--The Overseer, Resident Evil: Revelations 2
The quality of Resident Evil: Revelations 2 as compared to the quality of the first Revelations is varied. Stronger core gameplay, a less mysterious but more focused story, and a more elaborate Raid Mode all make their way into Revelations 2, which also avoids the explicitly cheesy, gratuitous comedy--unintentional or intentional--that marred installments like Resident Evil 4, a fitting thing given that Revelations 2 has a very cruel villain whose motivations are more oriented towards understanding some aspects of reality than world domination for the sake of domination. Co-op, multiple endings, multiple campaign modes for replayability, and a long list of achievements and rewards for both the campaign and Raid Mode all contribute to how Revelations 2 has a plethora of content. For Switch owners, a code to download it even comes with the cartridge of Revelations as part of the Revelations Collection.
Production Values
Though the dialogue is far more natural in Revelations 2 than it is in several other Resident Evil games and there is even some genuine character development for the main cast, the graphics are ultimately lackluster. At their best, the very muted colors and sometimes grainy filter fall short of reaching the visual heights Resident Evil could. Vegetation is especially noteworthy when it comes to the game's graphical deficiencies. Some players might not even focus on it, but if they did, they could see that a very small amount of effort appears to have gone into making it fit the rest of the aesthetic. Yes, vegetation is the worst looking part of many games; it still looks terrible compared to the rest of it. The rest of the graphics are better even though they cycle through muted or slightly more colorful and clear images.
Gameplay
Fans of The Last of Us might enjoy Revelations 2 for somewhat unexpected reasons: workbenches for upgrading weapons and the crafting system resemble those in The Last of Us, not to mention that Barry and Natalia, being a grown man and a young girl, parallel Joel and Ellie. Of course, there is nothing wrong with incidental or even intentional similarities between the two games. Similarities to other works do not make a game good or bad. Revelations 2 has more to it than this, including co-op and the return of Raid Mode. The campaign's pairing of characters means that a single player can switch between them as needed or two players can perform different roles with their characters, as in both sections of each campaign episode, there is a more vulnerable character (Moira Burton or Natalia) that can point out environmental objects and a character that can wield firearms (Claire Redfield or Barry Burton).
Bonus Points, or "BP," can be found by using Moira's flashlight or Natalia's pointing mechanic, for instance, and these points can be spent on permanent campaign upgrades and abilities for individual characters or the whole playable cast. They can also be used to unlock concept art, different versions of the campaign levels, and figurines. In Raid Mode, a separate currency system allows you to buy more powerful guns, more helpful customization kits, and item refills. Raid Mode is the part of the game that the most time is likely to be invested in, with its numerous levels pulled from many Resident Evil games and extensive perk system. This mode sees players kill a variety of enemy types with health bars above them (in contrast to how campaign enemies have no visible health bar) in an intensifying grind alone or with companions via local or online co-op.
Story
Some spoilers are below.
Hoping to find his daughter Moira after she was kidnapped and brought to an island with Claire Redfield, series icon Barry Burton meets a young girl named Natalia after coming to the island because of his daughter's desperate broadcast, which is quickly revealed to have been sent out months before. He arrives months after Moira was brought there upon hearing a delayed broadcast from her, and he protects Natalia from the island's creatures that turn out to be former humans experimented upon by a sadistic woman who calls herself the Overseer. The game switches between Claire and Moira as they try to escape the island and Barry and Natalia as they eventually try to stop the Overseer--and discover her identity.
Intellectual Content
The Overseer's fixations on fear and transcending one physical form for another are not explored very thoroughly, but they do hint at the potential depth of these issues. The game even tries to make the themes seem more connected with real life by including allusions and direct references to literature. The first Revelations references Dante's Inferno, while Revelations 2 references Franz Kafka's writings to the extent that each episode is named after one of them. An entire category of optionally discoverable drawings have his name attached, and these secret images can be very difficult to find, as are some of the other items and secrets. Revelations 2 does not explore the philosophical concepts it brushes up against with much effort--and it is worth again emphasizing that subjects like fear and the self do not at all need to be brought up alongside literature references to be explored thoroughly and rationally--but the game does actually have a fairly intellectual side when it comes to the hunt for secrets.
Conclusion
Revelations 2 does genuinely improve on some aspects of its predecessor despite its locations not being as unique or serpentine as the Queen Zenobia from the first Revelations. For this, it merits praise, especially for further distancing itself from the asinine dialogue of Resident Evil 4. What drawbacks are present have more to do with the graphics and the aesthetic presentation than anything else. The gameplay and replayability are strong enough to make the experience worthwhile for anyone who enjoys the standard Resident Evil mechanics that have been around since the fourth installment (though the newer first-person trend is moving away from some of them, even as the remakes of the second and third game still use this former style). There is enough content in the Switch port for dozens of hours of combat and exploration for secrets.
Content:
1. Violence: Small sprays of blood accompany attacks. The player death screens are actually far more brutal than the combat gameplay itself.
2. Profanity: "Bitch," "shit," and "fuck" are somewhat regularly used.
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