I like to think that I’m pretty indulgent with games, sometimes even too much. But video games are a form of entertainment, and more often than not, the titles we try have enough entertaining elements to make them at least interesting, and that’s what I want to point out. But “most” is a key term to remember here, because sometimes we get a title that, despite trying to stay positive, is impossible for me. Resident Evil Re:Verse is one of those games.
Before I get into the game and its issues, I’d like to start by saying that the one aspect of Resident Evil games (with a controller) that I’ve always hated is the weapon handling. It always struck me as awful, like the gun weighed 30 kilos and the protagonist was just struggling to keep it at eye level, but for a survival horror that’s at least acceptable. And that awful gunplay makes me wonder why we need a Resident Evil multiplayer shooter, but here we are.
In this game, players will go head-to-head with a collection of characters from across the Resident Evil franchise. The main mechanism is to simply follow in the footsteps of one of the six survivors, such as Claire and Chris Redfield, Jill Valentine, Leon S. Kennedy, Ada Wong, or even a masked Umbrella Corporation soldier named Hunk, and then go through a level set by an emblematic location of Resident Evil (e.g. the Raccoon City police station or the Baker house) to fill each other with bullets. The problem is that when you die you become a virus monster until you are defeated in that role as well. At this point, you will reappear as a survivor. That’s all
Advertising:
It might seem a bit cruel to say there’s nothing more to add, but there really isn’t much more that defines the game’s dynamics. Of course, we can collect virus containers that are scattered around the map. So if we die while we have two, we turn into a more powerful monster like Nemesis or Super Tyrant. And also as a survivor Green herbs can be picked to restore health, there’s the ability to roll to dodge damage, and there are even special weapons available across the map to deal significant damage to an enemy. But that’s it. There is nothing to add to the game modes you can only play anyone against anyone (or Deathmatch as it’s known), and you have no control over your character’s gear, as it is dictated by the survivor, although perks can be purchased with in-game currency to increase weapon health, damage, or reload speed, both monsters and survivors.
The most frustrating thing is that it’s not possible to switch to a monster or not on death, as it happens automatically, meaning a survivor will spend most of their time just running from Jack Baker or some other monstrosity that will kill us , without barely flinching. Add to that the fact that the only free-for-everyone mode means no team play and we’re constantly dead or under attack since the maps are so small that there’s hardly any time to get your bearings before someone or something breathes on our necks. Oh, And did I mention that the only condition to win a game is that time is up?
Advertising:
But while I’m not interested in many of the gameplay elements, the real problem with this offering is definitely the lack of content. Resident Evil Re:Verse has felt like years and years in development due to countless delays, and yet at launch we don’t have any game mode options, we just have a very basic selection of characters, very boring options, uninspired customization options, and very few maps to play with To play. For a title that aims to engage fans with a product as a service, this is a lousy start.
Still, Re:Verse deserves a bit of credit because the weapon handling isn’t that bad either. It plays well. Not much more to say. It’s nowhere near as fluid and smooth as the best shooters out there, Call of Duty, Halo, Counter-Strike, but at the same time it’s way above the shooting systems of its single-player horror counterparts. It’s a pity, however, that the game has an odd art style, almost no cellular tonalities, which doesn’t fit the tone of the Resident Evil series at all, and is complemented by an electric bass soundtrack that would be more appropriate for a club. speakeasy night you for a multiplayer shooter experience.
Between the surprisingly few rewards on offer (I got 10 out of 12 trophies in 40 minutes of gameplay…) and the odd design choices, I see no reason why you should choose this game over other shooters on the market. Even if we just look at the free-to-play landscape, there are plenty better options than this, and it’s pretty clear why Capcom is edging the game after such turbulent development and giving it away to resident owners. Re:Verse doesn’t go very far as a fun gaming experience.