s a button prompt QTE to reach for the gun, but the game strangely reminds you of the partner zapping feature you’ve been using all game as well. Which character you control in this sequence determines if you get the good or bad ending, so make sure you choose wisely! One way or the other, though, Neil is finished off for good after several bullets to the head, and Claire and Moira head up the elevator to face off against the architect of their horrible experiment.
In the present, Barry realizes that the monstrosity in front of them is Alex Wesker herself, wondering just what could’ve happened to her. She claims that she killed Moira and attempts to take Natalia too, and he escapes the room with the young girl, crumbling some debris from the ceiling with his gun to block the path as they escape into the sewer. Here, Barry starts to crack and it’s clear that it’s beginning to sink in that Moira isn’t here anymore.
It’s not often that Resident Evil gets overly emotional, but this time it hits hard. Hearing a gruff old man’s entire soul break as he comes to terms with his daughter’s death wasn’t something I was prepared for. The soft encouragement from Natalia that, despite all their fighting, she knows Moira still loved him until the end only makes it all the more heart-wrenching. Barry explains that the reason their relationship fell apart was because of his total incompetence; one day, he had left a gun cabinet unlocked. Moira and her sister Polly were playing around, as curious young girls do and Moira accidentally shot her sister, putting her in the hospital. Thankfully she survived the accident, but in his own words, he and Moira did not.
Barry was too proud to admit it was his own fault and blamed young Moira for the incident and from then on, as Moira grew up the two of them drifted apart and constantly butted heads. Barry now accepts his fault, but much too late. Nevertheless, he vows to protect Natalia after being unable to save his daughter. With newfound resolve despite the devastating emotional trauma he’s enduring, he leads Natalia away from the tower via the sewer system, coming across the room where the old man was when Claire and Moira were around. The door is unlocked this time around, and in the room, on the desk, lies Moira’s cell phone.
When Barry hears her supposed final message, this was another brutal little scene to behold. If Barry was cracking before, hearing his daughter calling him “daddy” clearly breaks him, and you can hear the anger seethe in his voice as he vows revenge on Alex Wesker. With Natalia in tow, the two continue their escape, eventually getting out and away from the tower, but Alex shows up and knocks Barry down a hill. She grabs Natalia and is about to kill her off when she sees… something in her that makes her shriek in abject terror, ending the chapter.
In Claire and Moira’s final chapter, they reach the top of the tower, a fancy high-tech lab hiding behind the veneer of the tower’s crumbling outside view. Here, we discover that Alex is sick and that her plans include transferring her consciousness to another body. She’s afraid to let her genius go to waste, and in doing so letting her work go unfinished. After going through the area, they finally come across the mastermind herself, behind bulletproof glass. One monologue later, and she shockingly puts a bullet in her own skull. Her stopped heartbeat triggers the self-destruct sequence, and Claire and Moira make their escape down the tower.
With the elevator not working, they attempt to find another way out, worming their way around the outside of the tower and down some debris inside as well. Partway down, Moira saves Claire from falling debris and is pinned down by it with only seconds left on the timer before the lab blows. She tells Claire to run and save herself, and Claire has no choice but to comply. She ends up leaping out of the tower into the waters below, ending their section of the game on an incredible downer.
We then see how Barry found out about the island in a flashback. Claire is picked up by a fisherman as she floats in the open waters and taken to shore to a hospital. Barry is with her as she’s being rushed to the operating room and he tries to get answers out of her despite her delirium. Sadly, she’s not coherent enough to respond properly as she’s wheeled away on a gurney, leaving him to his thoughts.
We finally begin the final chapter with Natalia waking Barry up, who had been knocked out after Alex chucked him down a hill. Alex ran off scared for some reason, leaving the two of them alone and able to continue their escape. They make their way along a path to some mines, where they descend into a giant mineshaft. Weirdly enough, a handprint-locked door opens to Natalia’s touch, giving players a clue as to what’s going on.
Eventually, they reach the bottom of the mines, another lab for awful T-Phobos experiments. We learn that T-Phobos is an amalgamation of the T-Virus and Uroboros from Resident Evil 5, explaining some of the slimy monsters they’ve seen up to that point. They then go to escape via an emergency exit elevator, leading them downward to yet another cave. Here, they hear the mutated Alex Wesker’s voice over the radio, with claims that Natalia is “false” and must die. Detective-minded players may have already picked up on what’s going on here.
