3.5/5 ★ – Zimtiki's review of Resident Evil 0.

Ahh… the chronological beginning of the Resident Evil series. This game sees STARS agent Rebecca Chambers investigating an abandoned train near the infamous Spencer Mansion, the HQ if Umbrella’s experimentation with the T-Virus. During her journey, she meets alleged serial killer Billy Coen, who she must work closely with to survive this nightmare. This game is running on the same exact engine as the RE Remake which means it looks fucking INCREDIBLE. The backgrounds have so much detail and it all looks so good and eerie, this is still my absolute favorite art style of the series. But, since this IS an older RE game, we also get the BEST voice acting performances of all time, or should I say, the funniest. The characters are unable to be serious in any situation and god damn does it make for some scenes that are supposed to be emotionally heavy but made me laugh instead, it’s fucking funny. You also need to switch between characters in this game to solve more complex puzzles, which, sadly, takes away from the loneliness and isolation the first game has which makes it way scarier, despite the silly voice acting. This is a unique mechanic but it does get in the way and makes some of the puzzles feel more like chores than actual gameplay, it can get annoying but luckily it isn’t overused. Sadly, this game didn’t give me a single actual scare, which is what I was hoping for this spooky season :( The main enemy in this game is not the zombies or the roaches or even the main antagonist, James Marcus, aka the secondary creator of Umbrella along with Ozwell Spencer. No, it’s INVENTORY MANAGEMENT. It is CRUEL. There are so many items you’ll never be able to use because you just DO NOT have the space. Bosses will pop up at random too, and you’re fucked if you aren’t carrying the right materials to face them. You want that shotgun or grenade launcher but it takes up THREE OUT OF EIGHT spaces in your inventory. You need those ink ribbons to save, you need those health items to heal, you need that random statue that you have to carry with you until you find a spot for it, you feel like you need EVERYTHING but you can carry NOTHING. You also can’t leave your pistol behind or you’ll be FUCKED by a zombie, and that’s ANOTHER 2 spaces of inventory. It’s rough, but for some reason, it’s part of the charm. So yeah, this is a good game, it’s just not nearly as strong as the original games remake.