Resident Evil: Revelations 2 - Episode 1: Penal Colony

 PlayStation 4
User Score
7.1

Mixed or average reviews- based on 118 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 75 out of 118
  2. Mixed: 19 out of 118
  3. Negative: 24 out of 118

Review this game

  1. Your Score
    0 out of 10
    Rate this:
    • 10
    • 9
    • 8
    • 7
    • 6
    • 5
    • 4
    • 3
    • 2
    • 1
    • 0
    • 0
  1. Submit
  2. Check Spelling
view
per page
  1. porhawj24
    Feb 24, 2015
    9
    good graphic, good gameplay. Claire is back as awesome character because i miss her alot for long time. there are some bad things i seen : awful environments, ai enemies are predictable
  2. Boyrex
    Feb 24, 2015
    9
    Revelations 2 is a great game, the characters is charismatics and the climate is very good. Barry has a great personality, Claire have the same characteristics on other Resident Evil yet. The monsters are nice and fun. Soundtrack is ok. Graphycs is a negative point in this game, I have played on my ps4, and the graphycs would be better. But its dont disrupts the gamming.
  3. Leprykon
    Feb 25, 2015
    8
    Very conservative, apart from Alan Wake's flashlight and The Last of Us' little girl it's the same game Capcom's been making in the last two decades. Enemies are more of a standard zombie variety, compared to overly retarded creatures from Revelations 1 and RE5. Environments are uneven: dull indoors, but really nice, atmospheric outdoors. Graphics are nice, character models are detailedVery conservative, apart from Alan Wake's flashlight and The Last of Us' little girl it's the same game Capcom's been making in the last two decades. Enemies are more of a standard zombie variety, compared to overly retarded creatures from Revelations 1 and RE5. Environments are uneven: dull indoors, but really nice, atmospheric outdoors. Graphics are nice, character models are detailed and well textured, however low rez textures can be seen on many surfaces, making the game look a bit dated. I was surprised by music score, which is probably better, than in any other game in the series and adds a lot to game's overall atmosphere.
    Contrary to some silly claims, this game isn't a "shooter". The fact that game gives you just enough ammo to kill everything on the map doesn't make it a shooter. It still makes you count every bullet and be very careful, which are not characteristics of modern shooters. Don't listen to people, who want Resident Evil to be an Amnesia/Outlast clone, where Leon Kennedy, after cowardly running away from undead horde, could finally engage into fiery romance with Albert Wesker.    … Expand
  4. resh_aykut
    Feb 24, 2015
    8
    I really liked Resident evil revelations 2 . Today i finished episode 1 and it takes 2 hours for me . It was deffinitly better than resident evil revelations 1 and Resident evil 6. Its 1080p 60fps , the graphic engine would be better ,not so bad .. I wish they make Resident evil 7 with Capcom's panta rhei graphic engine.
    Story is so interresting . The atmosphere draws you into the game.    I really liked Resident evil revelations 2 . Today i finished episode 1 and it takes 2 hours for me . It was deffinitly better than resident evil revelations 1 and Resident evil 6. Its 1080p 60fps , the graphic engine would be better ,not so bad .. I wish they make Resident evil 7 with Capcom's panta rhei graphic engine.
    Story is so interresting . The atmosphere draws you into the game. Yea maybe it would be better with online experience on campaing but Multiplayer raid mode will be come when all episodes released .    … Expand
  5. DarkEvil79
    Feb 24, 2015
    10
    The gameplay is really interesting and the game is awesome. The graphics are excellent for an episodic game and Moira flashlight is very good . This game is better than 6 and 5 .I hope Resident Evil 7 be good like this game.
  6. hamster98
    Feb 24, 2015
    10
    this is what all resident evil fans want a real survival horror re and this is it its an amazing start to the 4 episode journey and i cant wait to see what happens next
  7. Vahagnmk
    Feb 26, 2015
    8
    The game is like an unimaginative hard-working student. It knows how to earn its A marks but doesn’t bring any ideas of its own. There is arguably nothing that the game does better than some of previous games in the series or other games that it heavily copies from. It's clearly a game created mainly for the fans.

    What I liked the most is that it’s certainly a horror game. It’s not    The game is like an unimaginative hard-working student. It knows how to earn its A marks but doesn’t bring any ideas of its own. There is arguably nothing that the game does better than some of previous games in the series or other games that it heavily copies from. It's clearly a game created mainly for the fans.

