2009 was right around the end of a rough patch in my life where I was essentially homeless, and to keep it simple, I’ll just say, I didn’t have the means to be keeping up on the latest games, so this one passed me by. I’ve played nearly every single main game in the RE franchise now, with only a few remaining blind spots (5 was one of them). Well, in 2021, I can finally check this one off the list.
I was a little apprehensive about it going in because RE has always been strictly a single-player experience, but in 5 you’re meant to play with a partner (as in a real person, either a friend or a random online player) and if you play alone, you’re dealing with an AI companion the whole time.
I will say, that it was frustrating a few times, where my partner would block me and get me killed or get stuck or go off and die. However, they worked on polishing the AI enough that it was pretty damn smooth and even helpful at times (without doing too much heavy-lifting for me).
This was also what must be the most action-packed RE game of the entire franchise, as in more action with vehicles, and swarms, and many gun-wielding enemies. It felt more like a Tomb Raider or Metal Gear Solid game at times.
I was surprised just how much like RE4 it was too, something that didn’t happen again until Village, with being able to collect treasure, upgrade weapons, etc. It also marks the final game in the series where you can’t move AND aim at the same time, which was pretty archaic for 2009. Even so, it was a fun game and I enjoyed my time in it.
And… there was a chainsaw guy. You can’t go wrong with a chainsaw guy. Always terrifying.
I also played through the two story DLCs, “Lost in Nightmares” (which was more of a classic RE experience), and “Desperate Escape” (which was basically just Mercenaries, but with cutscenes and checkpoints).
Snaps of My Journey Through the Game
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