I've often wondered how I should review older games that I played for the first time many years ago and have replayed much more recently. There's an argument for saying my first impression is probably more important as a perspective of a first time experience. On the other hand, my more recent experience is a much better idea of my current feelings on the game and deserves some preference in that sense, especially considering that, as with some decades-old games, I am a totally different person than I was when I did that first playthrough. Generally though, most every game I've needed to make the decision for, I still ended up liking or disliking them about the same even if sometimes I appreciate them in different ways.
I include this lengthy introduction because Resident Evil 5 is an exception to that rule. I remember liking—though not loving—it when it first came out in 2009. Coming off the back of RE4's high expectations, it delivered a game in a similar style of action horror, though there was much more of an action focus and a linear design with a somewhat more grounded story that ultimately did not live up to its predecessor in important ways. However, at the time, that "more of the same" in combination with new features like a bit better graphics, fresh new environments, and a co-op playstyle that allowed me at last to play Resident Evil alongside a friend on the couch still made me like the game pretty well. However, I've played the game several times since its release, a few years apart, and its flaws have really shown in those revisits and my most recent playthrough emphasized how the game has aged as well. Given all of the above, I have leaned toward preferring my most recent experience of the game, rather than the 4-star "good" game I may have considered it when I was much younger. Enough preface though, let's get into it.
Note: My screenshots are from my most recent playthrough with a friend, so pardon to goofy costumes.
Resident Evil 5 follows Chris on a mission under the BSAA to West Africa, tracking down a BOW dealer Irving with the help of his new partner, Sheva. It's quickly explained that Chris' long-time partner Jill Valentine is missing in action for the last couple years after a run-in with Wesker had her falling off a cliff or something. Naturally with the stage set from prior games and this background in place, the game leads up to a showdown with Wesker as he is of course behind a lot of the shenanigans going on in Africa. Along the way, Chris and Sheva grow closer as Chris works through his grief and hero complex. The cast also includes a few other minor characters, heroes and villains, though most don't stand out too much, other than Josh, Sheva's mentor, who helps the characters out at several points in the story.
Despite expanding on the format of the wildly popular and revolutionary Resident Evil 4, this game really struggles with its gameplay. Combat is fairly smooth and feels somewhat similar to the previous game, but the focus on action takes away from the rhythm that made RE4 work for me. There's a faster pace with more explosions and greater hordes of enemies here that weren't so present in the previous game except for a couple parts. While RE4 did step toward more of an action-horror style, RE5 starts to feel more like you're playing an action shooter with a horror skin on some of the enemies. This effect isn't quite as extreme as it is in RE6, but it does start to lose its charm a lot as much of the game feels like you're just rushing through a warzone rather than exploring the area for signs of of bioweapons hidden from the public.
Which leads me to the rather hit or miss setting. On the plus side, I do get why the developer wanted to visit Africa as the new variety of topography and aesthetic does bring something new to the series and treads interesting new ground in that regard. I found the marshlands levels especially fun to explore. That said, the game leans into racist stereotypes in its depiction of modern Africa. The lore tries to justify some of this with the side effects of the virus, but it feels too much like a contrived justification for the caricature. On the plus side, I do think Sheva and Josh are some of the better characters in the game, and it is nice to have some cool black characters who don't just die as a plot device in the series—even if they have yet to return. So I think there was some effort in that regard. On the whole though, it's rather disappointing for a game set in Africa, which is a fairly rare setting for video games, even today—other than perhaps Egypt—and I wish it had been better done.
On the gameplay side, if I had to pick just one thing that prevents this game from living up to its predecessor, it'd be the game's linear and dull level design. While both games employ a chapter-based progression, RE4 had far more iconic locations in part because you revisited several hub areas with dynamic back-tracking that never feels like it's just retracing its steps in a dull or repetitive manner. While I could be forgetting something, I don't think you ever revisit an area from earlier in the game once in this entry. Each chapter is designed to be explored once and only once and the level design is accordingly simplistic. The marshland level with the boat offers a bit more of a brief open-area exploration structure that I really enjoyed, but that's the most we get of it. While RE4 took serious departures from the fixed-camera angle games before it, its incorporation of similar map and level design worked really well with the new style and it's noticeably lacking in this game. Funnily, my most recent playthrough was co-op with a friend who has never played a single Resident Evil game and he kept noting how this was not at all what he expected because the structure was much more like any of a number of linear shooters. He was expecting us to explore spooky locales full of keys and puzzles and mystery. Instead, we were just mowing down waves and waves of enemies before proceeding to the next area full of waves and waves of enemies.
On a more positive note, I do actually appreciate where the game takes the series firmly-established goofy tone to a whole new level, mostly with its new portrayal of Wesker. In trench coat and reflective sunglasses, we see our iconic viral-enhanced villain demonstrate superspeed, superstrength, and supervillain speeches at all times with a straight face as if it isn't obvious his design is inspired more by The Matrix than your average zombie media. The series has long played with rather serious and grim settings and plots while featuring cartoonish villains. But while RE4 poked a bit more fun at itself, RE5's Wesker feels less self-aware in a way that only makes it all the funnier. I suppose saying that one of my favorite things about a "horror" game is that it's funny may sound pretty harsh. But I do genuinely enjoy the ridiculous interchanges the heroes have with Wesker throughout the game and it's one of the few things I really look forward to when revisiting the game.
While the game does have its higher points, on balance, I just don't really enjoy this game much anymore. Some of its cutscenes are funny and I appreciate some of its ideas in theory, but these days, I just find playing through the game a bit of a slog that wears on me even more with every playthrough. After playing through this as part of a full series playthrough in 2024, I'm feeling pretty played out on Resident Evil in general for a while. But I really don't see myself picking this particular game back up again unless I decide to—for whatever reason—do another full series playthrough.
My other Resident Evil reviews:
