Emblems and Jill sandwiches: The Return
If Resident Evil 5 was the series' try at a more action-oriented horror, then the Lost in Nightmares DLC attempts to go back to the moodier, more atmospheric days of early Resident Evil. It's designed to be a throwback and to echo the game of 1996 but at the same time to bring the RE4/5 control scheme and make you wonder how a more horror-bent RE would work. And it works surprisingly well though I can sort of see this not working fully across long term as backtracking can feel a bit TOO much like backtracking and the 3D camera makes enemy encounters easier to see and handle. But if their job was to bring back the survival horror, well they pulled it off fairly well.
During the story of Resident Evil 5, Chris recounts a story of him and Jill Valentine entering the Spencer Estate attempting to find Umbrella's founder. Only they found Wesker and ends with the supposed death of Jill. This DLC builds up to that moment as you control the 2 characters through the estate and solve puzzles and defeat baddies as you make your way to the end. The first third of the game is arguably the best as it is strictly puzzle-oriented and heavy on atmosphere. A piano you play Moonlight Sonata on like before now becomes audibly heard while in other parts of the mansion and you can swear you heard footsteps upstairs just now. Like the first game (and more specifically the remake on Gamecube), the game pokes fun at itself with some fan service lines and layout while creating a nice mood.
The rest of the DLC is...better but not by much. It does highlight the co-op a bit more when you face an enemy and one segment towards the end requires some brains over gunfire but it ends much too quickly. I'm not sure if Capcom underestimated how fast we'd get through the areas or whether they meant it as a mini-episode but you can clearly this by yourself in an hour. Granted there's achievements attached to it but given the difficulty in finding buddies for co-op and its short length, it makes for a curious addition.
It definitely felt nostalgic controlling Jill going through the environments but at the same time it's not as substantial a release. Had they added a bit more of the mansion exploration and a bit more combat in this part it would've helped it a bit more but for fans of the original game and ones longing for a bit more horror, it works well. Granted it won't make you lose sleep but it works.