    What I liked the most is that it’s certainly a horror game. It’s not Silent Hill or Fatal Frame, but the tone of the game is even creepier and darker than most of the previous games in RE series. Instead of trained special agents who can destroy entire villages of monsters you are controlling the victims in a saw-type setting. The main characters (Claire and Moira at least) are presented as survivors in the game’s story and on higher difficulties it really feels like it. On many occasions I had very little ammo left and was desperately searching for some more and hoping I would not meet an enemy. There is nothing really out of ordinary for someone who has become immune to horror games, but for most of the players the horror component is still pretty solid. I hope the future episodes will have some longer horror oriented sections of playing only as Moira or Natalia.

    The enemy variety is good. In the short run of the first episode there were enough newer enemies that require you to rethink your tactics. I especially liked the enemies with weak points in Barry’s story that make you quickly swap between Barry and Natalia not to waste too much bullets. The stealth is nothing remarkable and a very insignificant gameplay mechanic here. There were a couple of occasions where the enemies are facing the opposite direction to provide you with an easy kill but it just feels to be forced by the developers. Nothing like Last of Us where you could take out most of the enemies in the game stealthily and the mechanic was enjoyable to master.

    The first episode is very short: 40 minutes with Claire and about the same with Barry. I started with survivor mode and the total playtime was little longer due to retries. The environments are small and narrow. There is some backtracking and light puzzle solving, nothing really imaginative and complicated like in the Remake. More like the stuff that you could find in just any shooter game. Just some closed doors that you open in a 5 minutes time after finding the keys. Half of Barry’s game was repeared in the same environment that Claire and Moira were in. As a result the whole package felt even smaller. There is however some replayability due to the chapter ranking system like in other Capcom games, collectibles that are needed to upgrade the skills of the characters and medals that are given for some extra conditions to meet when during play.

    The raid mode is fun. Even more with a friend. If you like to play infinite time killing mobile games like Temple Run, it is certainly more enjoyable to do the same with a solid third person shooter at its core. The infinite unlocking loop is as enjoyable and addictive as it should be. The mission variety is good. After some hours of playing with Claire, no mission felt the same. There are plenty of different environments and mixes of extra conditions thrown in each mission to try to make the process less repetitive.

    All in all pretty decent purchase if you are a RE fan and expect something that is not really innovative but well made.    … Expand
  8. wka93
    Feb 25, 2015
    10
    Being a long-time RE fan, I enjoyed most of the games the series has produced. Resident Evil Revelations 2 is certainly no exception. Granted that the graphics aren't exactly 'up-to-date', but the gameplay and story certainly makes up for that and especially for what is considered to be a low budget game for only $25 for the whole season. Excluding the Raid mode (which I will get to in aBeing a long-time RE fan, I enjoyed most of the games the series has produced. Resident Evil Revelations 2 is certainly no exception. Granted that the graphics aren't exactly 'up-to-date', but the gameplay and story certainly makes up for that and especially for what is considered to be a low budget game for only $25 for the whole season. Excluding the Raid mode (which I will get to in a bit), I always able to play through a solid 3 hours with the first episode. This is actually wonderful considering the entire season will essentially be around 12 hours roughly; so it's definitely not a short game. The first campaign did not scare me so much considering that I've watched many videos with Claire Redfield gameplay, however, Barry's campaign certainly did give me quite a few jump scares. Both campaigns are certainly fun to play and while some may complain that the environment may seem dull, I myself am quite pleased with the background environment during the gameplay (brings back memories of Code Veronica). The dialogue has improved over the past few games and while Moira's dialogue may seem over the top, it should be noted that this is in fact Barry 'What IS this' Burton's Daughter.

    Raid Mode as always is quite fun. I have played the Mercenary Mode in the past RE games and they have certainly kept me entertained. However, I do prefer Raid Mode in the Revelations series since it's definitely a lot faster paced, with options to upgrade weapons, fight over-sized monsters charging towards you and it certainly helps practice your aiming for when you go through campaign mode without sacrificing precious ammunition.

    That being said I am definitely satisfied with the first episode of this game and would actually recommend it for those interested in playing. However, if you are an old-school fan who enjoyed fixed camera angles and painted horror game background, you might wanna steer clear of this.

