Resident Evil: Revelations

When Resident Evil: Revelations first launched on 2012, it surprised fans and critics alike. It wasn’t just a portable spin-off—it was a carefully crafted, atmospheric survival horror game that brought the series closer to its roots than Resident Evil 5 or 6 ever did. Years later, it remains a strong entry in the franchise—especially for fans who miss the tension and slower pacing of classic Resident Evil.
Set between the events of Resident Evil 4 and 5, Revelations follows series mainstays Jill Valentine and Chris Redfield as they investigate a bioterrorist threat aboard a seemingly abandoned cruise ship—the Queen Zenobia. The ship is a brilliant setting: claustrophobic, eerie, and dripping with atmosphere. It recalls the Spencer Mansion or Raccoon City Police Department in the best way.
The gameplay strikes a satisfying balance between survival horror and action. Limited ammo, creepy corridors, and puzzle-solving are front and center. But make no mistake—this is still a modern RE title, and gunplay feels tight and responsive. The addition of the scanner tool, which encourages players to explore every inch of the environment for hidden items, adds a nice layer of engagement and resource management.
Revelations adopts an episodic structure, complete with "Previously on..." segments at the start of each chapter. It’s a clever format that suits portable play and helps pace the story well. The narrative jumps between different characters and locations, occasionally breaking away from the ship to follow Chris or other agents in more action-oriented sequences. These side missions vary in quality but serve to break up the pacing.
While originally built for a handheld, Revelations looks remarkably good, especially in its HD console ports. The lighting, in particular, plays a big role in the game’s tense atmosphere, casting flickering shadows down narrow hallways. The monster designs—oozing, mutated waterlogged horrors—are grotesque and fitting.
Some textures and animations show their age, but the art direction more than compensates. On Switch, the game runs smoothly both docked and handheld, making it an ideal platform for revisiting this compact horror adventure.
The soundtrack and sound design are effective in building dread. Creeping footsteps, ambient hums, and distant groans elevate the tension. Voice acting, however, is uneven. While Jill’s performance is solid, some supporting characters veer into camp or outright parody, which can clash with the game’s otherwise serious tone.
Aside from the main campaign, Revelations includes Raid Mode, a surprisingly addictive bonus mode that plays like an arcade-style shooter with RPG elements. You fight through levels filled with enemies, unlock new gear, and level up your characters. It's a great reason to keep playing after the story ends and offers a different flavor of fun for action-oriented players.
Resident Evil: Revelations succeeds where many spin-offs fail: it understands what fans love about the series. With strong pacing, classic horror vibes, and enough modern polish, it’s a return to form that helped re-center the franchise before Resident Evil 7 officially revived survival horror.
Recommended for: Fans of classic RE atmosphere, players craving portable horror, and those looking for a balanced blend of tension and action.
Not for: Players who dislike slower pacing, limited ammo, or backtracking.
Rating: 8/10

I really enjoyed this game. Did not expect to. Despite its age, it feels very smooth, though the strafing movement is a bit awkward.

Resident Evil Revelations a somewhat canon sequel between the fourth and fifth installment of RE franchise. Would I recommend it? Absolutely. Despite its age, RE Revelations is one of the best RE with over the shoulder camera. The enemy design is unique, the control felt neat, the story kinda mediocre, but the atmosphere with the infected cruise ship is something that only can be found here (except RE Dead Aim).
Now here me out, regardless of that I fucking hate RE Revelations because of the raid mode. OF ALL RE GAMES, Revelations 1 were the hardest game to 100% achievements. There's no way, I could endure the grindfest of the raid mode where you need to beat the 20 stages, mind you that the same length of the campaign, THREE F*CKING TIMES without taken ANY damage. I just can't, the best I could do was to finished chasm and got all the S ranking for all the stages. SCREW YOU RAID MODE :)