They encounter her monstrous form in an operating lab, and together they take out the vicious monster. Now, depending on that option from before, you will get one of two endings. The first is simple: Alex, in her final moments, grabs Natalia and attempts to kill her again, but something awakens in her and she manages to totally obliterate Alex from existence. She giggles and taunts Barry for being unable to save anyone, and stalks away, leaving him unable to shoot a child with the mind of a sadistic scientist like Alex. Her consciousness transfer works, and a new Alex Wesker is born.
The other ending is the true ending. Here, none other than Moira Burton comes to their rescue, gunning down the beastly Wesker from a catwalk above. She rejoins the two of them and they make their escape, a helicopter waiting for them outside. Claire has recovered and brought help, picking up Moira and Natalia while Alex comes storming out of the hall. Barry stays behind to fight, while Claire provides cover fire with a sniper rifle from above. Not gonna lie, this is one of the absolute coolest final battles in the series, bar none.
Finally, they finish off the monstrosity once and for all with a trusty rocket launcher, and everyone goes home safe. The post-credits scene has Claire heading to Barry’s house for dinner, talking to someone about where her brother is. There’s a cheeky nod to Piers, and then we see Barry and his family getting ready for dinner. Moira calls up to Natalia to help them get ready, and we see her in her room reading. She starts to quote Franz Kafka, with a sinister grin on her face as she reads. Cut to black.
Of the various stories told throughout this series, I have to say that this one is among my favorites. Resident Evil: Revelations 2 puts its characters through plenty of emotional torment throughout its runtime, more than most other entries. The split timeline is a fantastic way to build a mystery for both the characters and the player if done well, and Revelations 2 does it extremely well. There are lots of twists and turns throughout the story and it ends up being an entertaining ride. Most of all, however, it actually uses its Revelations moniker well. It gives insight into a lot of things that have been hinted at in other Resident Evil games and even brings in a new series villain to face off against. Mark my words: you haven’t seen the last of Alex Wesker.
Overall, if you’re in it for the plot, you will definitely enjoy Resident Evil: Revelations 2. It’s one of the game’s biggest strengths, rewarding longtime fans and newcomers alike with a fantastic plot. With all the callbacks and references throughout, fans are sure to get lots of entertainment value.
Graphics
“Sorry, I meant BUTT-stain. And you know what we do to buttstains.”
This might come as a shock to you, but Resident Evil: Revelations 2 had a tightly restricted budget compared to other entries in the series. I know, I know, it’s hard to tell given how polished it is, but this one had to work within some tough boundaries after the disastrously ballooned budget of Resident Evil 6.
Of course, I’m being facetious. Resident Evil: Revelations 2 wears its budget on its sleeve, painfully so at times. The team could only do so much with the allotted money and time, and some people were understandably upset, expecting the sort of production values offered by just about every other game in the series up to that point. Given the game’s bumpy development history (yes, another shocker with this series obviously), it’s easy to forgive the game’s shortcomings in this department.
That isn’t to say the game is ugly by any means, nor does it mean we should just gloss over what’s wrong with it either. There’s some good art direction that helps sell the isolated feeling of an abandoned prison island, with lots of focus on rusty oranges and browns in many of the dilapidated buildings and mining areas in Resident Evil: Revelations 2. The main character models also look decent. They’re certainly not as high-quality as previous games, but they animate well and look reasonably high-poly.
Aside from that, though, things start to stumble a bit. It’s honestly kind of hard to put into words because I’m not nearly as technically-minded as I think I am, but something about the presentation of Resident Evil: Revelations 2 makes it immediately obvious that this game had a shoestring budget. The model quality of certain enemies and objects in the environment is a bit… iffy. There’s much less variety in enemies than in Resident Evil 5 and especially 6, and each non-humanoid enemy is some variant of an off-gray color that just looks dreadfully bland.
