I used to tell people to never mention Resident Evil 5 or 6 in my presence. There wasn’t any real reason, other than the fact that I’d previously felt these games were one big letdown for the whole Resident Evil series. This sentiment is shared by many, but over time – and as of today, 10 years since it was first released – I’ve come to appreciate Resident Evil 6. Even if I can’t get into it.
I was a child when I first picked up a copy of Resident Evil 6 from a market stall down an alley in Yorkshire. It definitely wasn’t legitimate, but a younger version of myself was fascinated by the cover art (little did I know what everyone else thought of it at the time) and all the Resident Evil gameplay I’d grown up watching, thanks to my parents. I was, by some margin, too young to play Resident Evil 6, but my dad let me get a copy anyway, and I instead was allowed to watch him play it. Seems like a win-win for him, if you ask me.
Later down the line, I tried it for myself on Xbox One after having played Resident Evil 7 and more recently on Nintendo Switch – only to drop the game within the first couple of hours. I did this on more than one non-consecutive occasion, bouncing off the game within a few hours each time. The control scheme felt more awkward than ever before, and if I wanted to complete constant QTEs I’d rather play something from The Dark Pictures Anthology. For the most part, playing Resident Evil 6 felt like a chore.