Resident Evil Revelations 2 preview: is the series back on track?

After a fairly successful HD port of Resident Evil Revelations from 3DS to Playstation 3, Wii U, Xbox 360, and Windows, Capcom opted to skip both portables and Wii U with the sequel. Resident Evil Revelations 2 is instead being developed for current and last generation (non-Nintendo) consoles and PC as the focus from the get-go. From what we’ve played of it, that might have been the right decision.

The timing actually seems somewhat tragic—following as it does the recent reveal of the New 3DS and New 3DS LL, whose built-in analog nub which would mean that a Circle Pad Pro would no longer be necessary to play a 3D game like Revelations 2. But the lead platform being moved to the more powerful consoles potentially gives Capcom more power to play with, rather than having to merely graphically brush up an otherwise limited game.

As with the best parts of the first Revelations, the game is strongly reminiscent of Resident Evil 4 and earlier parts of Resident Evil 5. Dark corridors with empty rooms have you checking every corner as you approach them. Jump scares when enemies burst out quickly become highly stressful encounters where you struggle to line up your shot in order to conserve ammo while the enemies pursue you unrelentingly. The quiet, unnerving atmosphere is punctuated by these encounters to great effect.

[fve]http://youtu.be/iUIj16gpuew[/fve]

Returning lead character Claire Redfield is joined by the daughter of the first game’s Barry Burton, Moira. While Claire plays much like other series protagonists have in the past, Moira has far fewer options. Her main tool is a flashlight, for finding new items or misplaced keys, but she also has some limited combative capability with her crowbar.

While not a factor in the demo I played, it seems likely that some stressful situations will have the player needing to play as Moira to progress while hunted by enemies that can easily overpower her.

For now, the only main concerns I had during the hands-on session were the premise (about which we don’t really know too much yet), and the dodge move. The latter seemed a little too easy to pull off for how effective it was at neutralizing the threat of an enemy who’d got too close. Given how long it took for the enemies in the demo to recover from their fast, brutal lunges, it felt a little over-powered.

As for the former, it felt a little too familiar. Trapped in an isolated location (in this case an island), tormented by an unseen psychopath who taunts the protagonists through bracelets they woke up wearing… it’s nothing we haven’t seen before. But perhaps a return to a tried-and-true formula is what Resident Evil needs, after a misstep as big as Resident Evil 6. Playing it safe might help the series find its feet again. Certainly the first Revelations won a lot of goodwill despite its story that felt a little half-baked at times.

The second game will also be a test in episodic gaming for the franchise. Capcom plans to release one episode a week for a month, for a total of four episodes. Positioning the game to be the subject of ‘water cooler’ talk is an interesting strategy, and one that could succeed if the game proves worth talking about, and the story intriguing enough to warrant speculation.

As a fan of the franchise, Resident Evil Revelations 2 impressed me, when I wasn’t expecting it to all that much. It was one of the most rawly entertaining demos I played at Tokyo Game Show this year. If a base version across most home consoles and PC means that more people will give this one a spin, then Capcom made the right decision in moving away from the 3DS.

Hopefully, the rest of the game can keep up similar levels of tension, while throwing more bones to long-time fans. Although for better or worse, that might mean the Revelations series could end up displacing the main series entirely for fans who’ve wanted the series to return to its scarier roots for years.

And if we get Barry himself to return in some capacity in the game? That’d be icing on the cake.