[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":495},["ShallowReactive",2],{"blog-\u002Fblog\u002Fwriting-life\u002Fresident-evil-9-requiem-story-review":3,"related-\u002Fblog\u002Fwriting-life\u002Fresident-evil-9-requiem-story-review":230},{"id":4,"title":5,"author":6,"body":7,"categories":214,"created_at":215,"description":216,"draft":217,"extension":218,"head":219,"image":220,"image_alt":219,"meta":221,"navigation":222,"ogImage":219,"page":223,"path":224,"robots":219,"schemaOrg":219,"seo":225,"sitemap":226,"slug":227,"stem":228,"updated_at":215,"__hash__":229},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Fwriting-life\u002Fresident-evil-9-requiem-story-review.md","What Were The Writers Thinking? Resident Evil Requiem Story","pivi",{"type":8,"value":9,"toc":196},"minimark",[10,14,19,24,27,30,34,37,41,44,48,51,55,62,65,68,72,75,78,81,84,87,90,94,100,103,106,109,113,116,119,122,125,133,136,139,142,146,152,155,158,161,164,167,170,173,177,183,190,193],[11,12,13],"p",{},"Resident Evil Requiem uses Nostalgia like no other; it almost abuses it. Did you really need another Tyrant, a nemesis, a wannabe Wesker, or a Plant 69 in your brand new Resident Evil game? This is a textbook example of cramming thirty years’ worth of history into one game while neglecting to write a fresh narrative with believable characters that will be remembered ten years from now.",[15,16,18],"h2",{"id":17},"re-9-characters-good-bad","RE 9 Characters (Good & Bad)",[20,21,23],"h3",{"id":22},"grace-ashcroft","Grace Ashcroft",[11,25,26],{},"Introduced as a timid FBI analyst, Grace Ashcroft represents the majority of us in a similar horrific situation, that being abducted and put in a place to fend off the nightmares herself. (Despite the hot shots that were born to slay zombies in real life.) Moving from town to town due to Alyssa, Grace’s mother’s freelance work, and experiencing her death right in front of her eyes eight years ago had negatively affected her social life and clearly pushed her to ostracize herself.",[11,28,29],{},"At the beginning of the game, I didn’t like Grace’s character since she seemed too anxious. (This is coming from a person whose middle name is Anxiety.) But later, I got used to the nervous stuttering, and she actually grows on you because she becomes a little tougher as she progresses through the endeavor. Especially, regardless of her lack of confidence and physical and mental ability to survive, the way she survives and attempts to help Leon is admirable.",[20,31,33],{"id":32},"leon-s-kennedy","Leon S. Kennedy",[11,35,36],{},"Need I say anything about him other than, “The hero returns!”? For the sake of this review, I would say the years have been VERY kind to him. Now a Division of Security Operations (D.S.O) agent on a mission to investigate and hopefully find a cure to the Raccoon City Syndrome, Leon has become even stronger. He has never been bulkier, sexier, and tougher. It’s also wonderful to see some residue of his crazy one-liners in this installment as well. It goes without saying that Nick Apostolides does a brilliant job bringing Leon’s tougher side to life through his voice acting. Wiser? I’m not so sure, but I’ll get into it in a few seconds. With the addition of his killer hatchet, Leon is more formidable and focused than ever. He is the contrasting character to Grace, whose gameplay is stealthy and based on pure survival horror.",[20,38,40],{"id":39},"dr-victor-gideon","Dr. Victor Gideon",[11,42,43],{},"A former Umbrella researcher, currently working for The Connections, Victor Gideon, had purchased Rhodes Hill Chronic Care Center to carry out his secret experiments. He is also behind the abduction of Grace, and upon meticulous examination of the late Spencer’s research, he is dead-set on finding Grace and releasing Elpis. Being obsessed with and idolizing Spencer, Gideon assumes that Elpis is the ultimate virus to control minds. Even though he is the main antagonist, he is written as a comical character, not that there is anything wrong with it per se, but most of the time, he is laughable and doesn’t seem threatening at all, which reduces the quality of the fear factor of the game. His character design, well, is fine, but it’s certainly not worth discussing.",[20,45,47],{"id":46},"zeno-the-nothingburger","Zeno the “Nothingburger.”",[11,49,50],{},"There’s nothing more to say about Zeno. The internet has spoken. He is nothing but a nothingburger. Capcom seems to have placed him in the story just to have another villain that resembles the legendary villain himself—Wesker. But, not an ounce of his charisma, character, or power is given to Zeno, making him, in Gideon’s own words, “Nothing but an imitation.” Zeno adds another layer of anticipation for a boss battle that never happens. Some say that his character is there to prove that there are other Weskers out there and to establish that, in fact, another one would appear in the next game. Either way, his shallow character adds nothing but false hopes.",[15,52,54],{"id":53},"storyso-good-yet-not-so-much","Story—So good yet, not so much…",[11,56,57],{},[58,59],"img",{"alt":60,"src":61},"Even Leon is confused.","\u002Fmedia\u002Fuploads\u002F1774827207505-144145724.webp",[11,63,64],{},"Unlike some other players out there, I didn’t feel the story was completely out of place, except that it entailed some extremely stupid stuff. I was a little bit worried that they might have chosen Alyssa Ashcroft as a last resort out of the bin of hundreds of scrapped ideas. For me, she hasn’t made a large impact on my memory, and on top of that, now we have an offspring that came out of nowhere that we got to play as? Even so, there might be thousands of gamers out there who