Resident Evil 5 (PS4) Review

A departure from survival horror.

 Resident Evil 5 marked a push in a new direction for the legendary survival horror series. Released back in 2009, the story follows series veteran Chris Redfield alongside his newfound partner Sheva, as they must thwart a bioterrorist threat in Africa. Riding off the success of Resident Evil 4, the sequel ups kicks things up a notch by shifting to a more action-oriented feel and co-cop play. RE5 received a remaster for the PS4 years ago and seeing that I'm in a mood for some RE-styled gameplay, I thought I'd give it a go. So let's see how the game has held up years later!


 Five years after the events of RE4, we follow Raccoon City survivor Chris Redfield investigating a bioterrorist threat in Africa as part of the Bioterrorism Security Assessment Alliance (BSAA) organization. However, that's not all as he's also searching for the whereabouts of his presumed-to-be-dead partner Jill Valentine while also hunting down his nemesis, Albert Wesker. Joining him is Sheva Alomar, a fellow BSAA agent who aims to neutralize the threat plaguing the region. The story's features the typical pharmaceutical conspiracies and great characters we've come to know from the Resident Evil series. Despite being over-the-top and wacky this time around, I found the plot to be an enjoyable time if you're not taking it too seriously.

The adventure continues...

 Resident Evil 5 plays almost exactly the same like its predecessor. You control either Chris or Sheva from the third-person as you shoot through hordes of enemies across the game's levels. As you progress, you'll gain access to wide ranged of weapons' such as shotguns, sniper rifles, grenades, and so on. You can use melee weapons such as knives to attack enemies in close-range or while they're down too. However, take note that both characters have only nine inventory slots each, meaning you'll have to do a lot of resource management. Enemies also drop money, which can be used to buy healing sprays and upgrade your existing weapons. If you upgrade your weapons right, you'll cheese through enemies like they're nothing towards the end game like I did with my trusty shotgun.

While more action-oriented, the gameplay

was still a lot of fun.

With the jump in hardware, RE5 packed larger levels compared to the games before it. Often times you'll find lots of ammo hiding inside wood barrels, secret documents to read, and a few goodies such as jewels to sell. The levels themselves are big enough to distance yourself when you're being chased by a swarm of enemies. Speaking of enemies, the game boasts a decent amount of enemy variety to keep things exciting. From the average Ganados to the more violent Majinis, Chris and Sheva will definitely have their hands full. The game features puzzles as a break from the constant action where you and the AI (or if you're playing split screen, your partner) will have to cooperate to get past the game's 2-player segments. These come in the form of pulling the level at the same time, directing light passage by guiding each other, and covering each others backs from enemy hordes.

Get ready for some puzzles.

 As for the runtime, I'd estimate that it took me around 10 hours to beat the game. The PS4 includes all story DLCs from the Gold Edition of the PS3 such as Desperate Escape and Lost in Nightmare, which add another hour and a half to the experience. Also, the Mercenaries mode, which is time-based affair where you must kill as much enemies as you can before time runs out was a lot of fun too and has tons of replay value. That and you can change costumes for Chris and Sheva once you've beaten the main game and started to delve into the other modes as well. Overall, RE5 has a decent amount of content to keep you invested.


 Resident Evil 5 holds up better than I expected over a decade later. I wasn't too thrilled with Chris' bulky design at first, but it managed to grow on me later. Though it's Jill and Wesker that have the most badass designs, however. The character models and backgrounds were good with a decent enough amount of variety to keep things fresh during the adventure. Also, the PS4 remaster also polishes up the models and textures, as well as boosting the frame-rate to 60fps in solo play, which makes for a more smoother experience. Voice acting is great and I especially enjoyed Wesker's sinister performance the most. The soundtrack was alright, with lots of tense tracks that compliments the many bombastic moments of the game.

RE5 holds up better than expected.

 In many ways, Resident Evil 5 is a departure from the series' conventional roots, which may dismay some fans. While short on the scares, it still remained a fun adventure. The over-the-top story was alright, the gameplay is solid, and the presentation still looks great years later. The PS4 is packed with the visual upgrades and DLCs, so it's easily the version I'd recommend. Action fans will find the most fun here and fans looking to get their needed dose of RE goodness may also find a pleasant time with RE5.