Before I start, I just wanted to say I’ve always been a fan of Resident Evil. Growing up, my dad bought a lot of the games: Resident Evil 0, Resident Evil 2, Resident Evil 2 Revelations, Resident Evil 5, and Resident Evil 7. I vividly remember being at his house and just playing around with that dramatic ass bass booming on the TV when I was getting chased. Then, as I got older, I kept buying the Resident Evil games. I bought Resident Evil 3 and Resident Evil: Operation Raccoon City…see, barely anybody talks about that game; it was actually fire, but I’m drifting from the point, my bad. Even though I have the games, I’ve never actually completed any of them. They either got too difficult for me or a level made me chicken out. Either way, it never got done. I usually watched gameplays until recently.
I started playing Resident Evil 5 with my brother a few weeks ago. I made him play Sheva since I wanted to play Chris. A few years ago, I tried to play Resident Evil 5 by myself, but there was a certain level that made me chicken out, so I stopped playing. My brother and I were talking, and I don’t know how it came up in the conversation, but I convinced him to play co-op with me…and then we actually managed to complete the game. It was actually fucking crazy. I almost chickened out a few times, but it was hard to ditch the game when I saw how much my brother was enjoying it. So, naturally, I think I started having fun too.
Looking back, I also realized Resident Evil 5 wasn’t as scary as I remembered. A few of the bosses creeped me out, but I wasn’t alone, which made it better. Not to mention, I just love the game itself. I loved the story and all of the bosses, as creepy as they were. Additionally, I think Chris and Sheva are cool as shit. However, as much as I like the game, I perfectly understand why it gets backlash. To be completely honest, I don’t like the way Resident Evil 5 portrays Black people. At all. I actually think it’s tone deaf, and I don’t give a fuck when the game was made. It’s not the setting that makes me upset. There’s nothing wrong with making a game that takes place (anywhere) in Africa; it’s whether or not the culture is respected, and I think it falls flat. Portraying African people in this savage-like state when they’re infected, it rubs me the wrong way. Before any of you say anything, it’s actually confirmed that the Las Plagas parasite made the villagers revert to their ancestral practices. Now, I understand why other Black gamers aren’t offended. I understand both sides, but if people are expressing their discomfort over things like that, you can’t just dismiss it. People are uncomfortable for a reason. Also, before any of you come to me to talk about Resident Evil 4 or Resident Evil 6, I’m not here to talk about those games, as I cannot speak for the communities portrayed. I can only speak as a Black gamer, and other people of color should be allowed to express their discomfort if they have any.
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The following picture shows a journal entry from the game that proves my statements.
Anyway, this is why I think Capcom should fix a few things when - not if - they remake Resident Evil 5. One of the main things they should have is captions and translations for what the villagers are saying throughout the game. As you play the game, you can hear locals speaking in another language, which isn’t the problem. The problem is the player having a lack of understanding, which can often lead to a lack of respect. Because you are displaying a culture that isn’t often visible in the media, the very least you are responsible for is presenting things as respectfully as possible. Showing little things like that, it gives people an insight into the community and lets the player have curiosity. It gives them room to ask shit like…
- “What language are they speaking?”
- “Which country in Africa is this based on?”
You know, shit like that! I also want the game to humanize the people a bit more, and before y’all say anything, Resident Evil is actually good at humanizing background characters. I could easily remind you guys of the journal pages you can read in any of the games, reading about people slowly becoming undead and losing hope for the world around them. We both know there are several examples of shit like this. I also propose this idea because there are people who genuinely think the background characters are speaking gibberish, and I read that they’re actually speaking Swahili. Again, uneducated people often disrespect or dismiss what they don’t understand, whether it’s intentional or not. So, to prevent those talking points, captions and translations are needed…and honestly, that was my only critique. Of course, there’s bugs and shit, but the game is old as hell. Also, I’m not the type to talk about the technical parts of the game anyway.
Criticism aside, Resident Evil 5 is not a bad game. Actually, I want to go even further and say it’s one of the more fun Resident Evil games. I meant it when I said it felt like an arcade story game. It’s one of the shorter ones, too, so it’s a bit easier to play; plus, I can see myself replaying it a few years from now. It’s a good time regardless of how you play it (by yourself or with a friend). I also want to say that beating Resident Evil 5 gave me the confidence to try and beat other games in the franchise. Right now, I’m playing the first Resident Evil. The fixed camera angles threw me off a bit, but it was easy for me to get used to them. I found a bundle of it and Resident Evil 0 on sale, so it was just good timing. Speaking of which, I also want to play the Revelations games and finish them. As I said before, I was already a fan, but beating Resident Evil 5 made me fall in love with the franchise. I’m happy to be a fan, and I’m happy I got to gush about it. Thanks for listening!
- P.S. Stay the absolute FUCK away from the fandom! If you’ve ever interacted with it, you know exactly why. LMAOOOO
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