loved Alyssa’s involvement in the past games. Moreover, her work appeared here and there in some games afterward. On the one hand, people can argue about her importance to the game, but on the other hand, if her presence were that crucial, Capcom would never make her appear in a game years later just to kill her off a few minutes into it. They probably wouldn’t do that to Jill, Claire, or even Ashley, for that matter. I cannot imagine how Hunk fans feel after seeing him in the unenthusiastic Krauser fight rip-off. But let’s not get ahead of ourselves now.",[11,66,67],{},"Naturally, at the beginning, I was leaning towards the judgment that choosing Alyssa and her daughter was lazy writing; my view changed a little after seeing how they knitted and carefully twisted the narrative into something interesting while tying Grace to Raccoon City.",[20,69,71],{"id":70},"elpis-the-ultimate-bioweapon","Elpis, the ultimate bioweapon",[11,73,74],{},"By now, you know that RE 9 is paying homage to the other games in the series from left, right, and center, which is a good thing when done effectively, and connecting Elpis, the ultimate virus that Victor Gideon wishes to release, can be considered one of them.",[11,76,77],{},"Elpis is supposed to be a result of clandestine operations led by Spencer within his hidden laboratory, ARK. Obsessing over the recovered bits and pieces of Spencer’s work, Gideon assumes that Spencer was able to perform mind transfers successfully. Provided Spencer’s history in virus research, The Connections, and other black market groups mistake Elpis to be a powerful Bioweapon that could tip the military balance of the world. This is why Elpis is sought after by Zeno, a high-ranking member of the Connections. He uses Victor Gideon’s extensive dig into Ark’s long-lost experiments to retrieve it.",[11,79,80],{},"Alex Wesker, the main antagonist in Resident Evil Revelations 2, conducted broad experiments based on fear to transfer her own mind to a little girl she had abducted named Natalia. A similar premise, I would say. In a way, it seems like Capcom borrowed this plot and fleshed it out for RE 9. Cloning is something that RE always had in its storylines, and in Requiem, we realize that Umbrella was involved in cloning children and experimenting with them for years. When Spencer was alive, a series of clones were tested with memory transfer experiments. Subsequently, Dr. Gideon, someone who has been pedestalizing Spencer for a long time, finds out that among these cloned children, his master gave away the one true successfully created clone that contains his memories. With this clone, Gideon seeks to fulfill his obsession with making Spencer a God once again, hoping that the child, now a grown woman, will know how to release Elpis. Zeno expects that Grace would share a password that would help them obtain Elpis. If someone were to use the wrong password, Elpis would be lost forever.",[11,82,83],{},"The creator, Oswell E. Spencer, the horror maker himself, blathers about being a God to Albert Wesker in RE 5, and ultimately faces a gruesome death. In RE 9, he seems like he is after repentance. He is certain that he cannot be forgiven, nor does he feel any remorse, yet he might have had a slight change of heart to create “Elpis”. But, according to some players, the Spencer in RE 5 and 9 felt polar opposite characters. My take on this is, perhaps he doesn’t need to act as good as in front of a creature like Albert Wesker because there’s no need for it. However, when it comes to the interview with Alyssa, it may have brought out the human side of him. After all, it’s we who have to read between the lines. Then again, this series is ancient; it is 30 years in the running, to be exact. Therefore, no matter how hard the writers try to tie the events of RE 9 to the rest of the story, players who are putting two and two together will always find a plot hole.",[11,85,86],{},"I also like the idea of reversing it all, despite the thousands of casualties and blood-curdling experiments that occurred over the years throughout every game. To counter this, many players are asking, Spencer was the epitome of evil, still, he was producing an anti-viral in secret? Again, let’s leave it to the imagination of the geniuses, but I would want to speculate here, what if Spencer yearned to reverse it all, just to keep the God status to himself? He couldn’t perfect a superior human race; no one could even after his death. Or he just wanted to go against the connections and finally paid the price with his life, as Zeno remarks. Even though many cures existed throughout the franchise and other games, if I am not mistaken, this must be the very first fool-proof cure to ever exist, perhaps to wipe the slate clean, to finish the nightmare by the creator’s hands, ultimately taking the final credit himself, becoming a savior, a God; what he always wanted.",[11,88,89],{},"Be that as it may, according to Grace’s in-game report, Ozwell E. Spencer, James Marcus, and Edward Ashford founded the Umbrella Corporation in 1968, and Spencer’s goal was to bring a new era to humanity. Although by nefarious means, Spencer wanted to see the viral evolution of the human race. In this report, Grace explicitly says that his horrible actions aren’t forgiven nor are they dismissed. However, it indicates that James Marcus was the most evil of the bunch, who had a bigger hand in developing the T-Virus. After that, his protege, Brandon Bailey, made connections with The Connections, and the Raccoon City incident put the final nail in Spencer’s coffin. I.e., The Connections conspired to put the blame solely on Spencer, and after Umbrella fell apart, the Connections seized their