Resident Evil 5

Released on March 5, 2009 by Capcom, and ported to the Nintendo Switch on October 29, 2019, Resident Evil 5 takes the series further into action and completely away from horror territory.

Resident Evil 4 might possibly tie Chrono Trigger as my favorite video game of all time. I love it that much. In 2005, when I was going through a period of life where I was isolated and depressed, Resident Evil 4 was a comforting bath of darkness. I played through the game many times that year, racking up achievements, and a satisfying sequel was going to have to reach an extraordinary level of quality to match my expectations. Resident Evil 5 is not that sequel.

 

You are disappoint

I'll try to argue here why Resident Evil 5 is a substandard sequel to RE4, a substandard entry in the Resident Evil series, and only a good, but nowhere near great game. It's easy to explain why RE5 fails as a sequel to RE4. The series up to RE4 focuses upon survival horror with elements of action. RE4 brings the horror and action elements into perfect balance. RE4 also features stunning set piece after stunning set piece. From an opening ambush in a seemingly idyllic village, to a lake monster boss fight, to an unforgettable battle with a troll, to an assault by evil monks in the depths of a terrifying castle, to a hedge maze from hell, the memorable moments never stop. Most of RE5's set pieces--with one major exception (the jeep chase)--are forgettable.

 

Pictured: The one awesome moment in this game

The opening sequence sees game protagonist, Chris Redfield, meeting with his new partner, Sheva Alomar, in an African village, where the two are almost immediately ambushed. This opening sequence is essentially a carbon copy of RE4's, minus any element of horror or surprise. It's simply an action sequence. This immediately places the game in retread territory, while missing what worked best from its predecessor. This, ironically, also makes it a lousy Resident Evil game. If there's no element of horror, then what's the point? Now it's nearly just a generic action game. However, as the developers simply ported over Resident Evil 4's control system, failing to implement any meaningful change, the player must utilize what is essentially a survival horror control scheme in what is strictly an action game.

Here's a picture of the RE5 developers taking the series' horror elements out behind the woodshed.

The controls work in RE4 because the action is sporadic, and the horror is heightened by the fact that Leon, that game's protagonist, can't just quickly cycle through weapons like the Doomguy. Wits are just as important as force, and the scenario feels terrifyingly realistic, despite the fact that the player is being hunted by zombie-like humans through the Spanish wilderness. In RE5, that same control scheme can't help but feel clunky when the player is simply being assaulted by wave after wave of enemies, with little need for wits, and no elements of horror or even terror to speak of. To add insult to injury, RE5 references some of RE4's major shock moments (oh crap, now a guy with a chainsaw is chasing me) without doing anything to try to top them (oh crap, now a guy with a chainsaw that is way less scary than the one in RE4 is chasing me).

 

Well, I guess there's this guy

And that's really this whole game in a nutshell. You're running through a rural African area under constant assault from its zombie-like citizens, fighting fairly clunky controls. Fairly is an apt word here, as the game is fairly fun. I was disappointed and a little bored at times, but having enough of a good time that I wanted to see the game through to the end. Blasting through enemies is a good time, and there are a few new ideas here. The most major of these, besides the absence of horror or originality, is your partner, Sheva. In single-player mode, she's controlled by a shockingly competent AI, as she's constantly nearby, taking out enemies like a pro, following your commands to attack or fall back immediately.

 

Stand down, Sheva, I want to splash this bug dude's guts on the floor all by myself

As well-done as that aspect is, it does even more to suck any horror elements out of the game. The solitude of the previous games elevated the horror aspect. In those games, you might spend moments with an NPC character, and even have to protect them at moments, but eventually they'd generally vanish, and you'd be stuck moving through whatever horrific landscapes the game presented you all alone. Here you have a constant companion. Sheva is implemented well, but robs the game of what little horror elements it might have had.

 

Now Sheva, I'm not saying this backdrop is a metaphor for what you did to the horror elements in this game, but...

If you want to play this game with a friend, either physically next to you, or far away in the Internets, one of you can play as Chris and the other Sheva. It's fun, but again, you've got to use that grid inventory control scheme, which hampers some of the enjoyment of this third-person shooter game. Thankfully, though, RE5 looks incredible. Originally released for the PS3, it still looks great on Switch, whether in handheld or on the TV. I found playing on the TV was actually a lot more fun, though, as I could crank up the volume to deafening levels while I mowed down enemy hordes.

 

Die, hordes. die

The music, unfortunately, is bit of a step down, as there's little new or original, and nothing memorable. Every Resident Evil game before this one is known for its comforting safe room music, but RE5 doesn't even have safe rooms. And without the safe rooms, which feature a typewriter, and basically a place in which the player knows they can't be attacked, there's no calming, memorable safe room music. Some may be glad to find the series' typewriter save model, which not only limits the amount of times a player can save, but forces the player to essentially find saves, is done away with here for frequent autosaves. Sure, autosaving is more convenient, but again, the limited saves added tension to the previous games and amped up the horror...which is gone now.

 

I think this would have made for a lovely safe room. I'm not sure what that says about me.

There is something like a safe room menu screen between levels, or after a player dies and is about to retry a level. On this menu screen, you can organize your inventory, as well as Sheva's, buy new items and weapons (the game features pistols, rifles, shotguns, magnums, grenade launchers, etc.), upgrade your weapons, and sell valuable items you've found along the way. There is some fun in strategizing and divvying out items and weapons between you and Sheva, as inventory spots are limited. I enjoyed this more than almost any aspect in the game. The merchant, who hung out in Resident Evil 4's darker corners, is replaced by this menu. I miss the merchant, though. I miss the safe rooms. I miss the horror.

 

You throw me the whip

You receive grades based on certain criteria after every level. There's plenty of stuff to unluck, and while the main mission isn't too long, unlockables and bonus content stretch out the gameplay time, if you decide you want to keep playing after the end credits...which I didn't. So in the end, Resident Evil 5 is a decent action game, a lousy Resident Evil game, and a pale sequel to one of the greatest games ever made. I'm glad I finally played it, but I'm even more glad I waited 13 years to mute my expectations.

 

SCORE: 6.8/10