The Renegade
Trapped within
I mean, I obviously appreciated what the first installments did for the genre and how they scared me when I was younger but I cannot go back and play these games. I've tried but these are DATED games, by almost every sense of the word.
I mean, the voice acting in one alone just drains the suspense right out of it. The remake isn't so bad but RE1 (original) also lacks atmosphere. I felt like RE2 made up for that in so many ways, even though it's voice acting is kind of sh*t as well.
I mean, I even have trouble going back to RE2. There's a lot of moments in those two games that startle me and have me jump but genuinely scaring me? I mean, not so much. Again, I think RE2 is greater in this regard as well. (I mean, your first encounter with Mr. X? Come on, who didn't soil themselves?)
However, these games don't have the dynamic storytelling that the later installments have. There's no moment where a completely triumphant Wesker is whipping around a room, skillfully smashing Chris and Jill until Jill makes the ultimate sacrifice to "win" the rumble. NOTHING like that happened. Sure, there were moments but the narration was lacking, compared to the newer games.
RE6 had scary moments too but was more of a complete game. I was nervous as Leon when Tall Oaks essentially became Raccoon City 2.0 because it took me back. However, later on, waking up in the lab, scrambling to reunite Jack and Sherry as BOWs hunt you down was also terrifying but just different.
Some people weren't scared but I was. I find a lot of the hate, and this is anecdotal, has to do with people's nostalgia and the fact that they were younger so were not desensitized or as likely to be scared by these games, (I'm lucky enough that games like this still scared the living daylights out of me.) which ends up translating to the newer ones being "average," "not as good," or "not feeling like an RE game."
I have never felt that. It's not a common perspective and some people may not understand but I've never picked up an RE title, especially an entry into the primary series, and felt it wasn't a "true" RE game. I felt that and I realize that it had to be different. I'm sorry but I would have been bored to tears if I was wandering in a mansion again with similar controls (The controls are also what made the initial installments scary. It added to it) or anywhere else with T-Virus zombies.
Also, it made sense for these viruses to have counterparts/evolve/be different. Look at the giant nefarious company behind the development of this virus and their containment issues/f*ck ups. It makes sense it happened again and with many of their other viruses. It makes sense that a company with similar interests (Tricell) continued Umbrella's work.
I don't know. RE5 did well enough critically but I feel like RE6 got it bad and unfairly. I loved it and definitely thought it "felt" like Resident Evil. That's just me.