assets. Witnessing his empire crumble down in front of his eyes, Spencer seemed to have started repenting, but his project of Elpis existed long before this, and the reason for it remains a mystery.",[20,91,93],{"id":92},"the-raccoon-city-syndrome","The Raccoon City Syndrome",[11,95,96],{},[58,97],{"alt":98,"src":99},"Grace: Are you okay? Leon: Me? Feel like a million bucks.","\u002Fmedia\u002Fuploads\u002F1774827403657-876378621.webp",[11,101,102],{},"The Raccoon City Syndrome is where we say, “Oh, the plot thickens!” In short, if you were a survivor of the Raccoon City viral outbreak, chances are you’re now infected with a strain of the T-Virus. Nonetheless, 98 was decades ago, so how come we didn’t see anyone before Requiem suffer from the infection or Ada going berserk and trying to kill Leon in RE 4, for that matter? Turns out, it is a dormant strain of the virus, meaning, if you’ve been a happy-go-lucky survivor for decades, now you might have black marks appearing on your skin, and eventually you’ll cough blood and die.",[11,104,105],{},"At this time, we get the news that both Leon and Sherry are infected, and Raccoon City survivors are slowly dying one by one. It seems that even though Sherry has regenerative healing powers stemming from the residual G-Virus she had in her system, she also has the dormant T-Virus infection finally kicking in. We can only assume that Jill, Claire, Carlos, and Ada are infected as well. I read somewhere that the T-virus wasn’t airborne until it reached the city, indicating that Chris, Barry, Rebecca, or Wesker, for that matter, weren’t infected. But this is just speculation, and as far as I have gathered, no explanation is given in the game. What’s more, it seems that somehow Zeno was exposed to the T-Virus, and we don’t know how.",[11,107,108],{},"Truth be told, keeping up with a 30-year-old story is exhausting, and connecting all the dots seems impossible. So, in the case of the Raccoon City Syndrome, it’s best to stick to the basics and not overthink. If we’re able to do that, it becomes a nice little plot point that builds tension and adds another strong yearning to see the fate of our beloved heroes.",[20,110,112],{"id":111},"the-questionable-writing-continues","The questionable writing continues…",[11,114,115],{},"While this story is undeniably intriguing, it’s raising a couple of eyebrows as well. For example, it is unlikely that a competent scientist like Victor Gideon would miss the fact for years that it was a wild goose chase. The documents found throughout the game even suggest that he has been able to partially receive Grace’s genetic information as early as the year 2004. This suggests that even if the information was incomplete, he had more than 20 years to figure out whether it was actually from a clone. Besides, why would he wait so long to kidnap Grace? He practically wasted Zeno and everyone’s time. Given how he speaks, however, he definitely doesn’t seem like the sharpest tool in the shed.",[11,117,118],{},"The uncanny resemblance between Grace and the cloned girls is also causing a lot of confusion among the fans, and in reality, it is just a Red Herring that the developers used to distract and misdirect the players into thinking that Grace is actually cloned.",[11,120,121],{},"Let’s look at the whole kidnapping-Grace fiasco for a bit. Instead of safely abducting Grace as they did in RE 4 with Ashley, Gideon sends assassin zombies after Grace. Once she was kidnapped, he let her wander through a care center with literal zombie giants crawling around. He puts the life of the one person who has all the answers to his questions in danger. What were the writers thinking? This is why RE 4’s story made much more sense. They let Leon live because he was infected, and by the midpoint, they consider him one of their own. Saddler eventually seeks to control him, and in the meantime, Saddler does everything in his power to retrieve Ashley and keep her at his side since Ashley is valuable to him. No such thing happens in Requiem.",[11,123,124],{},"Plus, how moronic it is for Zeno and Gideon to conveniently assume that Grace would waltz in to provide the password even if it’s etched into her memory after everything she’s been through?",[11,126,127,128,132],{},"In RE 4, Leon is a pain in the neck for Salazar, Saddler, Krauser, and everybody involved. It’s fair to see them getting frustrated with Leon hanging around them, trying to save Ashley like a cockroach; hence, their behavior is understandable. But why is Gideon so frustrated and says, ",[129,130,131],"em",{},"“I’ve had enough of you!”","? Gideon literally had so many chances to kill Leon if he wanted, because Leon is apparently no match for him. Leon hasn’t even done anything drastic to make him this mad, and it’s just hilarious.",[11,134,135],{},"Now, look at some things Leon does for a change. After being escorted inside the care center in the first place by the nurse, Leon literally stands there till she gets sliced and diced by the chainsaw surgeon, which is downright laughable. Leon has plenty of time to realize the doctor is turned, and Leon is never known to be sluggish. Still, he does nothing. Who wrote this again?",[11,137,138],{},"I could point this out all day long, but I’ll add one more thing and shut up. I can’t help but notice again and again how slow Leon’s character is written. When Grace disrespectfully throws the high-powered magnum revolver, Requiem, right back at Leon and decides to go with Dr. Gideon, Leon is within earshot. It’s difficult to believe that Leon doesn’t go after her, even though he conveniently coughs up blood and gets deterred. He literally lets her leave, and then goes to save her. “He is sick,” some