Textures can be really low quality at times, but in this game’s defense, that’s little different than the previous titles. That said, you would obviously expect a 2015 game to have higher quality textures than something from 2009 or 2012, but here we are. Resident Evil: Revelations 2 looks very average when compared to other games in its release year, and that’s surprising coming from a series that is usually universally lauded for its production values.
It’s not all doom and gloom, however; one good thing comes from the reduced graphical output of the game, and that’s performance. Originally intended for the Xbox 360 and PS3, the ports to the Xbox One and PS4 run smooth as butter at 60fps, while naturally the PC version does so as well without issue. What’s nice and surprising is that to reach that goal takes very little to achieve on PC, since it requires less horsepower and is ostensibly a generation 7 game meant for hardware made 10 years prior to its release. Today, that has become a 15-year-gap, meaning you could run Resident Evil: Revelations 2 on some of the most basic computers and laptops you can buy.
See? It’s not all bad! It’s just… eh, is a nice way of putting it. Resident Evil: Revelations 2 is a mixed bag, and some of the rough bits are positively jagged in the graphics department. However, while it’s sorely underwhelming, it’s not necessarily terrible and the rocky road to release has me willing to ignore a lot of the graphical hiccups, given the time and money constraints that this poor game was put under. It doesn’t excuse the shortcomings, but at least I understand why they exist.
Sound
“Who the fuck is quoting poetry?”
This is actually an area I found myself surprised with. Despite the clear budgetary limitations of the game, Capcom managed to skirt around some regulations and snag some great talent for Resident Evil: Revelations 2. Technically they’re all credited under pseudonyms to avoid penalties for going non-union for the job, but the voices are so distinct because of their popularity and skill that you can identify plenty of them right away.
For instance, the cold and cruel Overseer is credited to none other than Lucy Todd. Yes, that Lucy… Todd — wait, who is that again? Well, hear the voice and you’ll realize it’s the excellent Mary Elizabeth McGlynn, putting in a smooth, calm performance that becomes more enticing and engaging as the game goes on and she becomes more unhinged by her infection and transformation. Much like when I was praising Courtenay Taylor getting to play a crazed version of Ada Wong in Resident Evil 6, Mary gets to play a slick mastermind and a deranged psychopath all at once here in Resident Evil: Revelations 2.
Also turning in solid performances, I’ve never been 100% able to nail it down, but I’m confident that Ali Hillis voices Claire this time and Michael McConnohie voices Barry. Either way, whoever actually voiced them, they did great work. Claire tries to sound confident with her experience in tough situations, but when she gets angry or upset you can hear her voice break a little as she’s pushed to her limits. Barry, similarly, tries to keep a cool head around Natalia but when he’s pushed, his anger bursts through. A person tasked with the safety of someone’s daughter and a vengeful father are not people to be trifled with, and the acting on display makes it clear they put a lot of work into the microphone.
However, surprisingly enough, I think the standout performance here is by the voice of Moira Burton. Marcella Lentz-Pope is a relatively young actress at only 32 years old, but she’s done many films over her career already. She brings that experience to the 19-year-old Moira, starting off as a crass, foul-mouthed rebel and eventually coming out the other end of her struggle as a strong, confident woman… who is also still crass and foul-mouthed. I loved the way Moira develops over the course of Resident Evil: Revelations 2 and a large part of that is due to the great acting from Marcella.
There’s more to this game than just voices, though. The soundtrack of Revelations 2 is interesting. It was mainly composed by Kota Suzuki yet again, and this time around feels decidedly different. I don’t mean that in a bad way, of course; different can be good. In this case I think it works well, as it fits the grimy tone of Resident Evil: Revelations 2. It’s a type of sound I haven’t really heard from the Resident Evil franchise before or since. In his own words, Suzuki said the two themes they wanted to focus on were “iron” and “water” for instruments and “duality of sound” for the soundtrack.
The main theme of the Revelations series returns, with a more sinister sound that evokes the same sense as the previous game, but “Lost (Enchained Version)” sounds a little grittier and more distant, with the instruments sounding more echoed to match the desolate sensation of being trapped in the quiet halls of an abandoned prison. The piano from the original version is traded out for another instrument that my tiny brain can’t identify, but it creates a more sinister sound to my ears. A great start to the game.
