Resident Evil (2015)

I should be studying. I should be reading. I should be doing anything but playing these video games.

And yet, here we are.

This must be my weakness. My kryptonite. An ambrosia, a siren’s call that I find as irresistable as a junkie’s next hit.

Mother-effin’ video games.

More likely, though, it’s a stress response to the current overwhelming burden of dealing with data structures and algorithms. I do not, under any circumstances, recommend a seven-year furlough from scientific education with the expectation to return as though nothing had happened. Especially if one’s brain is nearing its fifth decade of operation. Whatever the case, I bought every canon Resident Evil title available on Xbox Series and have now put a pin in a playthrough of the 2015 version of the title that started the franchise.

I first played the Sega Saturn iteration, if you can believe that, some thirty years ago. I can vividly recall huddling under the covers in my basement bedroom and being physically afraid to continue playing. That's all I remember, too, for better or ill. Playing this game in 2024 was like playing it for the first time.

I hear that CAPCOM is working on a remake targeted for 2026. Maybe I’ll swing back around and check it out thirty years from now, when I’m eighty, though I suspect by then there’ll be a dozen more remakes and remasters. Whatever happens, know that this title is a gamer’s game, without question. I recommend playing it on easy to tone down the oftentimes frustrating combat encounters, leaving you free to explore the juicy puzzles. I was shocked to discover that fewer than 10% of the players on record with Xbox have beat the game. Is this an indication of how coddled and soft the modern gamer has become with the “save anywhere, infinite restarts” paradigm that most developers deliver nowadays?

If you know me, you know I don’t use grading or numbering systems in my reviews. If I did, though, this would be an A+, 10/10 experience.

2024.10.23 – 2024.10.24

---

Next: Resident Evil 2 (2019)
Previous: Resident Evil Zero
Home