would exclaim. I would counter that this is the same guy who, maybe a few minutes later, would slay a massive spider, and that says a lot about his strength. What were the writers smoking?",[11,140,141],{},"Don’t get me started on what Leon says about “Not hitting any of her vitals.” I for one shot Emily’s head and heart, and I wasn’t dreaming. But, yet again, we are supposed to believe that Elpis, the cure-all, magically saved Emily.",[20,143,145],{"id":144},"nostalgia-how-much-is-too-much","Nostalgia, how much is too much?",[11,147,148],{},[58,149],{"alt":150,"src":151},"Ah shit, Here we go again!","\u002Fmedia\u002Fuploads\u002F1774827644953-108111605.webp",[11,153,154],{},"The developers might have thought, “Having just Leon isn’t enough, we’ve gotta bring more!” For those fangirling over Leon for decades (Me included), just seeing him in a new title is the answer to all their prayers. His model is created to perfection, so much so that he can make anyone who’s in front of him a little weak in the knees. BUT, apparently, he needed to be reminded of everything that he’s been through over the past three decades to multiply his torture.",[11,156,157],{},"Returning to the Raccoon Police Department itself is quite cathartic, especially with the old background score. However, it’s just the ruined setting from the Resident Evil 2 Remake. There’s nothing but a few optional puzzles to solve there. Frankly, as soon as I went inside, I wanted to get out. I can’t put my finger on it, but it felt too much. Then, the players are greeted by Mr. X, followed by a rinse-and-repeat boss battle. What’s worse, the writers haven’t forgotten to spoonfeed the players by making Leon say, “I remember you.”",[11,159,160],{},"Another example is Plant 43. How many monstrous plants are going to be there in this series? Then the Lickers. Mind you, this was one of the most powerful enemy types we have encountered in Resident Evil 2, yet these can be killed in one blow by Leon’s hatchet if the attack is executed when they aren’t alerted. Not only did they bring back one of the most iconic enemy types, but they also insulted them by making them feeble.",[11,162,163],{},"Last but not least, Leon meets The Commander, or implied as Hunk, another beloved character in the past games. This fight is supposed to remind us (Because we have amnesia, we don’t remember anything) of the knife fight with Major Krauser in Resident Evil 4, original and the remake.",[11,165,166],{},"What about the wannabe Wesker? This gullible, weak, and less charismatic copy of Wesker brings nothing to the table. Seen as a wasted potential among players, he has no backstory or anything intriguing about him. At this point in the game, we can only assume that the writers were out of ideas and attempted to hide their shortcomings by bringing all the past ideas into this game.",[11,168,169],{},"But, wait, the nostalgia dump isn’t over yet. Gideon turns into Nemesis, and the final boss fight entails fighting with an exact copy of the Nemesis from the Resident Evil 3 remake. Now, that feels desperate, and Capcom should consider hiring some new writers and designers and at least try to be creative next time.",[11,171,172],{},"Although it’s convenient to think that the writers were out of ideas, I do understand why this might have happened. It has a lot to do with the title itself. It’s a Requiem for the dead, and Leon is confronted by his old nightmares, one last time. Hence, the ridiculous amount of copied and pasted gameplay and storylines. Nonetheless, did it land? I don’t think so, and I genuinely think it’s exhausting and shallow. Writing Leon’s return to RPD was the right call; the overloaded nostalgia wasn’t. We ought to wait for a few months for real RE fans to call it out.",[15,174,176],{"id":175},"wrapping-up","Wrapping up",[11,178,179],{},[58,180],{"alt":181,"src":182},"Hasta luego!","\u002Fmedia\u002Fuploads\u002F1774827836174-420383878.webp",[11,184,185,186,189],{},"Requiem’s story sometimes doesn’t add up, but it isn’t my main issue. My concern is why have they kind of dumbed down Leon’s character and made virtually nonsensical antagonists? Are the writers getting old, too? ",[129,187,188],{},"A senior moment perhaps?"," Are these the same people who invented Albert Wesker, Krauser, Saddler, Nemesis, the Baker couple, even Ustanak from RE 6, etc.?",[11,191,192],{},"If you dissect everything a little deeper, you’ll probably realize that narratives in the Resident Evil universe are not credible in any way, and it is OKAY. It has been OKAY for three decades. Because, as hardcore fans of Resident Evil, we’re accustomed to seeing weirder crap over the years. However, when it comes to Requiem’s story, they went astray even by Resident Evil standards.",[11,194,195],{},"The majority of this story is half-baked and unconvincing to the point that it becomes one of the worst in the series. Forget about crafting an intricate, layered, or inventive story with twists; weaving a basic story with realistic characters that make conceivable choices should be the bare minimum. This one doesn’t hold its own among some previous installments, and it shows.",{"title":197,"searchDepth":198,"depth":198,"links":199},"",2,[200,207,213],{"id":17,"depth":198,"text":18,"children":201},[202,204,205,206],{"id":22,"depth":203,"text":23},3,{"id":32,"depth":203,"text":33},{"id":39,"depth":203,"text":40},{"id":46,"depth":203,"text":47},{"id":53,"depth":198,"text":54,"children":208},[209,210,211,212],{"id":70,"depth":203,"text":71},{"id":92,"depth":203,"text":93},{"id":111,"depth":203,"text":112},{"id":144,"depth":203,"text":145},{"id":175,"depth":198,"text":176},[],"2026-03-29","Let’s dive into Resident Evil 9 Requiem's