    Hope this helped!    … Expand
  9. SileSixEcho
    Feb 28, 2015
    9
    Revelations 2 plays really nicely and the first episode really makes me begging for more. I really like the overall feeling of the first episode and even after finishing the 2-2.5 hour campaign of the first episode, there is tons of content in the funny raid mode. Other than some magazines, I really like the new additions to the gameplay with moira and that other girl. The only letdown areRevelations 2 plays really nicely and the first episode really makes me begging for more. I really like the overall feeling of the first episode and even after finishing the 2-2.5 hour campaign of the first episode, there is tons of content in the funny raid mode. Other than some magazines, I really like the new additions to the gameplay with moira and that other girl. The only letdown are really the graphics, but that's okay with me. It's not always the looks that matter. Btw: Barry dropes an amazing line at the end of episode 1. People how played the original first resident evil will love this ^^… Expand
  10. Darko84
    Feb 26, 2015
    7
    RE: Revelation 2 is a pretty interesting effort from Capcom to get back to the survival horror genre by improving the game play and giving a lot of content for gamers.
    However graphics and atmosphere need to be improved substantially if they want to reach the top.
    Overall rate: 7/10 Graphics: 4/10 This is one of weakest elements of this game. The graphics are not bad but could have    RE: Revelation 2 is a pretty interesting effort from Capcom to get back to the survival horror genre by improving the game play and giving a lot of content for gamers.
    However graphics and atmosphere need to be improved substantially if they want to reach the top.
    Overall rate: 7/10

    Graphics: 4/10
    This is one of weakest elements of this game. The graphics are not bad but could have been much better considering the PS4 capabilities.
    Game play: 8/10
    Game play is very smooth and intuitive. Shooting is very fun, as well as the possibility to change characters and adopt their skills/equipment depending on what the current situation in the game requires. However stealth system would have been a great addition, especially when you run out of ammo, as well as further optimization on your partner's AI (when playing alone).
    Story: 9/10
    Story is interesting and is building up the suspense pretty good, additionally I love the fact they reference many quotes of Franz Kafka. Characters are pretty interesting and lovely in case of Natalia.
    Atmosphere: 6/10
    Atmosphere could have been better; the most interesting part is when Barry is in the woods. We need more of that atmosphere. The music is not scary or stressful; the enemies are quite plain and look very old fashion (design wise). Additionally the sound when using your fire arms is quite boring.
    Content: 9/10
    For the price you pay, you will have a lot of fun and different ways to beat the game.
    Co-op, raid and different difficulties are available to replay this first chapter.    … Expand
  11. TaktikzPS4
    Mar 4, 2015
    8
    Brilliant. I am hooked. The last Resident Evil game I played was RES 5 on the Playstation 3, needless to say, I found it to be awful. RE:R2 Episode 1 is the complete opposite, right from the first moment I was immersed, the graphics are nice, the characters are interesting, the story so far is good and the ending to episode 1 made me say out loud "Oooh my god, you can't leave it like thatBrilliant. I am hooked. The last Resident Evil game I played was RES 5 on the Playstation 3, needless to say, I found it to be awful. RE:R2 Episode 1 is the complete opposite, right from the first moment I was immersed, the graphics are nice, the characters are interesting, the story so far is good and the ending to episode 1 made me say out loud "Oooh my god, you can't leave it like that !" - I'm dying for Episode 2 to come out now. The game is super smooth, and it is very creepy if you have the lights turned off and the volume cranked up. The game made me jump several times.

    Also there is a game mode called Raid Mode which I dipped my toes into, it's great fun, you have to go from point A to B but on your way there are waves of Zombies you have to take out in order to progress to the end. As you progress you level up, get new gear, weapons, etc. As you progress the waves become harder and more challenging.

    Currently the RAID mode has no online co-op, but the game does state that online co-op for RAID Mode will be a feature in a future update/patch.

    The single player also has no online co-op, but you can play it co-op local split screen. However, I would suggest the first time you play this game to play it on your own, in the dark, with the volume up to a reasonable level, take the game slow and don't speed run through it, and enjoy every minute of it.

    A Solid 8/10 for Episode 1.

    This is my first review on METACRITIC, if you like then please hit the Yes button on "Helpful?" I would much appreciate any feedback as I'd like to do more of these :-)    … Expand

Awards & Rankings

98
#98 Best PS4 Game of 2015

Critic Reviews

All reviews »
Metascore
75

Generally favorable reviews - based on 22 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 14 out of 22
  2. Mixed: 8 out of 22
  3. Negative: 0 out of 22
  1. GameCritics
    Mar 29, 2015
    70
    With no real gameplay innovations unique to the episodic format and the fact that Resident Evil's weakest quality has traditionally been its story, Revelations 2 is putting an awful lot of eggs in this samey-feeling basket.
    Read full review
  2. Pelit (Finland)
    Mar 19, 2015
    84
    This is an entertaining, but quite linear piece of action adventure. Action is good, but the horror elements are a bit bland, since there's no time to build real tension. [March 2015]
  3. The Digital Fix
    Mar 11, 2015
    80
    Overall, this first foray into Resident Evil Revelations 2 is a good one.
    Read full review
See all critic reviews »