This was the first piece that came to mind when I said that the soundtrack is different from any other game in the series. “Overseer 2” is playing while you’re doing the first main trial of the eponymous mastermind, with a constantly droning and oscillating dark synth reminding you that she’s always watching. It’s mixed in with some light percussion and some strings to heighten the tension as the music reminds you of the strenuous predicament in which you find yourself. It’s strange, and it’s great!
On the list of save room themes or chapter end themes, Resident Evil: Revelations 2 contains one of my favorites. “Distant Memories” is both soothing and haunting, as all good save room themes should be. A beautiful little piano melody is the foundation for some dreamy ambience and a mournful violin, reminding you that you can catch your breath for a moment but you’re not out of the woods. It’s a delicious balance of calm and trepidation.
We hear a bit of “Theme of Barry” when we first see him starting his first chapter, but it’s not until later on when he has to accept the supposed death of Moira that we’re treated to the full thing. One of the more solemn character themes in the series, a desolate piano playing a couple notes at a time is paired with a sorrowful string, with both breaking into a quiet and sad melody as Barry reminisces about where he went wrong as a father. It helps us look into his character at the time, a troubled man with immense emotional baggage that has built up for years upon years.
All in all, it’s a solid effort this time around. Despite the limited budget, Resident Evil: Revelations 2 manages to procure the likes of Yuri Lowenthal, Mary Elizabath McGlynn and Ali Hillis (at least I think so!) for some solid performances, backed up by a unique, atmospheric, and somber OST. The passion is clearly there in the music and the acting, which makes for a nice little treat.
Gameplay
“I mean, the living dead were coming at him from all directions. He must have been scared…”
One thing I can say doesn’t suffer in the budget is how Revelations 2 plays. It’s always a game I like coming back to because it offers several unique features that you simply don’t find elsewhere in the series.
First thing’s first, though. Anyone expecting the freedom of movement offered by Resident Evil 6 is going to be sorely disappointed when they boot up Resident Evil: Revelations 2. That isn’t to say the movement is stiff or tightly restricted in general, but it is when coming off of that game’s magnificent action game controls. However, that’s just the thing: those controls are good for an action game. Revelations 2 is decidedly not that, instead leaning more in the middle of action horror. In fact, I’d go so far as to say it’s the closest balance between the two since Resident Evil 4.
That said, you have much more freedom of movement than perhaps any other game in the series besides 6. You can freely run and sprint around, you can stealthily crouch and sneak around that way, and more. While you can’t just dive around everywhere, you still have a dedicated dodge button that lets you evade attacks in every direction. Instead of a roll, it becomes more of a sidestep or evasive stagger in this game. Be that as it may, there’s still a good amount of movement and I was pleasantly surprised to feel it in action when fighting enemies!
Also taking a cue from 6, there is no store or any sort of merchant. Instead, Claire and Barry will find weapons throughout their adventures on the island. Sometimes you may have to solve a simple puzzle or do something slightly out of the way to get them, which is a nice touch, but nothing too strenuous for the brain. However, returning from the previous Revelations title are custom and illegal parts. These are often hidden in many more places, which are fun to try and find.
Parts can be found in little alcoves, or in special crates or boxes that only Moira and Natalia can open. Sometimes they have to be found by Moira or Natalia’s pointing/flashlight abilities, which replace the Genesis scanner from the previous game. It’s much faster than the Genesis, making it far less cumbersome as you try to find stuff in the world. You’ll quickly find yourself inundated with ammo, gems and yes, sometimes parts. It’s a great reinvention of the Genesis concept and makes hunting for parts very exciting!
In addition to all these things, there are plenty of collectibles to find too. Emblems make a return from previous games, and you need to shoot a bunch of them. There’s more incentive to use your secondary characters as well, since Moira’s flashlight can uncover Kafka drawings hidden on the walls in certain areas, while Natalia can sense invisible bugs to destroy with a brick. All of these serve to unlock stuff, but we’ll get to that.
If you haven’t noticed, I talked about Moira’s flashlight and Natalia’s pointing. That’s because the big thing about Resident Evil: Revelations 2 is that they bring back the partner zapping system from Resident Evil 0. Your partner is with you at all times, but you can switch between each character at will. Each team has a primary and secondary character to play as, with Claire and Barry being the primary and Moira and Natalia taking up the secondary position.