writing, its characters, plot holes, and why the story had so much potential yet failed. Spoilers included.",false,"md",null,"\u002Fmedia\u002Fuploads\u002F1774827016667-443130930.webp",{},true,"Games & Storytelling","\u002Fblog\u002Fwriting-life\u002Fresident-evil-9-requiem-story-review",{"title":5,"description":216},"[object Object]","resident-evil-9-requiem-story-review","blog\u002Fwriting-life\u002Fresident-evil-9-requiem-story-review","NajUiZzIT_oubRVo54AUsNmsCVH-OlQ8Jbxv7c03A28",[231,391],{"id":232,"title":233,"author":6,"body":234,"categories":375,"created_at":381,"description":382,"draft":217,"extension":218,"head":219,"image":383,"image_alt":219,"meta":384,"navigation":222,"ogImage":219,"page":223,"path":385,"robots":219,"schemaOrg":219,"seo":386,"sitemap":226,"slug":387,"stem":388,"updated_at":389,"__hash__":390},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Fgames-and-storytelling\u002Falan-wake-2-review.md","The Gorgeous Disappointment: Alan Wake 2 (Spoiler-free review)",{"type":8,"value":235,"toc":368},[236,242,246,249,252,255,258,261,267,271,274,277,280,283,286,289,292,295,301,304,307,310,313,319,323,326,329,332,336,339,345,349,352,355,358,361],[237,238,239],"blockquote",{},[11,240,241],{},"Disappointing. Boring. A walking simulator—This is how underwhelming some reviewers find Alan Wake 2 to be. Although this game might be an acquired taste, what would a fan of Alan Wake 1 who was also deeply invested in its narrative say?",[15,243,245],{"id":244},"story","Story",[11,247,248],{},"Alan Wake 1 set the bar quite high with its gripping yet conceivable story that offered a smooth resolution and satisfaction at the end. The story in the second game follows the return of Alan Wake, who was previously drowned in Cauldron Lake, and how they, Alex Casey, and a brand-new protagonist, Saga Anderson, attempt to put a stop to the “Dark Presence” that got out with Wake.",[11,250,251],{},"The first installment was all about Alan Wake, the magical phenomena around Bright Falls and Cauldron Lake, and his survival as a writer who resorts to a flashlight, a gun, and his writing. This storyline felt more personal and relatable, and Alan Wake was more than likable, unlike how he is portrayed in the new story.",[11,253,254],{},"The second game, on the other hand, pushes Alex Casey’s narrative a bit too much to the point that I just wanted to get it over with. Sometimes I couldn’t help but feel as if it was a way to forcibly include Sam Lake (Remedy's creative director and the face model for Alex Casey) in the game’s narrative. The cult, the cult leaders, and their motives for rituals and whatnot are somewhat interesting and don’t take our attention away from the protagonist’s plight. Plus, Alan Wake 2 provides answers to most of the things that happened in 2010.",[11,256,257],{},"However, Saga’s involvement in the story and making her the visible protagonist turns Alan Wake into a rather feeble character, sidelining him in his own story. What’s worse, Saga addresses Alan Wake as “a white A**hole” near the end of the game, which made me slightly nauseated. Even if this was the writers’ grand way of implying that it’s never good to be racist, it adds nothing to the narrative and is unnecessary, especially for a video game of this scale.",[11,259,260],{},"Not to mention, the new narrative seems even more complex than it’s supposed to be, as if they desperately tried to make an intricate story just for the sake of it. The ending, however, lacks resolution and is anxiety-inducing. Some might argue about the unsolved ending of Alan Wake. Comparatively, even though the first game didn’t give us all the answers, it still felt pretty good at the end and made me crave a sequel for many years.",[11,262,263],{},[58,264],{"alt":265,"src":266},"It Started Off So... Well","\u002Fmedia\u002Fuploads\u002F1775742148001-847791739.webp",[15,268,270],{"id":269},"gameplay","Gameplay",[11,272,273],{},"Alan Wake 2 gameplay starts on a high note, not to mention one of the most impressive openings I’ve seen in years. The graphics are impeccable, and the gloomy atmosphere around the lake and the forest complements the story and beautifully captures the vibe of the previous game, which is an ode to Alan Wake. The character designs are also a pro.",[11,275,276],{},"But, the gamers, including myself, who anticipated going in with guns blazing like before, were taken aback by the snail’s pace gameplay and tedious case-solving inside Saga’s head, A.K.A. the mind place. Put simply, I didn’t expect to dive into a case board at the very beginning of the game. Despite this, when I encountered the first boss, it was exhilarating, difficult even in the easy mode, and foreshadowed a challenging gameplay for the rest of the game. Boy, was I wrong!",[11,278,279],{},"The above-mentioned gameplay element of case-solving becomes incredibly monotonous since it’s a reiteration of what exactly happened a few minutes ago. All you need to do is put some pictures in order and link the cases to come to a verdict that you’ve already come to. Saga’s profiling is accompanied by repeated animations and, quite frankly, even more unenthusiastic live-action cut-scenes playing in the background.",[11,281,282],{},"In terms of the playable characters, their sluggish movements discouraged me from covering more ground. Evidently, the spacious world needs to be explored, but when the characters run and dodge at a glacial pace, the fun of exploring is dissipated. Even sorting items and moving them around feels cumbersome. Although it’s unfair to compare it with Resident Evil, even the older games like Resident Evil 4 excelled at inventory management.",[11,284,285],{},"Cult boxes scattered around the world