Ordering The Game
Pre Ordered The Game on Steam initially. However, I Couldn’t play it on Release due to My availability. Loaded the Game on March 1, fiddling with settings, found out that Dual Sense is not supported on Steam Yet. I was very disappointed because the game advertised dual sense support.Ended up ordering PS5 version, meanwhile loaded it up again on March 2nd, optimising the settings, audio seems nice especially with the surround sound.
Initial Impressions
Initial impressions was that it gave me Re7 vibes, and very good audio design, interesting story line, Story beats are Good
Roulette puzzle was tough, couldn’t do without a guide. It was tough not because of difficulty it is tough because it is veery obscure and outcome based on rng, some Puzzles were clearly inspired from Spiderman 2
Shift to PS5 Pro
Restarted the Game from the start on PS5, looks similar to My 4070 Super PC, no stutter( PC Version has Stutters and initial Nvidia driver issues), but Steady fps 60 with Raytracing, i was able to get 120fps on PC but stutters are quite bad. Dual sense is great, Can feel the rain and the foot steps, it is very immersive
Leon feels like a hybrid version of RE4, RE6. Leon animations are badass, Leon sections are dope af
After First Playthrough
I didn’t think the game would be emotional, it really leaves you quite emotional at the end for one of the ending, especially if you are a long time fan of RE Series.
Leon was pretty powerful at the start of the game, later gets balanced, with need to upgrade , and perhaps he becomes underpowered unless you upgrade
Game tells clues upon failure. Which i am not a big fan of, Later half of the game shows you the infamous Yellow markers
I understand the Tlou2 comparisons on Twitter but people should understand that RE games with Such Elements have Existed Before TLOU ever Existed. When Playing TLOU 1,2 it was very apparent to me atleast that they took inspiration from RE Series. It’s not wrong to get inspired. But seeing tweets saying RE9 is inspired from TLOU2 makes me Laugh as if it’s TLOU is the pioneer of Game Mechanics.
Theres a particular action set piece i find it very Disorienting , on whole Action set pieces were very nice. However OST isn’t as Great as Classic RE4.
For me, Grab attack from Enemies is overwhelming, cause i forgot the parry mechanic. I think it could have been implemented better, maybe. Because i forgot it Existed as i barely used except the scenarios where it forced me. It was better executed in RE4, Some Sections are similar to Previous Games
Some parts of the Story ended up being predictable.Racoon city execution is very done well, especially Leon PTSDs
The game has two endings, The game lets you make a choice even after the game has ended without replaying and One of the easiest boss fight in the entire series
One End Left me very Emotional as a Long Standing RE Fan
I think the game is a hybrid of RE4, RE7, RE6. It is a treat for new fans as well as old fans. Old fans has Leon who they can connect to. For New Comers , i feel this is a nice introduction to the RE Series especially with the New Character Grace. The horror and action is perfectly balanced
Later Playthroughs
It took me about 10 hrs for the First Playthrough on PS5, I speedran few sections as i have played some of it on PC. I played it about half on my pc including Asus ROG Xbox Ally X. It runs great on the handheld, i am surprised that it even ran better than RE4 on the Handheld.
I have Platinumed the Game on PS5 as well as Unlocked every achievement on Steam
Eventually, I got the Parry Machanic Right . When i played on PS5 for the first time, I forgot it existed because Grace Section was long in the first half and only used it in The Last But Final Boss as it forces you to use that mechanic. I realised that This Mechanic is Quite Powerful. I don’t know how i missed it in my first Playthrough. Leon can Parry almost anything so much that it feels like playing Sekiro at Times
I played the games mostly without any Guides. The Roullete Puzzle isn’t Necessary. However The Final Puzzle is damn impossible to do without guides. Kudos to the community for solving it.
Optimisation
The game is quite optimised. I have played it on my PC as well as My Handheld PC Xbox Ally X. Sure it Had stutters, but dialing down the settings help get a constant 60fps with occasional stutter. It actually run pretty well on my XAX. It ran even better than RE4 Remake.
Final Thoughts
Highly Recommend the Game for both Fans and New comers alike
Manoj Koram's Blog 