Claire and Barry are the fighters of their teams. They wield the firearms and they require herbs to heal when they take damage. Essentially, they play like protagonists in a Resident Evil game. Moira and Natalia actually have much more unique features to mess with, and they even have regenerating health. As I mentioned, Moira’s crippling fear of guns leaves her only able to use a crowbar for defense. She can melee attack with it like how Claire and Barry can use their knives, and she can stab someone with it on the ground, again the same as the others. Natalia is a little girl, so of course she can’t fight like the adults. Instead, she can find bricks and throw them at enemies to stun them, though if they’re on the ground she can hit them and possibly kill them!
Actually, the zapping system from Resident Evil 2 makes its return here as well. Using the six month time gap to their advantage, Capcom set up a couple scenarios where things can change for Barry and Natalia depending on actions that the player takes as Claire and Moira. Unlike RE2, however, the implications of your actions can be quite far-reaching in Revelations 2. For instance, there’s a boss fight that Claire and Moira have to deal with once Pedro mutates and attacks them with the drill. You can choose to run away and escape from him, and later on Barry will find himself in an apartment building fighting him off to get his drill after several stories of climbing. If Claire and Moira kill Pedro in the village, his drill will be lying on the ground for Barry to pick up and he can skip nearly the entire level. It’s really cool how they implemented the zapping system in this game, by far its best implementation in the series to date.
There’s another unique addition to Resident Evil: Revelations 2 and that comes in the form of bottle bombs. Finding empty bottles and various other materials in the world will net you several types of bottle bombs. You can make explosive bombs, essentially on-impact hand grenades. You can make firebombs, which are exceptionally useful against certain enemies as fire is fantastic for anything infected by Uroboros or T-Phobos, which is derived from it. Next are the decoy bottles, which are basically pipe bombs from Left 4 Dead. It draws in enemies for about 5 or 10 seconds before exploding, doing a bunch of damage to the enemies it lures in. Finally are the Smokescreen bottles, which create a huge cloud of smoke and make you nearly invisible to enemies. This makes stealth kills much easier to attain.
Oh, right, there are stealth kills here too. When crouching, if you sneak behind an enemy, you can instantly kill it with a melee attack. This is useful as it applies to all manner of enemies, from the basic zombie to the very Pyramid Head-inspired, and very aptly named Ironhead. The Revenants are enemies with weak points hidden somewhere randomly on their body. You have to either use Natalia to find which limb is the weak point, burn it with a Firebomb, or you can sneak attack and kill it immediately. It’s an extremely handy trick if you want to conserve ammo.
In addition to herbs, of which only green herbs do any healing much like the first Revelations title, Revelations 2 introduces tourniquets and disinfecting wipes to the series. Instead of ailments like poison, enemies can damage you severely enough to cause bleeding, which splatters the screen with blood and causes you to constantly lose health. You can wait it out, or use a tourniquet to immediately stop the bleeding. Similarly, some enemies will blind you with muck or other such gross stuff. Disinfecting wipes will clean the screen and make things visible again! It’s not groundbreaking, but it’s nice that they tried to do something a little different from normal with status effects.
The only majorly negative thing that comes to mind for me is how the ending is determined. I mentioned before in the story section about a decision you make at the end of the third Claire chapter. When you get to this part, you see a manic QTE prompt implying that Claire is seconds from death. What I didn’t notice was the top of the screen reminding you of the button that swaps characters on the fly, which switches control to Moira. If you do the QTE prompt, Claire grabs the handgun that fell out of her hand and you get the bad ending as she finishes off the boss. Meanwhile, if you ignore the prompt and switch to Moira, she ends up overcoming her fear of guns in order to use the pistol to save Claire. This sets up the canon good ending, as Moira tempers her fear so that she doesn’t succumb to T-Phobos. This is fine in concept, but it’s utterly blindsiding in how it makes you ignore the flashing, pulsing QTE and instead swap to the other character. It’s something you don’t have to worry about once you know it’s coming, but the first time is a hell of a doozy.