are another delight. If you aren’t math-savvy, like me, get ready to Google the answers to the math problems that need to be solved in order to collect the loot inside. In my case, my husband solved the problems on my behalf. But, as a gamer, I would like to do them all by myself, and as a result, I was completely irritated because the game wasn’t meant for goons like me. Even if you get a kick out of solving math problems and opening boxes one after the other, the rewards aren’t good enough. Besides the occasional new weapon that you’ll find, the effort just isn’t worth it. Most of the time, it’s either some health kits, ammo, or flares.",[11,287,288],{},"The issue is that even if you disregard the lack of satisfaction, you won’t need an abundance of ammo or health kits just to pass by two or three enemies. The enemies aren’t that impressive either, and there isn’t enough variety as well. Boss battles are just mediocre, and nothing groundbreaking was done to elevate them above average.",[11,290,291],{},"Even the charms you receive by solving the nursery rhymes aren’t that useful; most of mine were leisurely put away in the shoebox (storage), except for some, for example, the one that increased the charge of the flashlight.",[11,293,294],{},"The weapon upgrade system is another bust. The system itself isn’t half bad, but again, the question is—why? When there aren’t enough enemies populated around the world, or difficult ones for that matter, your weapon upgrades or supplies don’t matter. Why would anyone bother upgrading them if there is no significant use for them?",[11,296,297],{},[58,298],{"alt":299,"src":300},"Why? Just Why? Photo: yang","\u002Fmedia\u002Fuploads\u002F1775743881135-299972736.webp",[11,302,303],{},"Nevertheless, having the option to change reality halfway through to switch between Saga and Alan’s story is clever. Likewise, how Alan can change scenes and alter his environment by typing on his typewriter is another brilliant addition.",[11,305,306],{},"Although the settings are exceptional and they are the epitome of horror, and the music makes your heart beat faster, when you anticipate something to come right at you, nothing comes at all. Sometimes, you won’t even have to discharge a single bullet or arrow.",[11,308,309],{},"I am more than willing to forgive the occasional T-posing (The neutral resting position for 3D models when they stand straight, creating a T shape with arms extended to the sides) and suddenly falling through the floor bits in Alan Wake 2. But, sometimes you’ll spend a LOT of time wondering what to do, even if you have the answer in your hands, say a fuse for instance, just because the game unnecessarily holds you until you progress to some parts. Things like these make the game feel broken.",[11,311,312],{},"I mostly enjoyed where I could play as Saga, primarily because I liked the Coffee World level, and most of her sections were in the forest. As for Alan, I was yawning during the subway section, and all I wanted was to get out of there and resume playing as Saga, which I did. There wasn’t anything exciting in Alan’s walkthrough, except for the latter part when Alan enters the forest for just 1 or 2 minutes. Letting us play as Alan in the forest with his flashlight and gun, followed by the classic Alan Wake music, was enough to induce nostalgia and put a smile on my face. This underscores the small changes that could’ve been made to create another video game that is worth mentioning decades later, just like the first one.",[11,314,315],{},[58,316],{"alt":317,"src":318},"Incredible!","\u002Fmedia\u002Fuploads\u002F1775743115397-919386509.webp",[15,320,322],{"id":321},"visuals","Visuals",[11,324,325],{},"The visuals are stunning. Alan Wake 2 could essentially be the cornerstone for the aesthetics of future horror games. However, I have noticed some issues with its lighting. For instance, when you go inside a house, the outside appears to be very bright, and once you step outside, it becomes significantly darker. The other inconsistency with lighting is that, when you clearly see the sun and sun rays around you, it feels like broad daylight, but in some areas, Taken (The shadowy enemies) come and attack you even though it’s not nighttime.",[11,327,328],{},"Superimposing two visuals together to indicate that you’re in another reality is wise, too.",[11,330,331],{},"Speaking of showing things, Alan Wake 2 is packed with cheap jump scares. They do not do anything but make you furious. The first game also had its fair share of jump scares, but they had a purpose, and you actually could do something. For instance, a Taken would come out of nowhere, and you have to shoot it before it kills you, which is fun and rewarding.",[15,333,335],{"id":334},"music","Music",[11,337,338],{},"The eerie surroundings are supplemented with creepy music, and the Old Gods of Asgard didn’t disappoint this time around as well. Alan Wake’s musical with Herald of Darkness playing in the background was one of my favorite sequences of the game. Some of the other tracks featured in the game from various artists were also entertaining.",[11,340,341],{},[58,342],{"alt":343,"src":344},"The Best Musical Ever!","\u002Fmedia\u002Fuploads\u002F1775743517335-89105862.webp",[15,346,348],{"id":347},"verdict-is-it-a-bad-game","Verdict - Is it a bad game?",[11,350,351],{},"Is it a bad narrative? No. Is it a detective game? No. Unless you think sorting some pictures on a board is. Is it a survival horror game? It screams interactive drama horror rather than a survival horror. The bottom line is that the balance between scarcity of supplies and having more formidable enemies is lost. I love a good interactive drama horror video game, if