Resident Evil will continue to be played

Resident Evil (1996) was the start of not only one of the most successful gaming and multimedia franchises, but a gaming revolution and a new genre. In almost every game out there, you can see its touch. Thirty years is a long time. Can a game that old hold its own in the modern age?

Minor spoiler warning: While the game is 30 years old, I’ll try to refrain from spoiling it too much for those who haven’t interacted with the series before.

Graphics: 4/5 stars

The graphics aren’t too terrible for a game so old! The game displays exquisite use of the technology of the time. Capcom, Resident Evil’s developer, helped revolutionize the industry’s design choices, impacting modern stylization. The use of real actors for the opening, main menu and endings offer a deeper connection to the characters, allowing for a more rewarding completion of the game.

Storytelling: 3/5 stars

While often utilizing “tell” more than “show,” the game rewards the player for fully exploring interesting lore pieces while maintaining the ominous atmosphere. Players can find journals written by the very monsters that chase them, telling their own stories while pushing yours along. Incredibly well-done music, set design, ambient sound design and enemy placement add to the immersion.

Like many older gaming projects, the voice acting is often ridiculous and even detrimentally bad at times. This unintentionally gives the player a moment to breathe and even laugh. While this pushes the player forward, it also undercuts the intended, more serious tone.

Characters: 4/5 stars

At first glance, you might find very simple action movie-esque caricatures, but there’s much more if you pay closer attention. The members of the S.T.A.R.S. unit all have unique dynamics displayed in their different interactions.

Jill Valentine’s interactions with Barry throughout the game show their bond as teammates and eventually give us insight into Barry’s homelife and motivations. Rebecca’s interactions with Chris give you the inkling that he has ‘older brother’ tendencies. This behavior is later expanded upon by Chris having a younger sister in the sequel, Claire Redfield, being close in age to Rebecca.

Small details, like Chris having a custom engraved lighter because he’s a habitual smoker and former Air Force pilot, offer even more insight into the characters without telling you directly. Barry drops a photo of his family at onepoint, shining light on the motive for his concerning, and often contradictory, behavior. The characters endear themselves to you. They make you want to ensure their survival purely by existing naturally with each other.

Game Mechanics: 4/5 stars

The game mechanics are nothing to scoff at and are widely used as a base example in modern gaming. Inventory management has become a staple of both the series and genre as a whole. Restricting item space leads the player to make more trips between the item boxes and the limited resources, forcing the player to be smart with their usage.

The weapons are straightforward and don’t overcomplicate things while remaining unique. The puzzles, while unorthodox and somewhat frustrating, give the player something more to do than just fight their way through the horrors. The complexity of the puzzles signifies Umbrella’s overwhelming paranoia, which adds to the story’s depth, despite pulling back from a pure horror tone.

Controls: 2/5 stars

Certain editions of the game have special settings for easier controls, but not all of them. Therefore, I’ll only be judging this category off of the default controls baked into the base game. While available on PC and technically playable with keyboard and mouse, I would most certainly not recommend it. Playing with a controller, while easier, is still arduous at best. Tank controls have largely aged like milk and are especially off putting for the younger generations who did not grow up with them.

Accessibility: 4/5 stars

In recent years, it became much easier to play the original Resident Evil trilogy. The game had a pc port originally exclusive to GOG (Good Old Games) but it can now also be found on Steam, so anybody with a computer can play for $9.99 per game (not including tax).

Ports have also been made for modern consoles such as the PlayStation 4 and 5 but not for Xbox or Nintendo. PlayStation 4 and 5 offer the game for $9.99 as well or as a free ad-on if you purchase a PlayStation Plus Premium membership.

21/30 Grade: C

While not the best grade for one of the most iconic installations in gaming history, it is fair from a retrospective point of view. It's one of the world’s biggest gaming franchises, credited with the creation/popularization of the Survival Horror genre and revolutionized the gaming industry repeatedly. Resident Evil (1996) is certainly worth a play if you have the time, money and are a hardcore fan of the franchise or a retro gaming fanatic.