There are a lot of moving parts to Resident Evil: Revelations 2 but it’s nice to know that for 99% of it, the gameplay is rock-solid. There’s a great foundation there that is hard to shake. There’s a minor hiccup about 75% of the way through the game, but it’s nothing major and doesn’t ruin the gameplay loop. It’s fascinating that despite the cut to the budget, Revelations 2 tosses in all sorts of new, experimental gameplay additions to see what sticks. What’s more impressive is that all of it sticks.
Extras/Replay Value
“How many frickin’ filet mignons does it take to produce this much blood…?”
When it comes to extras, this might be one of the most feature-rich entries to date in the entire series. Resident Evil: Revelations 2 comes jam-packed to the absolute bursting point in a way that would make recent Thanksgiving turkeys blush.
Let’s start with the easy stuff: costumes. All four characters get some sort of alternate outfits to use throughout the game. Claire can be outfitted with a cowgirl outfit, her outfit she wears during the final battle against Alex Wesker, or her original outfit from Resident Evil 2. Moira only gets two alternate outfits, those being her tattered Survivor outfit that she wears in “The Struggle” episode of the game and an urban ninja outfit. Trust me when I say “urban ninja” is not what you’re imagining in your head.
Meanwhile, Barry can unlock his S.T.A.R.S. outfit from the first Resident Evil, as well as a ship commandant outfit. Not much here, but it’s still nice to have. Similarly, Natalia only gets two outfits. The first is a black dress with blonde hair, the way her doppelganger looks in the sidestory “Little Miss”. She also gets a cute blue and red outfit inspired by Lottie, Natalia’s precious stuffed bear. There aren’t a ton of extra outfits, but the ones they pick for all four characters are pretty cool nonetheless.
You may have noticed that I mentioned sidestories above. After the four episodes of the main campaign, each episode split between a Claire/Moira and a Barry/Natalia chapter, there are two extra chapters added. First is “The Struggle”, which details the six month gap where Moira was forced to survive on the island. We learn that it is none other than the old man from the sewers, Evgeny Rebic, that saves her and teaches her the art of survival. In this DLC mission, you split your time between two phases. The first, you’re hunting in areas of the main game for… well, game. Rabbits, rats, spiders, any meat you can fill up on. As you collect more meat, you’ll notice several empty sack icons filling up in the top right. Each full bag indicates a life; that’s right, if you run out of lives in this mode, you have to start all over. The second phase is a combat encounter, followed by another hunting section, and so on. It’s a brutally difficult mode at times, but I still enjoy doing it from time to time to test myself.
The second mini episode is “Little Miss”, where you control Natalia. After waking up from a long sleep, Natalia starts to see a little girl that appears just like her, but with a black dress and blonde hair. Enemies can’t see her, so she can scout ahead for Natalia so that the latter can make it safely past enemies that would do her harm. It’s clear from beating the game that this is none other than the consciousness of Alex Wesker, attempting to take over Natalia’s body. This episode shows us how Natalia got to the pier where she encounters Barry, and it’s fine for a playthrough but I’m not itching to go back to it any time soon.
Ohoho, if you thought we were even close to done, you’re sorely mistaken. Strap in, cause we’re still going up the first hill on this roller coaster ride. There is a ton of concept art to unlock, as well as figurines to collect (essentially models for a model viewer). You can also mess with your screen using several filters, from the usual sepia and black and white to interesting ones, like a found-footage camera filter, a high-contrast comic-inspired filter and perhaps most interesting of all, a true black and white mode for challenge. No gray, no colors in-between. Literally black and white all the way through, making it far more difficult. I don’t recommend it unless you really want to get some artistic shots.
Now, the weapons. There are many. By completing various tasks and objectives, you can unlock a number of things. Firstly, yes, you can unlock infinite ammo and of course the Infinite Rocket Launcher. What Resident Evil game wouldn’t let you unlock the Infinite Rocket Launcher?!
