Summary
Considering that theResident Evilgames are rooted in the horror franchise, it makes sense that their gameplay would take things slow to keep players on their toes, but not every mainline and spin-off entry in the series has started off this way. In fact, there have been several that kick off with a bang, throwing players right into the action only moments after they press their start button on the main menu.
Starting a game at a fast paceimmediately hooks players into the experience, making them feel as though they themselves have just been plunged into a nightmarish zombie outbreak that they must somehow escape from by any means necessary. Needless to say, it’s always exciting jumping into a new game that decides to start off with this sense of urgency, with theseResident Eviltitles being prime examples.
To be honest,Operation Raccoon Cityis clearly far more of an action game than a horror one, but for those who enjoyed the more chaotic and frantic style ofResident Evilgameplay, they’ll still find a lot to love with this what-if spin-off. Since the game takes place in Raccoon City while the outbreak was still ongoing, there’s little to no time for players to prepare, as they are quickly thrust into the action from the moment they pick their character.
Unlike a lot of games in the series, though,Operation Raccoon Cityactually starts off with a shootout, rather than players being tasked withfighting against a group of zombiesor infected humans. From this moment on, the game never lets its foot off the gas, maintaining a quick and chaotic pace throughout that action players will likely come to love.
No matter which campaign players choose to go with first in theDarkside Chroniclesspin-off game, they’ll be confronted by zombies and mutants from the moment they set off on their adventure. In Operation Javier, for example, the very first man thatLeon and Krausercome across is already a zombie, meaning that players only have a few seconds to practice using the onscreen reticle before they will find themselves pumping bullets into swarms of flesh-hungry drones.
As an on-rails shooter, players cannot physically control the movement of their character, only their reticle, meaning that there’s no choice to make things a little slower when things get overwhelming. Instead, players can only rely on their accuracy to make it through in one piece, which can be hard to do when there are tons of zombies on screen who all want nothing more than to eat the protagonist’s brains.
When booting upResident Evil 6, before players can even choose which campaign they want to embark on, they will first need to play through a fairly short gameplay segment featuring Leon. Though no context is given on what is actually going on in this situation, it will eventually become clear that it takes place a little later in the game once Leon and his partner Helena land in China, where an entire city has beentaken over by mindless zombies and B.O.W.s.
At first, the intro shows Leon carrying an almost lifeless Helena to safety, until they eventually find themselves in a helicopter that is swirling out of control. After crashing into a skyscraper, the game suddenly cuts to black, allowing players to then select which story they want to take on for the rest of the game. ThoughResident Evil 6gets a lot of flack from fans because of how heavily it leaned into the action genre, this was still a pretty exciting intro, which made it clear what direction the game was going in.
Resident Evil 0is most well-known for its dual protagonists and, more specifically, how players can switch between Rebecca and Billy on the fly. However, before Billy even enters the story, players can only control Rebecca, who takes a lot more damage than her partner anytime she’s hit. Once players gain control, they’ll find themselves in a very narrow train passageway with zombies coming at them from either side, making for a nail-biting first few minutes.
Because this game is often seen as one of thehardest in the entireResident Evilfranchise, it makes these sorts of moments all the more terrifying. Then again, sinceResident Evil 0came after the first three games, Capcom presumably guessed that most players would already be familiar with the controls and would therefore be able to make it out without seeing a game over in the first few moments.
Though the remake ofResident Evil 2allows players to familiarize themselves with the main controls at the gas station, the original game doesn’t include this section at all. In fact, the moment players canmove around as Leon or Claire, they will also be surrounded by a swarm of fresh zombies who won’t be afraid to chow down on the protagonist if they don’t get away fast enough.
The first few minutes ofResident Evil 2are truly heart-pounding, with players desperately rushing around in order to try and find a safe haven they can use to hunker down and take a breath. It’s an excellent way to make players feel immersed in Raccoon City, since leaving them defenseless and unprepared is essentially how every other civilian in the city would have felt once the chaos began.
At the beginning ofResident Evil 5, after a brief introductory cutscene, Chris lands in the country of Kijuju in order to investigate a mysterious bioterror incident that has affected the area. From the moment he sets foot on foreign land, it’s clear that he’s not exactly someone who is welcomed by the locals, and it’s only a minute or two after he meets Sheva that he’sforced to gun down his first targetafter an infected Ganado tries to attack him.
Just when it seems like things might be quieting down, Chris and Sheva show up at the public assembly, being forced to protect themselves within a small house while being swarmed by an army of vicious enemies and axe-wielding mutants. It makes for an extremely intense first mission, clearly taking a lot of inspiration from the game that came before it.
Resident Evil 4contains one of the most memorable and iconic first levels in all of gaming. After entering the first house and encountering a villager who seems hellbent on slicing Leon down to size, players are then tasked with taking on numerous more dangerous Ganados before they eventually reach the village only a few minutes into the game. Without any warning, Leon is suddenly hounded by a seemingly endless horde of villagers who are all more than happy to grab, cut, and slice if they manage to get their hands on him.
Things only get more crazyonce Doctor Salvador turns up with his chainsaw, with players only having a handgun and shotgun to keep them protected. It is certainly a risky way to start off the adventure considering how difficult the section is, but it’s gone down as one of the most exciting ways to open up a horror game.
