Review Etrail 3/5 · Sep 28, 2024
A Step Up from the Previous Entry
This is the second of the on-rails lightgun shooters in the Resident Evil series seeking to revisit previous stories from the classic games, as well as fill in the timeline where the mainline games are lacking. Much of my feelings on The Darkside Chronicles I've already covered in my review of the rather similar previous game in the same style, …
This is the second of the on-rails lightgun shooters in the Resident Evil series seeking to revisit previous stories from the classic games, as well as fill in the timeline where the mainline games are lacking. Much of my feelings on The Darkside Chronicles I've already covered in my review of the rather similar previous game in the same style, Umbrella Chronicles. This game centers Leon and Claire more than Wesker, but the overall approach of the game is fairly similar and much of my reaction is along the same lines. Accordingly, I'll try not to repeat too much that could go for either game and instead focus on differences with this one. The short of it is that I think on balance, Darkside Chronicles is a step up from the previous game, though it is not without its issues, some old, some new.
On the good, the game continues to provide a new perspective on previous games, in this case Resident Evil 2 and Code Veronica, while including Operation Javier, a fresh bonus story that explains the background behind Leon and Krauser, a side story that Resident Evil 4 clumsily seemed to imply had been covered, despite the fact this game didn't come out until 4 years later. As the lower number of campaigns implies, compared to its companion game, Darkside Chronicles features fewer but much longer campaigns. This mostly works well as the campaigns in the previous game often felt really abbreviated and while that allowed for greater variety, I feel a stronger connection with the scenarios in this game because of the steadier progression. Additionally, the presentation is a big step up with environments overall looking much better and adding something I missed in the prior game: you can now see your partner move around in the frame while you play. This provides much more immersion as the characters interact throughout the levels and also shows off what, in my opinion, is some of the best-looking versions of these classic character designs we have. Lastly, the gameplay style for the most part is a bit smoother, with more sensible and flexible weapon upgrades and less emphasis on destroying every object on the screen, though that's definitely still there as well. I also find the UI a lot more streamlined and functional with much of the prior information overload relegated to a pause menu.
On the downside, these improvements aren't entirely consistent. The biggest issue I have with this game compared to the previous one is that the camera is noticeably wonkier. There are several moments where the camera just constantly swings wildly from side to side. This is of course to up intensity and make the action feel more visceral. But on a gameplay side, it was mostly just super frustrating and further necessitated using the pause-unpause exploit to get by. Further, the swaying is so absurd at times, imagining what your character must be doing to cause that much sway suggests that your character is just comically stumbling around while standing in place. The other "downside" depends a bit on your experience and preference in that the longer campaigns can be hit or miss in that if you like a particular one, you get more of it. But if it's one you find weaker, you've got a good 7 levels of it to slog through. This is only alleviated somewhat by the game's new story, Operation Javier interjecting between the other two campaigns to an extent (though this could have been better paced narratively as the breaks in the Operation Javier campaign don't feel very purposeful or natural).
I'll discuss each scenario a bit below, though like with Umbrella Chronicles, I don't have too much campaign-specific commentary to provide:
Memories of a Lost City
We control Leon and Claire reliving the events of Resident Evil 2. This is a pretty fun way to revisit this classic game and I really enjoyed the exploration a lot and hanging out with Leon and Claire throughout the story and its iconic environments look great. Some of the numerous boss fights could get a little tedious, packed as they are so close together in this abbreviated format, but it's still a pretty good time.
Game of Oblivion
Between both of the on-rails games, this campaign following Steve and Claire through the events of Code Veronica takes the most departure from its source material. The rather long game is streamlined with some parts skipped or skimmed over to make them fit. Further, the training course segment is significantly modified to be a bit more interesting, though it also happens to be rather frustrating and goes on too long. Still, I personally really like this campaign and think it's a good example of how Code Veronica—a game I quite like, but does show its flaws with age—can really be spruced up quite a bit through modernization, a key point in its favor as a candidate for a remake. My biggest complaint is that while it plays totally differently, the final boss is incredibly frustrating, much as it is in Code Veronica itself.
Operation Javier
This is the campaign that should be the selling point for the game but, like Umbrella's End in Umbrella Chronicles, it manages to easily be the weakest of the bunch, if not nearly as badly as its parallel in the other game does. We control Leon and Krauser as they're sent on a mission to "South America" (ya know, that country) to hunt down a man named Javier. While there, they encounter a troubled young woman, Manuela, who accompanies the two through much of the story. While the campaign shows a lot more thoughtfulness and effort than Umbrella's End—featuring recurring characters, unique set pieces, and new monster types—I still found it to be noticeably weaker than the other two campaigns in this game. Further, Krauser's character arc, which is kind of the whole point of this campaign, manages to feel random with the pivotal epiphany occurring on a dime after an event with very little foreshadowing. There's also a lot more of the "magic" type supernatural elements involved in this scenario that I, like many other series fans, tend to wince at as they become more and more prominent at this stage in the series.
Overall, this game delivers just a bit better on what I like about Umbrella Chronicles. Given I'm here for a fresh look at classic stories I know so well, the vastly improved presentation of Darkside Chronicles really delivers. Some wonky camera action prevents it from considerably surpassing its predecessor, but on the whole, if you liked Umbrella Chronicles, you'll probably enjoy this one as well, perhaps even better.
My other Resident Evil reviews:
- Resident Evil (1996) - ★★★★★
- Resident Evil 2 (1998) - ★★★★★
- Resident Evil 3 (1999) - ★★★★★
- Resident Evil: Survivor - ★★★
- Resident Evil: Survivor 2 – Code Veronica - ★★
- Resident Evil Remake - ★★★★★
- Resident Evil Gaiden - ★★
- Resident Evil 0 - ★★★
- Resident Evil Dead Aim - ★★★
- Resident Evil: Outbreak - ★★★
- Resident Evil 4 - ★★★★★
- Resident Evil Outbreak File #2 - ★★★
- Resident Evil Deadly Silence - ★★★★★
- Resident Evil: Umbrella Chronicles - ★★★
- Resident Evil: The Mercenaries 3D - ★★
- Umbrella Corps - ★
- Resident Evil 2 Remake - ★★★★★
- Resident Evil 3 Remake - ★★★★★
- Resident Evil 4 VR - ★★★★★
- Resident Evil 4 Remake - ★★★★★
