Resident Evil Revelations 2: Metamorphosis was developed and published on Xbox One and Xbox 360 by Capcom Entertainment Inc. It was released on March 17, 2015 for $5.99. XBLA Fans’ Michael Cheng purchased a copy out of pocket for review purposes.

RER2 ep 4 screenshot

Many elements that contributed to the excitement of the first three episodes are missing and players may be left with a strange sense of both satisfaction and disappointment.

Claire’s campaign starts off after the climactic boss fight of Episode 3: Judgment in the middle of the tower nearing the top. Little did I know, the boss fight was the coup de grâce to Claire’s adventures. Claire’s campaign is very short with the top time on Xbox One clocked in at 6 minutes 44 seconds as of time of writing. The one major scene is incredibly anti-climactic with no player interaction at all. It feels like the player went on a great big adventure with Claire for nothing. With brief puzzles thrown in, less than double digit enemy count and players playing most of the episode with a countdown timer, there isn’t much positive about this segment other than at least its short to replay. I can understand not putting in two major bosses in one episode or starting an episode with a major boss fight but one can wonder if the episodes could have been segmented better.

While Claire’s campaign was far too short, Barry’s campaign felt too long. The alternate paths through the quarry were pointless as both routes felt like it did the same thing. The crane puzzle after that was a welcomed addition. The underground mining facility features deadly toxic gas that exists to needlessly annoy the player. The gas is not difficult; it interrupts the flow of the game and hearing the characters cough non-stop was asinine. It’s similar to swimming in many other games where the player can only stay in the gas for so long before they die. Moving forward, the mansion section was ominous and probably the best scenery of the episode. Soon after, the final boss is revealed with a great grotesque design. However, fighting it was disappointing with similarities to fighting an oversized Resident Evil dog. While it had a weak spot, pumping it full of lead and explosives anywhere was more than enough to drop it. Once the boss goes down the first time, the game may or may not be over.

Resident Evil Revelations 2 features two endings that are determined by an action made in Episode 3. While not having experienced the bad ending firsthand, there was no inclination to see that ending for myself. The good ending has great character interactions, cheesy one liners and other Resident Evil classics. The scene after the credits is very cryptic and sets up nicely for a potential future setup. The good ending is one of the few bright moments of this episode.

One thing to note, while streaming using the Twitch app on Xbox One, Capcom has censored the final boss and everything after up until the result screen. While expecting some sort of censorship, I wasn’t expecting the duration to be so long.

As for my disappointment for the final content added for Raid mode, I’ll save that for another day. Episode 4: Metamorphosis is the weak link of Resident Evil Revelations 2.

To find reviews of other episodes (as they become available), check out the Resident Evil Revelations 2 review hub.