We all know this one. The Resident Evil series has been one of the most recognizable survival horror franchises in gaming and it has been existing for decades. This game was first released in 1996. That is around 30 years ago, it was made by Capcom for the PlayStation. This game introduces players to these terrifying mansions filled with infected creatures and you get to uncover many dangerous secrets. Seriously this game alone changed the landscape of the survival horror genre, you get to combine the exploration, the tension, the limited ammunition and the puzzles.
After a few years as mainstream, this game expanded across multiple gaming platforms with so many storylines, you had the s Resident Evil 2, Resident Evil 4, Resident Evil 7, and Resident Evil Village, each of the game continued the story and introduced fresh characters in the process. You also get new enemies and gameplay machines are better as the game gets updated. Well despite the changes across the game series the idea of the game has stayed the same, you just need to survive, your survival always comes first.
Resident Evil gives you very limited resources, you have to feel powerful all the time, enemies can be dangerous and sometimes the only thing that can save you are your smart decision making skills, you have to be calculative and fast. Understanding how survival works in Resident Evil makes the experience far less frustrating and far more enjoyable.
Understanding the Survival Horror Formula
Unlike some games where you have access to as many resources as you want, Resident Evil uses a design philosophy from the earlier series. The game encourages careful decision making, you must be careful how you use your resources, this system basically creates tension, which in turn makes the game more exciting to play.
You may only have a number of bullets left, while moving through a very dark hallway, and you enemies can appear any moment in time, in this case shooting without calculating is an error, you must have a strategy and stick to it. Players must also explore environments carefully, and solve puzzles to progress through the story. The earliest Resident Evil titles also used fixed camera angles and tank style controls, this made the movement feel slower and more deliberate.
Always Manage Your Ammunition
I think one of the first things you should know while playing this game is that your ammo i s very valuable. When you think about most action games, they give you so much ammunition, and you can even pick more on the way to fight off enemies, well this game doesn’t work like that. A pistol magazine might contain only a few rounds, and you must learn to manage it. Shotgun shells appear occasionally but cannot be wasted, and the powerful weapons, you don’t get to use them often, they are kept for stronger enemies and boss encounters.
So because of how your fighting tools are very limited, it is advised that you stay away from combats that are not necessary, don’t fight if you can run off from a particular enemy. Just like in a situation where you are moving in a hallway and there are slow zombies in that hallway, it would be very smart to run away rather than trying to defeat them in combat.
Learn the Map Layout
Resident Evil environments are made and designed like puzzles that are interconnected, if you notice, the mansion in the first game, the police station in Resident Evil 2, and the village areas in Resident Evil 2 share very similar structure, I am talking about how the rooms are connected through corridors, locked doors, staircases, and hidden passages. At first these places may be a little confusing to you, but once you start recognising these key locations, navigating and finding your way just becomes so much easier. Many Resident Evil games also include maps that highlight which rooms have been fully explored and those ones that still contain items.
Use Safe Rooms Strategically
Safe rooms are another important part of this game, and only the experienced ones might understand this. These safe rooms contain save points and the enemies cannot attack here. c The save system required players to use ink ribbons when saving the game. These ink ribbons too are not as common, they are also very limited items and players must know when to use them. Experienced players plan their routes carefully before leaving a safe room, you have a very long journey, spend time collecting items, solving puzzles and stuff ;ie that before you eventually return to the safe room.
Pay Attention to Puzzles
Solving puzzles is also a part of this game, some puzzles are actually very simple, you might just need to find a key or rotating statues, while some others might require more complex solutions involving item combinations. FOr instance you might need to examine a painting, move objects around, or join items to unlock some hidden door, it’s all part of this game, you need to pay attention to these puzzles to excel in this game.
Know When to Fight and When to Run
As I said , not all battles are with fighting. Your resources are limited, you use them with caution, know when you need to fight and when you should run, this helps you save resources and prepare you for the future. For instance, in the Resident Evil remake released in 2002, zombies could return faster, but in the newer version, you can fight without actually killing them.
Healing Items and Health Status
The Resident Evil uses a simple condition system rather than traditional health bars, characters get to move through different stages like fine, caution, danger. When health drops into the danger state, characters move more slowly and become vulnerable to attacks. But there are headline items like the green herbs, red herbs, and first aid sprays, you get health depending on how you combine them.
Understanding Boss Encounters
Boos fight always appear in the resident evil, and you must know how to deal with them. Fighting these bosses requires calculation, not careless gunfire. Boss arenas sometimes contain elements that can help players survive, you get explosives, open spaces for movement, or temporary escape routes may exist within the battle area.