Why I Love: Resident Evil 6

It’s about that time to bring the month of spooks and scares to a close, so let’s end it with a bang!

This article will be kicking off a sporadic new article-type that I’m dubbing “Why I Love“, which are articles designed to examine why I happen to love something that tends to be either disliked or outright hatred by the vocal majority. In true Contrarian Corner fashion, I’ve found myself at the receiving end of online spite and hate towards a lot of games, movies, and books that I tend to quite like. This series won’t be specifically about defending whatever the article is about, or biting back against the criticism. It’s just meant to showcase why I specifically love it.

First up is Resident Evil 6, easily the most controversial installment in this storied Horror franchise!

Resident Evil 6 attempts the manage the Herculean task of balancing four entire campaigns on its shoulders. As you would imagine, it doesn’t take long for the plot to start getting bananas, as you are treated to four individual stories that all have their own little three-act/hero’s journey structures, and yet also tie into each other and build up and overall grander storyline. It’s a lot to take in, both figuratively and literally (there is a lot of content in this game to play through).

On top of this, each campaign is divided into a partnership (mostly). For example, Leon’s campaign can be played by either Leon or Helena, Jake’s campaign can be played by either Jake or Sherry, and Chris’ campaign can be played by either Chris or Piers. Ada’s campaign is technically just an adventure for Ada, but she’s joined by a nameless grunt if you’ve got a second player who wants to tag along with you. Each of these characters not only possess different special abilities from one another, but sometimes have unique sections of levels all to themselves (particularly Jake and Sherry).

And yes, I don’t want to glance over the fact that this entire game, from start-to-finish, can be played with a buddy by your side. Whether through good old fashioned couch co-op, or the wonders of the internet, every single campaign can be played alongside a friend. And, honestly, it’s the best way to experience this one-of-a-kind wacky zombie-slaying quest. But, if you want to go it alone, you’ve got a AI-controlled ally instead, and they are actually surprisingly competent at handling foes and helping you out.

Like most entries in the Resident Evil series, 6 is controlled through a 3rd Person POV. Unlike earlier installments in the series, however, this game actually feels good to control. It’s some of the best 3rd Person controls I’ve experienced in this genre of game. You can freely sprint around, duck, jump onto your back and then roll around on the ground, vault obstacles, and easily mix melee moves into the middle of your shooting. There’s a lot of context-sensitive button prompt options depending on the circumstances too. I never felt like I couldn’t do what I wanted to, which was often an issue in the old tank-style controls of earlier Resident Evil games.

So, allow me to go over a brief overview of each of the campaigns, since they each bring something new to the table.

Leon’s Campaign is the most like your traditional horror Resident Evil game. It follows government agent Leon and disgraced agent Helena, and their attempts to stop a zombie outbreak orchestrated by a corrupt government official. Unlike the other campaigns, Leon and Helena exclusively fight zombie and zombie-adjacent enemies, providing some good nostalgic spookiness. There’s a particularly great set-piece involving a boots-on-the-ground perspective of a zombie outbreak in progress that is played shockingly-straight given the campy nature of Resident Evil.

Leon’s unique weapons are a set of pistols that you can dual-wield (being the only character capable of doing so), and a survival knife for fast slashing, and Helena’s unique weapon is a sawed-off shotgun available earlier (and is more powerful) than the shotgun everyone else gets. This is easily the best campaign to play through with a buddy, and I’ve done so with no less than four other people! It’s great fun, and I’m a big fan of the over-the-top and arguably too-long final boss battle!

Jake’s Campaign plays more like an Uncharted game, complete with exploring a myriad of exotic locales and sarcastically quipping the way to victory. It follows Jake, a mercenary with a troubled past, and Sherry, a anti-bioterrorism agent (also with a troubled past), as the two of them attempt to stop a worldwide plague and evade a particularly ruthless mutant monster. This campaign takes a lot of inspiration from Resident Evil 3, which also featured a nigh-unstoppable monster hunting the protagonist down throughout the story.

Jake’s unique weapon is his own fists, which allows him to dish out a plethora of melee-centric moves exclusive to him, and Sherry’s personal weapon is a stun baton that staggers enemies and eviscerates the insect-esque foes you frequently face in this route (and it’s so much fun to use, I love it!). This campaign strikes a perfect balance between tense and creepy, and also campy shooter craziness. I love being hunted by the big bad in each level (even if most of the encounters are scripted), and Jake and Sherry play off each other really well.

Chris’ Campaign switches things up yet again, feeling quite a bit like your typical Call of Duty experience. This makes sense, as it follows Chris and Piers, two military-men also trying to stop a worldwide plague, while also dealing with some residual PTSD from a violent attack and an army of mutant extremists. This campaign is most similar to Resident Evil 5, which also placed most of its emphasis on shooting and fighting rather than traditional horror (ironically, this campaign still has my vote for the scariest sequence in the game).