Resident Evil: Revelations — Review
I spent over 130 hours with this game, and I still think it’s one of the most balanced entries in the series. It brings back the classic survival horror atmosphere but mixes it with enough modern action to feel fresh. The episodic structure works surprisingly well, keeping the suspense up and making the story flow like a TV show.
The gameplay feels tight once you get used to it. Managing limited ammo, exploring tight corridors, and dealing with grotesque enemies all capture that old-school Resident Evil tension. Raid Mode is the real highlight though — it’s fast, addictive, and easily adds dozens of hours of replay time.
The story is solid and fits nicely between Resident Evil 4 and 5. The setting on the Queen Zenobia ship is great — dark, claustrophobic, and full of atmosphere. It gives the whole game a unique identity that stands out even years later.
Not everything is perfect. Some sections drag on because of repetitive backtracking, and the controls can feel a bit stiff compared to newer titles. The pacing also dips here and there, but nothing major enough to ruin the experience.
Overall, Resident Evil: Revelations strikes a strong balance between horror and action. It’s atmospheric, replayable, and still fun to return to. For anyone who enjoys classic Resident Evil vibes with a bit of modern polish, it’s an easy recommendation.
8.5/10 — solid survival horror with lasting appeal.

Awesome Resident Evil game that's structured like a TV series with 12 episodes, non-stop plot twists, very tense orchestral soundtrack, and great graphics and cinematic cutscenes especially considering it was originally made for the 3DS. I laughed out loud at the twist in episode 6, that was so funny. The first level was pure horror, especially when playing on Infernal difficulty.
Contrary to what some may say, it actually is possible to play Infernal on your first playthrough. And it's quite an experience. You start without any weapon upgrades, ammo is limited, enemies are strong. There's a dodge mechanic in the game that's crucial because you don't have enough ammo to kill everything.
The gameplay changes once you get some mods. I really like the charge shot mod, which allows you to hold the fire button to increase damage. It's nice to save ammo like that, but the mod is only available later in the game. There's also a weapon mod to increase Daze chance which puts enemies into a stunned mode after which you can charge punch them. Reminds me a bit of RE4.
The scan mechanic puzzles me. I'm not sure what the added gameplay value of this is. But the game wants you to scan everything everywhere you go, because you'll find ammo and weapon mods that way. Scanning enemies will give you healing items. Very cumbersome if you ask me. Also takes you out of the game a bit.
Enemies are not as interesting as RE4. They're just varying amounts of skin and muscle. it's much more fun to bully enemies that look human, rather than these abominations that often don't even have a face. The Scarmiglione looks pretty cool though.
I also don't like that doors are indestructible
Most characters aren't super interesting either, because the story doesn't go into much depth. Everyone is just doing their job professionally. I think it would've been more fun to have someone be disgusted or shocked by all the gross parasitic monsters, it would've been more relatable at least.
Most characters I didn't like at first, but they grew on me. For example, that childish behavior of Quint ("I hate snow") gave me a bad first impression, but he gets better later on. Jill seems a little cold at first, but she's cool. Jessica on the other hand was annoying. She complains that Chris can't take a hint, but she is the one who's not taking any hint..
Rachel's little side story was intense. I wish we could've seen more of that. All other characters are just angry all the time. Rachel is the only one with different emotions. And it's very disturbing and fitting for a survival horror.
Soundtrack is epic. The intro song and episode end theme have that feel of a complicated TV series with all kinds of betrayals and reveals. I love everything about the final boss theme, but especially the cymbals, bass line, and the piano flowing up and down like you're battling (in) a sea storm. Ride on Sea sounds like Trials of Fortitude, one of my favorite battle themes. Also, Scream is an amazing horror track, with lots of quick notes and pauses. It's like you're fighting some madman who's throwing plates and forks everywhere.
Raid mode is actually quite fun. Just simple combat without scanning or puzzles. The zombies are challenging with upgraded versions. I really like that it shows the damage with each hit. Also, you can unlock some new outfits by playing Raid mode. It's annoying though when a zombie spawns right next to you, while you're trying to get the No Damage bonus.

when the residents are evil and they are having revelations

in all seriousness, this game is my fav in the series and w/o a doubt uu should play it

This part of the series is special to me and I really like it. The game is small but the fact that it is not big and long does not necessarily have to be an indicator of quality because I think it represents good quality and playing it gave me a lot of pleasure. I rate the game positively and recommend it to fans of the series.