However, there’s far more than that. Claire and Barry can use several extra weapons, including the Chicago Typewriter from Resident Evil 4 and Claire’s signature bowgun weapon. You heard me, Claire’s signature weapon. Not Ada’s! You can also unlock the awesome power drill that Pedro uses when he transforms in the campaign, as well as a short sword that replaces the knife for much more range and damage. If you want an even cooler blade, look no further than Moira. Our lovely Ms. Burton can get a katana for use instead of a crowbar, while Natalia gets… a bubble gun. Yes, a bubble gun. They’re not going to give her a real gun, come on now! Instead, she shoots bubbles at enemies that trap them momentarily, opening up an attack or escape opportunity for the two. All of these weapons drop your letter score to C for the chapter, but who cares? Sometimes it’s nice to let loose and go crazy. It’s great to see some strange and unique weapons make it into the game, but that sort of fits with the whole theme of Resident Evil: Revelations 2 so far.
Now, anyone who has played this game is wondering why I haven’t brought up the big extra. Naturally, I had to save the best for last. Much like the first Revelations, this time around Raid Mode shows up for Revelations 2. Unlike that game’s Raid Mode, however, it’s expanded to such a degree that it might as well be its own game altogether. There are tons of levels, four difficulties, and an almost innumerable number of weapons and skill combinations to unlock. It’s mind-boggling.
The levels are often taken right from Resident Evil 6, and are sectioned off to be more level-based like Raid Mode usually is. However, going back to the first Revelations Raid Mode feels like an honest step back in scope, and not in a good way, after playing this one. Depending on the conditions, you can eventually control a total of fifteen characters, each one with their own unique character skill. As you level each character up, you’ll notice two things: firstly, each character has their own EXP bar as opposed to just one EXP bar for your game. Secondly, you level up to 100 much faster than you used to in the HD release of the first Raid Mode.
As you level up, you also get skill points, which you can invest in whichever character you choose. You can buy new skills and upgrade old ones to make them more powerful. These are too innumerable to explain all of them, but it can be anything from surviving a fatal hit with 1HP to buffing damage for certain weapons, or using a katana instead of a knife. If you upgrade a character’s unique skill enough, you can then inherit it to any other player of your choice using more skill points. Even if you level a character to 100, they’ll still gain EXP and get more skill points, so you’re never penalized for sticking with one character if you choose to do so. Absolutely genius.
You can also find a bunch of different types of guns in Raid Mode too, but it goes beyond that. Sure, you can find the cool guns with lots of power and fast firing rates, but much like the main game, you can find parts as well. Randomly in chests when playing a map, you can use these parts to further augment your god-weapons to be even more deadly. It’s insanely fun and it’s very easy to get addicted to the satisfying gameplay loop of “if I just get one more of this part, I can upgrade it to be stronger for my weapon…”
I think it’s fairly obvious that I love Raid Mode here. I spent many hours back in the day playing it, and it was hard not to get immediately sucked back in when grabbing screenshots for the review. It’s a powerful addition to Resident Evil: Revelations 2, so much so that I kind of wish for a standalone Raid Mode game in much the same way I’ve wished for a standalone Mercenaries release for years.
Have I convinced you yet? Resident Evil: Revelations 2 is nothing other than top-tier when it comes to replay value in the series. Without Raid Mode, there’s just a ton of cool stuff to unlock and keep playing for. With Raid Mode, it’s such a non-contest that it’s almost unfair. It’s a deep and engaging mode that will dwarf your campaign playtime if you let it. Capcom did a fantastic job in keeping the player entertained long after the credits rolled here.
Conclusion
“Nothing will come between us now, my sweet. You and I will be good friends.”
Resident Evil: Revelations 2 has flaws. Some of them can be hard to ignore. It’s obvious that the graphics are lower quality than even previous entries on the same family of systems, and that can be annoying. However, past that, it’s hard not to fall in love with this game. It’s one of the strangest, most experimental Resident Evil games out there. Everything about it feels different and unique from any other franchise entry, and it’s refreshing.
The story is bold and at times harsh, the gameplay is a solid blend of Resident Evil 4 and 6, with some stealth peppered in for taste. The music is mournful and pulse-pounding, by far one of the most interesting soundtracks in the series. The extras will keep you playing for dozens of hours past the end of the game, with similarly weird and fun weapons, filters and modes to unlock. There is a lot to love about Revelations 2, and I implore you to look past its low-budget veneer to find the beauty hiding within.
Now if you’ll excuse me, I need to cut this conclusion short. I have some business to attend to.
