➤ Resident Evil 5, the review on Nintendo Switch 🎮

Although he cannot be considered the best exponent of the series nor the most memorable one, we return with particular pleasure to this game by facing the Resident Evil 5 review. It was a controversial chapter, but above all because it emerged in a middle period in which it was still thought that it was possible to re-emerge the classical structure in some way. In truth, the identity crisis of the series was pretty much consumed and the fifth chapter was practically the only possible outlet for the Capcom survival horror at the time, after the original setting had essentially exhausted all its chances with the splendid remake of the first Resident Evil (perhaps still the best expression of the series) and the tired Resident Evil 0.

There is no doubt that, after the immense effort in production and conceptual terms lavished in the evolution and total reconstruction of the brand with Resident Evil 4, in Capcom they have worked more on saving for the following, focusing on the technical evolution and the filing of aspects of the gameplay but remaining firmly anchored to everything that had introduced the predecessor, yet Resident Evil 5 proved to be a very solid game, able to continue to sell millions of copies over the course of several years, demonstrating how in the end the public enjoyed the famous "action twist". Virtually the most popular, from a commercial point of view: Resident Evil 5 is currently the best-selling chapter of the series with over 11 million copies registered, at least according to the data of the beginning of 2019.

The game returns, after ten years, on the current generation platforms and on Nintendo Switch in particular, in the extensive re-release work that has characterized the series for years now, finding a possible privileged application on the Nintendo console, given its strongly marked approach to cooperative multiplayer.

Back in Africa with Chris and Sheva

La history sees the return of the historical protagonist Chris Redfield, ex-STARS now become BSAA, or member of a new international force for the fight against bio-terrorism, on a mission to Africa in the company of Sheva, an agent of the local forces. In short, the threat that started from the mountains of Arklay, through the Raccoon City incident, has spread all over the world and has become global. The story is probably known, in any case we refer you to the review of the PS4 and Xbox One versions this edition refers to for information on the plot and all the basic features of the game, which is essentially one third person shooter. The main problem of Resident Evil 5 is a bit this being halfway between a real classic shooter and a survival horror, remaining tied to the latter as regards a certain general cumbersome control system, still remembered in particular for the impossibility of moving while shooting, but abandoning certain characteristics typical of the series such as the presence of the puzzles and the moments of more metaphysical horror to embrace a style and rhythm that is now distinctly action. To tell the truth, its combination of suggestions works and returns a game with a certain identity, in many respects with a more elaborate gameplay than previously seen, only now it can seem easily dated, above all because of those elements that were needed. to still tie it clearly to Resident Evil 4.

Then emerges even more clearly what is the true vocation of Resident Evil 5, that is the game in multiplayer, central nucleus around which its entire structure was studied and another subject of scandal for historical fans of the series. This is probably the winning element that has allowed the game to sell so many copies over the course of ten years: beyond the too sunny atmosphere and a certain lack of variety in situations, Resident Evil 5 still remains one of the best action shooter experiences to be faced in cooperative multiplayer and perhaps mainly on this can also focus on this new edition, particularly on Nintendo Switch which allows at any time the "double" on the fly with shared screen, in addition to the possibility of using the online connection or in LAN with the system link. Even in single, the game can give great satisfaction, with a lot of those assault moments of the horde that had already made the fourth chapter famous, but the historical defects of the companion's artificial intelligence have remained more or less intact, who tends to get into trouble, waste bullets and healing herbs as if there was no tomorrow and also grab the bonuses scattered around with considerable diligence.

The Nintendo Switch version

Being a game of ten years ago, which at the time focused a lot on the spectacularity of the action and its graphic layout, the test of time can be merciless and in fact Resident Evil 5 shows a certain aging, if considered to the third-party shooters. modern person. However, the fact of starting from a base that was still cutting edge at the time and having been enriched by a subsequent general remaster that brought it closer to the best modern standards makes it a not too dated looking game, even if the job adaptation does not seem to have been very thorough by Capcom. To tell the truth, the upgrade to 60 frames per second that characterizes the PS4 and Xbox One versions does not even seem to be applied on the Nintendo Switch, given that the frame-rate it appears quite variable and usually positioned below the quota that was set for the other consoles.

The game is offered in its Gold Edition, which is the complete edition of all the contents released later than the original edition, with DLC concerning new single and multiplayer game modes and two additional chapters of the story of considerable interest within the overall economy of the game, mainly focused on Jill Valentine, a figure who also appears in the main story but who thus gets her right deepening, given the importance of the character. Between both expansions present, Nightmare without exit is particularly interesting because it recovers precisely the settings and atmospheres of the first Resident Evil, while the other additions are much more based on action. Among these we find some multiplayer modes such as Mercenaries and Versus, very interesting variations on the theme to experiment, especially in pairs, providing a really large amount of content between single player, cooperative and competitive multiplayer.

The Nintendo Switch version can count, as we have said, on additional options to start a multiplayer: in addition to relying on the online presence, however extremely convenient, you can make a LAN connection with other consoles in the area or start a session at shared screen each using a joy-Con, which also allows you to start a game on the move in any situation and place, even the control system is obviously a bit limited by the presence of a single stick. Another peculiar feature of this version is the support for the motion controls present in the Joy-Con, which although tested seems to work quite well compared to other solutions of the kind seen previously.

Comment

Digital Delivery Nintendo eShop Price 29,99 € Resources4Gaming.com

7.5

Readers (5)

7.4

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Ten years after its original release, Resident Evil 5 is substantially identical to the original, beyond some technical adaptation that does not make it look bad on Nintendo Switch, albeit with some flaws. The biggest problem is remaining tied to his particular condition at the time, caught halfway between the desire to emulate his illustrious predecessors and to move freely towards a full evolution as a third-person shooter. The rigidity of the control system and the redundancy of some situations must probably be attributed to this, while the effectiveness of the new gameplay introduced is still evident from how much the game is still fun and offers decidedly exciting moments. To this must be added what remains the driving feature of Resident Evil 5, or the cooperative multiplayer of which remains one of the best expressions in this genre, enhanced by the presence of the online and, specifically on Nintendo Switch, by the possibility of doing it anywhere.