Chris’ unique weapons are a combat knife to finish off weakened enemies, and a special assault rifle slightly better than most, while Piers’ unique weapon is a sniper rifle that has piercing shots and a night-vision mode. This is easily the most controversial campaign in the game owing to playing more like a COD story than Resident Evil, but it’s still plenty fun. There’s an extended driving sequence (with, admittedly, slippery controls), and a fighter jet piloting bit near the end. An unforgettable final boss too!

Ada’s Campaign, meanwhile, relies on quite a few stealth sections and puzzle-solving gameplay, feeling more like an espionage or spy story. It follows (you’ll never guess) Ada herself, as she weaves in and out of the other three campaigns, lurking in the shadows to chase down the true foe and tie up a lot of loose ends and unanswered questions from the other three campaigns. Narratively, it’s best saved for last, though all of the campaigns can be played in any order you’d like.

Ada’s unique weapon is also the one that defines her entire playstyle: her crossbow. For about 90% of enemies you face, you’ll want to use the crossbow and it’s multiple firing-styles and bolt types. You can burn enemies, freeze enemies, blow enemies up, or nail them to a wall with a chest shot. There’s a lot of options, and a lot of focus on stealth. Ada’s campaign might be my overall least favorite (it is very short, and doesn’t have an exclusive final boss fight), but Ada herself is the most fun character to play as.

It cannot be stressed enough how much replayability Resident Evil 6 has. With four campaigns, multiple difficulty modes, a plethora of online content, and unlockable skill point systems that you earn while playing, Resident Evil 6 will keep you occupied for dozens of hours. Not to mention how fun it is to just boot the game up every year or two and do a run of your favorite campaign. It’s just an easy game to get into, and an easy game to have fun playing from start-to-finish. Plus, there’s always a new character, weapon, or tactic to try out on your next run!

Okay, but put a pin in that for a second. I need to make it clear just how extensively mind-boggling the multiplayer options are in this game. There’s an insane amount of online content to enjoy.

For starters, I mentioned how the campaign can be played with a couch co-op buddy or online, right? Obviously, you can play through the whole game with a stranger too (using special button prompts to communicate with each other, or just using voice chat). Well, at certain points in each campaign, characters will cross over. For example, Leon and Helena run into Jake and Sherry in China. If you and a friend are playing online at this point in the story as Leon and Helena, you’ll briefly cross paths and interact with another group of online buddies playing as Jake and Sherry, and you’ll all work together! Then, you just part ways again, like two ships passing in the night!

But it gets crazier! Say that you don’t want to play the campaigns online as one of the heroes. That’s fine! You can just take control of one of the zombies or monsters inside the world of another online player! Fighting back the evils of the night is tough enough in normal circumstances, but when that zombie shambling towards you is controlled by a human with the foresight and sneakiness to dodge and counter? It’s a thrilling and terrifying confrontation, and knowing that it can happen at anytime while you’re online? Super cool!

But there’s plenty of other modes outside the campaign too. Up to two players can work together in Mercenaries mode, killing enemies and earning points to upgrade their skills and see how long they last. Survivors mode is similar, but you are hunting both your fellow players and the enemies to be the last one standing. In Onslaught mode, the more enemies you kill on your half of the map, the more foes your opponent has to tango with on their end! In Siege mode, one team of players are humans, and the other are creatures, and to the victors go the spoils! Lastly, in Predator mode, it’s five hapless humans against one player-controlled mega beast hunting them down. Will the humans survive, or will the monster reign victorious?

If that amount of unique, dedicated online modes sounds like overkill, that’s because it is…and it’s awesome!

The soundtrack is surprisingly great too! You wouldn’t think a zombie game would need much more than a few droning bass tones and some scare chords, but they really go all-in on the cinematic soundtrack (befitting this game’s general theme as being one big crazy action movie). Likewise, the voice acting talent is top notch, with all the heavy hitters in attendance (bless your heart, Laura Bailey). On top of that, the visuals are, like, crazy good? Despite this game’s age, it’s actually extremely beautiful? I don’t know what magic Capcom used to conjure up this game’s stellar visuals, but I’m glad for it!

To describe it in a single phrase, Resident Evil 6 is just pure ‘dumb fun‘. The kind of game where you just sit there, smile firmly on your face, in sheer awe at the constant audacious craziness thrown at you every minute. It isn’t a strictly ‘turn off your brain‘ type of game (each campaign manages to wrangle at least a few good character and emotional beats), but it definitely isn’t an adventure you’re meant to take too seriously. Just sit back, relax, and have fun with it!

In conclusion, I love Resident Evil 6 because it’s just a good time. It’s almost painfully earnest in being a silly, over-the-top zombie slaying adventure, and it goes full-throttle from the very beginning all the way to the grand finale. It’s no pinnacle of gaming, but it’s an amazingly fun time nonetheless, especially if you’ve got a buddy alongside you for the ride. It’s one of the most horribly misrepresented games on the internet, and I beg anyone with a PC or modern console to buy this game (it’s real cheap these days) and give it a whirl!

But hey, that’s just my opinion!