Resident Evil Revelations 2 Review of the Entire Game

Capcom released the last part of their episodic Resident Evil Revelations 2 this week concluding what has been an interesting romp with Claire Redfield and Barry Burton. Now that the game is full and can be played from start to finish in one sitting, how well does it stack up. Take a look at our Resident Evil Revelations 2 review for the full low-down.

Resident Evil Revelations Final Review:

Today we’re taking a look at the entire Resident Evil Revelations 2 package now that all four episodes have been released and there’s a full game for players to sink their teeth into on consoles and PC. We’ve done separate reviews for each chapter with favorable praise for both Claire and Barry’s campaigns. Coupled with the rather cool Raid Mode which revisits similar themed locations from past games, there’s quite a bit of bang for your buck when you consider the £29.99 price tag if purchasing at retail or buying the digital season pass.

Firstly let’s just focus on what’s included for those who buy the complete package. To begin, you’ll be privy to the four episodes which are divided into two intertwined campaigns with Claire Redfield and Moira Burton teaming up, followed by Barry Burton and Natalia who happen to arrive some six months later. There’s a clever twist of certain actions taken in the Claire campaign affecting events in Barry’s but these are quite easy to miss and not massively impacting to the point of needing to take much note. It’s a clever idea that could have been given more weight but seems to fall a bit short, and as mentioned very easy to ignore. Each campaign – with the exception of Claire’s final episode which lasts only 15 minutes – will net around 1 – 2 hours play time, with Barry’s final episode being the longest. So if you add up the hours not including the options to replay on different difficulties or extra modes you’re looking at around a minimum of 6 – 8 hours which isn’t bad at all. Throw in two additional episodes unique to Moira and Natalia and these add on an additional few hours; although Natalia’s stealth based episode which simply feels a bit fiddly and ill-conceived due to poor gameplay mechanics pales in comparison to Moira’s rather cool action survival episode. So in terms of story there’s no issue with the game length versus how much is being paid for the privilege.

As mentioned, players can replay episodes on three levels of difficulty, but also unlock additional modes such as Countdown and Invisible which spice things up with a timer or unseen opponents. There’s also the underlying skills system which requires Battle Points to invest in and a wealth of unlockable items such as costumes, art, 3D models and other in-game content. One of the biggest elements of the first game was the Raid mode which returns here with a wide number of missions and a healthy cast of characters to choose from. Here, players who buy the complete package get additional combatants such as the cool tough as nails Hunk character and resident bad guy Albert Wesker. Raid mode offers many more hours of unadulterated action gameplay which prolongs the experience no end making it very much well worth its asking price. There’s also a competitive slant with leaderboards to view and compare with friends or the wider field if that’s something of interest, although as expected the PC version is filled with hacked times and oddities which means comparing with friends only is a must.

For console owners, and with a bit of fiddling on the PC version there’s a local co-op mode available for two players which works on the strengths of how the single player game is constructed with one weaker character acting as support for the more tooled up partner. This mechanic works well in the single player game where players can swap characters on the fly and makes the co-op play a little more meaningful as players genuinely work together in a more robust fashion rather than both simply gunning down opponents as you would see in any other game. It’s a brave move that won’t please all, but is still a welcome addition all the same and if players really want to play on an even keel then the Raid mode local co-op should satisfy the blood lust. Capcom are planning online co-op support in due course as an additional bonus but this isn’t available as of now so is something worth mentioning but not affecting the verdict in this review.

Looking at the game’s visuals and it’s clear there’s a lesser quality in terms of detailed textures and lighting in some instances which certainly don’t play to the strength of the hardware – especially for PC. Even in 4K, the game doesn’t exude any wow factor like other games and appears quite muddy in comparison. Sadly the game’s settings fail to inspire due to the darker tone compared to the lavish ship we saw in the previous game, so in this regard the game’s a step backwards despite having more varied areas to explore. Aside from the graphical detail, the game post patches runs pretty smoothly with a solid framerate on all systems which is good – although in reality the game doesn’t feel like it’s offering too much to put any strain on the consoles and PCs running it.

Audio remains fairly solid with a subdued soundtrack and ample audio bites from the cast of characters, with Barry coming in with some predictable, yet amusing one-liners and Moira dropping stereotypical f-bombs throughout the story. It’s all performed well in a tongue in cheek way, and it’s neat how Capcom has tried to add a bit more personality in the banter on occasion. One can’t offer any fault with the sound effects either, except maybe the enemies are less menacing than what they could have been.

As mentioned, players can invest a fair number of hours into the entire four part story, and lots more replaying if desired or via the Raid mode. So in this regard there’s good value for the asking price and lots of opportunity to keep on coming back for more once bested. Players can spend lots of time with the unlockables and medals if desired making the overall package a sound investment.

Resident Evil Revelations 2 offers some new likeable mechanics into the age old formula but still rests on the side of action rather than pure survival horror. There’s a fine mixture of puzzles versus exploration and some clever moments fused with equal amounts of frustration that create much satisfaction once bested. Some elements are a bit wonky and could be better polished in terms of control, but in general the game serves its purpose and is easy to pick up and play for newcomers and vets alike. There’s ample variation when taking into consideration the two extra episodes which focus on stealth and team based combat making a well rounded package that’s cheap and reasonably polished. Whilst there are some moments where nothing seemingly happens and enemies appear sparse, when they do jump out there’s some neat gameplay mechanics (more-so in Claire’s campaign) to give the game is own identity within the long running series. Whilst it doesn’t re-invent the wheel, it’s a pleasing and gratifying game offering some interesting concepts, an engaging story with some familiar faces. If you’re a fan of the series then this is a no-brainer and well worth checking out. Action fans will also find some entertainment here although might find some of the puzzles interrupting the flow a little. If you can ignore the abundance of cheese in the last moments of the story and bask in the game’s extra content you’ll find a worthy game to add to your collection.

Score 8/10

Written by: Rob Cram

Rob Cram has hundreds of video game reviews, thousands of articles under his belt with years of experience in gaming and tech. He aims to remain fair and free from publisher/developer influence. With his extensive knowledge, feels his gaming opinions are valid and worth sharing. Agreement with his views are entirely optional. He might have a bias towards cyberpunk.