it were marketed as such. Then again, the gameplay and drama, so to speak, need to be balanced.",[11,353,354],{},"So, is it a bad game? No, but unfortunately, it’s not good.",[11,356,357],{},"In all honesty, playing Alan Wake 2 felt exhausting, so much so that I couldn’t play it for several days after getting started. I only continued because, of course, we paid for the game and I had to finish it to see the ending, and even that didn’t go as planned.",[11,359,360],{},"When it comes to the fresh face of Saga, she’s an exceptional character, and her gameplay was generally a fun experience. Hadn’t her character been written to undermine the hero, the game could have had the potential to be a tad more likable.",[11,362,363,364],{},"As a gamer who thoroughly enjoyed the first game more than a decade earlier, I had high hopes for Alan Wake 2. Be that as it may, its unparalleled visuals, some game mechanics, some bosses, the mighty musical, and music aside, Alan Wake is truly a ",[365,366,367],"strong",{},"beautiful disappointment.",{"title":197,"searchDepth":198,"depth":198,"links":369},[370,371,372,373,374],{"id":244,"depth":198,"text":245},{"id":269,"depth":198,"text":270},{"id":321,"depth":198,"text":322},{"id":334,"depth":198,"text":335},{"id":347,"depth":198,"text":348},[376,377,378,379,380],"alanwake2","alan-wake","remedy-entertainment","game-review","video-game-review","2024-03-06","An honest spoiler-free Alan Wake 2 review by an Alan Wake 1 fan. Impressive visuals, weak gameplay, and an underwhelming story. ","\u002Fmedia\u002Fuploads\u002F1775741731406-218565875.webp",{},"\u002Fblog\u002Fgames-and-storytelling\u002Falan-wake-2-review",{"title":233,"description":382},"the-merchant-in-resident-evil-4","blog\u002Fgames-and-storytelling\u002Falan-wake-2-review","2026-04-09","41pAZz1moEaaiEeI49ge42b6nAWhxvQ5QRo9g-dFQoA",{"id":392,"title":393,"author":6,"body":394,"categories":481,"created_at":486,"description":487,"draft":217,"extension":218,"head":219,"image":488,"image_alt":219,"meta":489,"navigation":222,"ogImage":219,"page":223,"path":490,"robots":219,"schemaOrg":219,"seo":491,"sitemap":226,"slug":492,"stem":493,"updated_at":486,"__hash__":494},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Fgames-and-storytelling\u002Fthe-merchant-in-resident-evil-4.md","The Enigmatic NPC: Secrets Behind The Merchant in Resident Evil 4",{"type":8,"value":395,"toc":475},[396,401,405,408,412,415,418,421,424,428,431,434,440,443,446,449,452,455,458,462],[237,397,398],{},[11,399,400],{},"The age-old question remains: How does the merchant survive through the Resident Evil 4 game world? Over the years, fans have come up with countless theories. As a hardcore fan of both the original Resident Evil 4 (RE:4 OG) and the Remake, I intend to go through some of them and suggest my own theory.",[15,402,404],{"id":403},"who-is-this-merchant","Who is this Merchant?",[11,406,407],{},"Introduced in Resident Evil 4 in 2005, the merchant was placed in the game as a literal replacement for a physical shop. This NPC was designed with a long black trench coat, which he uses to store most of his weapons and other items. The majority of his face is covered with a bandana, thereby allowing him to blend in while concealing his identity. Adding to the mystery factor, he has a thick, more stylized version of a British accent. This might be the grand giveaway that he, in fact, goes out of his way to differentiate himself from the crowd and present himself as a gruff weapons dealer. Here, we could speculate that he might be one of the villagers, or someone from that area, but he doesn’t want anybody to know about it.",[15,409,411],{"id":410},"how-does-he-survive-in-the-game-world-fan-theories","How does he survive in the game world? (Fan theories)",[11,413,414],{},"Some of the fan theories are far-fetched, whereas some are pretty believable. Capcom, in this regard, plays coy with us since they need to keep this perfect NPC’s character as opaque as possible.",[11,416,417],{},"One theory is that the Merchant himself is infected, given his weird-looking eyes in the OG. This idea suggests that he took a suppressant, similar to what Luis Serra did. On the one hand, I believe that the Merchant is far more capable of finding a better cure for himself, because, in the remake, he has many recipes that he’s so eager to sell. On the other hand, he wouldn’t sell a cure even if one existed, as it would easily expose his abilities to the cult and ultimately make him a victim again. But if he was once infected and now the Plaga is dormant, or he managed to completely get rid of it, it’s unlikely that he would stay in this volatile setting.",[11,419,420],{},"The other theory is that he is not human, which is my least favorite and a bit of a stretch in the Resident Evil 4 setting. This might be primarily stemming from his glowing eyes in the OG. However, Capcom may have had second thoughts about retaining his original eyes as it pertains to a more supernatural aspect. This could be the reason why he looks more human in the remake.",[11,422,423],{},"This last theory is my personal favorite, with which I also resonate. Most believe that he has simply made a deal with the cult, the Los Illuminados. When dissecting this theory, I find it more plausible because, after all, he sells high-powered weapons and supplies. I mean, rocket launchers? How convenient it is for the cultists to have a merchant with supplies of this magnitude? So, in exchange, he was maybe given a lifeline and a free pass to roam around.",[15,425,427],{"id":426},"my-theory-just-hear-me-out","My theory (Just hear me out)",[11,429,430],{},"As I said before, I choose to believe that the Merchant and the cult struck a deal — a win-win situation for both parties. He could set up his shop wherever he wishes to, and in return, the cultists get state-of-the-art supplies.",[11,432,433],{},"The Merchant himself calls Leon, “Over here, stranger!” implying that he’s been doing business for a long time in the area, and this is one of the rare occasions he has come across a capable man who would make good use of his supplies. However, I think Osmund Saddler would nip the danger in the bud if he knew that the Merchant was selling weapons to someone other than his subordinates. Therefore, he would put, for example, Ganado to spy on the Merchant so that Saddler could keep himself in the loop. This might be the reason why the Merchant has opted for a blue\u002Fpurple light to illuminate the area of his shop. We could theorize that he uses the light as a precaution, even though he knows that the parasites are only active at night. This is exactly why he leaves a note to inform Leon, or anyone else for that matter, that a flash grenade would instantly kill the parasites. Perhaps, he doesn’t like the villagers or the cultists to come near his shop.",[11,435,436],{},[58,437],{"alt":438,"src":439},"Ashley Blue Light Resident Evil 4 Remake","\u002Fmedia\u002Fre4-remake-Ashley-Blue-Light.png",[11,441,442],{},"In Resident Evil 4 Remake, Leon must fight off Plaga-infested knights in the castle’s armory, where Ashley, being the supportive company that she is, helps Leon by stunning them with “Blue Lanterns.” Even in Ashley’s gameplay section, she uses a blue lantern to temporarily incapacitate the armored knights. All in all, the Merchant’s blue light may also help him feel safer even when the sun shines brightly in the sky, and it automatically makes his presence a safe haven for Leon as well. Not to mention, after mayhem, the soothing music provides the instant serenity and calming effect that players are longing for.",[11,444,445],{},"Another thing that I missed during my first few playthroughs of RE: 4 remake was the lantern beside the merchant’s table. Whenever we’re purchasing something, the lantern is lit with a bright blue color. Perhaps to protect his “bits and bobs” from parasite-ridden enemies? Well, these are just my observations, nothing more.",[11,447,448],{},"In short, he has ostracized himself, he is well aware of the terrain, he knows how to exploit the situation, and above all—sells to anyone who has “cash”. He seems to be a businessman worth his salt. He knows there’s a fight, and he sells to both parties, in his own words, during “hard times.” Be that as it may, to counter this idea, the remake is giving us a clue or a snippet of his personal agenda as well. Towards the latter part of the game, he once says, “I can hardly contain myself! You’re really gonna do it, stranger!” indicating that perhaps he’s rooting for Leon; rather, he’s rooting for anyone who could put a stop to the ongoing madness. He might be well-informed that he won’t be doing business any longer, and it’s high time he took his leave. Moreover, he refers to himself as “us,” hinting that there are many merchants like him or he’s not alone. Undoubtedly, a businessman of his calibre would be insane to plant himself in a hellhole like this without some sort of backup after all. Even in RE: Village, the merchant character is making subtle hints about his knowledge of the Merchant from Resident Evil 4 and calls him a friend, clearly suggesting that they have their own network.",[11,450,451],{},"But, most probably, he’s just a gameplay convenience. A personification of a physical shop to add that extra personal touch and mystery element to the game, and we are just overthinking it! That’s it!",[11,453,454],{},"The best part is that, although he’s a mysterious businessman with limited dialogue and screen time, fans love him and were quite worked up about him never making an appearance after RE: 4. But props to the development team for preserving the merchant’s original design and characteristics with minimal changes and, better yet, creating a phenomenal remake that will stand the test of time.",[11,456,457],{},"Do you think he’ll ever make a comeback? What do YOU think about the blue\u002Fpurple torch? Over here, stranger! Let’s chat!",[15,459,461],{"id":460},"some-fun-facts-about-the-merchant-from-re4","Some fun facts about the Merchant from RE:4",[463,464,465,469,472],"ol",{},[466,467,468],"li",{},"The Merchant’s long trench coat was inspired by the cloak worn by Neptuneman in the Kinnikuman series.",[466,470,471],{},"In Resident Evil 4 (2005), if you kill the Merchant, he stays dead in that specific location and respawns in the next area. In the remake, however, we can’t kill him, oh well",[466,473,474],{},"The Merchant in the original game was voiced by Paul Mercier, the same voice actor who has given Leon his iconic, sassy, and masculine voice.",{"title":197,"searchDepth":198,"depth":198,"links":476},[477,478,479,480],{"id":403,"depth":198,"text":404},{"id":410,"depth":198,"text":411},{"id":426,"depth":198,"text":427},{"id":460,"depth":198,"text":461},[482,380,483,484,485],"resident-evil","video-games-industry","resident-evil-4","video-game-journalism","2025-07-23","The age-old question remains: How does the merchant survive through the Resident Evil 4 game world? Over the years, fans have come up with countless theories.","\u002Fmedia\u002Fuploads\u002F1775744197236-877908794.webp",{},"\u002Fblog\u002Fgames-and-storytelling\u002Fthe-merchant-in-resident-evil-4",{"title":393,"description":487},"the-merchant-in-resident-evil-4-the-secret-behind-the-enigmatic-npc","blog\u002Fgames-and-storytelling\u002Fthe-merchant-in-resident-evil-4","Lp6525b2CmNw6sKTlzI2odXzY_D2M-yWCZkOK9vW7vI",1775962371970]