"The chapter manages to bring things home, but as an episodic entry it fails to deliver the same consistency."
Resident Evil Revelations 2 Episode 4
Written by: Tyler Pederson
The season has come to an end with the release of the fourth and final episode of Revelations 2, and in proper Resident Evil form, the closing chapter is definitively the most divisive. You won’t be punching any boulders this time around, but the stand in manages to impress almost as much as that wonderfully bombastic finale did just over 6 years ago. The divisive element comes into play in a truly surprising manner, and what I believe to be one of the better twists to what had seemingly been a throwaway approach to the episodic release style.
I’m just gonna come right out and say it. Some may dispute it’s status as a spoiler, but I feel it’s important players know the game has two endings. A prior episode had a very intense moment where a choice was made, whether you were aware of it or not, and during that decisive moment you decided the outcome of the final moments of the game. Rather, you decide if the final moments occur at all. Yeah, you read that right - The choice made in Episode 3, if leading to the “bad ending” will result in a lack of an actual conclusion. It’s a bold move, but one I fully support given it’s plot-centric nature. Should you feel the need to change paths, you only need replay the moment in question, not the entire season proper.
The ending is truly one of my favorites, and brings the whole thing together, and indeed the entire convoluted series together in a staggering way. I was ready to assume large parts of the story would be ret-conned in favor of further sequels, but they manage a sleight of hand to bring everything full circle that otherwise seemed completely out of place or unexplained. There is however one significant plot hole in regard to a character I care about a lot, and while it’s never explained fully I do love the outcome enough to forgive it happening at all.
Gameplay wise is unfortunately where this chapter seriously takes a hit. There’s a highlight moment close to the end, and all said Barry easily has some pretty intense moments this time around, if recycling a couple of increasingly stale mechanics to get there.
Now I need to talk about Claire. No, her chapter isn't a total letdown, but it’s the exact sort of thing I absolutely hate this franchise trying to do. The opening bit takes on a plot point in the most po-faced manner imaginable, leading to a fitting sense of dread but achieved in the most heavy handed and least satisfying way they could have achieved it. This is immediately followed by what I will forever think of as “Seven Minutes in Hell” - Where the game suddenly decides it’s alright to force you into a platforming sequence with a camera unfit for the task, topped off with a countdown timer for added stress. Again, the feeling they were going for was achieved, but not in the way the player is likely to enjoy, rather dread it for literal reasons.
The whole thing manages to come together as an episode thanks only to it’s conclusory approach, and would otherwise be sorely unfulfilling. Parts of it still feel empty, and the enemy variety has all but stopped increasing. They do throw a twist on a particular enemy you've encountered before, but I feel this was especially not handled as well as it could have been, and without context for why it’s suddenly a mechanic at such a late stage of the game I find it hard to let it slide by.
The chapter manages to bring things home, but in itself fails to be nearly as compelling as the episodes before it. A fantastic ending alone does not justify the apparent lack of effort on the part of balance this time around, and where the prior episodes gradually introduced new ideas, this finale falls back those time and again to get a little more life from them. By the end, you end up feeling glad it’s over for the wrong reasons. I don’t want to downplay how much I really adore the final scene and battle, as it’s easily one of the best the series has to offer in my eyes, but as an episodic entry it fails to deliver the same consistency the prior episodes did.
Resident Evil Revelations 2 Episode 4 gets a 5.5/10