Resident Evil: Revelations Review

I don’t have much to add to my original review, because not much has changed. The difficulty’s been tweaked and a couple of things have changed, but nothing that alters the overall experience. Revelations isn’t perfect, but it’s still a surprisingly absorbing, genuine horror game in the spirit of Resident Evil 5’s “Lost in Nightmares” DLC. On that basis, it’s worth picking up for anyone who enjoyed the “classic” era of Resident Evil but who doesn’t have a 3DS.

The single-player mode is just about the same as it was: an unnecessarily complex plot full of betrayals, hidden agendas, and getting chased through a derelict ocean liner by six to eight species of aquatic ooze monster. In stark contrast to a lot of recent games, including games in its own franchise, Revelations isn’t afraid to screw you over. Every monster in it is a bullet sponge, even if you know how to fight them, and you shouldn’t be surprised if you end up going into crucial fights with a scant handful of bullets.

Capcom seems to be banking on Raid Mode as what’ll keep people playing the game, and to be fair, it is addictive. It never quite seemed to work right on the 3DS, but using Xbox Live, Raid Mode is mostly smooth sailing. It takes the survival-horror gameplay of the main campaign and transposes it into something a lot like a dungeon crawler, where you blow through maps in search of experience points, cash, new guns, and better customizable add-ons for your weapons. It’s simple, but it’s also surprisingly addictive and features a lot of unlockable content. I had a couple of problems with my partner de-syncing, so monsters would bounce around the map suddenly, and the matchmaking’s got an issue where by the time you’ve found a game to join, it’s likely already full, but it’s overall a positive experience.

There isn’t any real extra content to speak of, so if you already played Resident Evil: Revelations to death on the 3DS, there’s no reason to get a second copy unless you really want to send a message to Capcom. There’s really no way this’ll outsell Resident Evil 6, but the producers have made it known that Capcom is watching the sales figures on Revelations very closely and will use them to determine where the franchise goes from here. With a little luck, this might be a return to form for the series.

Reviewed By: Thomas Wilde
Publisher: Capcom
Rating: 85%

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This review is based on a copy of Resident Evil: Revelations for the Xbox 360 provided by Capcom.