Am I too late to review this beautiful unit from our beloved action horror franchise? I would say, I’m not. Despite some mixed opinions I spotted across different communities, I took my time rather than huffing and puffing for a conclusion. And this is my review for Resident Evil Survival Unit.
Resident Evil Survival Unit is a survival horror strategy title from Aniplex Inc. and JOYCITY Corp. The game became available a few days ago, followed by a soft launch in select regions last September. After the game went global, I quickly installed it. I played it on my Samsung S20 SE. The device may be a couple of years old, but it’s powered by a Snapdragon 865 5G (7 nm+) chipset, perfectly capable of running games like this one.
If you’re starting, you can check our initial coverage of Resident Evil Survival Unit, such as a beginner’s guide. And you can also get some freebies by using the codes from our promo codes guide. And if you face any troubles, seek help from the direction provided in our customer support guide.
Gameplay is decent, and you cannot expect more in this compact size
The first thing is, it is not even that compact. But again, I couldn’t complain much. There’s little room to debate the materials in-game, given what it provides. For example, the game offers true base-building elements, adding more weight by the inclusion of joystick-controlled mini-campaigns.
Resident Evil Survival Unit remains what a horror survival game needs. I have base-upgrading objectives, surrounded by other establishments such as Research Lab, Hospital, Resource Warehouse, Command Centre, etc. Every place serves a purpose, and yes, you will know them soon, just like I did. After playing for a few moments, I acquired heroes, which turns out to be a complete gacha system once the Helipad section is unlocked, and they are iconic characters from the RE franchise.
The goal that was looming on my head was to progress and survive. So I need resources to upgrade the Mansion. Even if the game provides tons of materials in early chapters, it will stop after unlocking the Field, which is basically the World system/server.
The title has a lot of things going on, normal for a real-time strategy with base-building elements. I unlocked the heroes and formed a squad. I levelled them up; basically, there are two kinds of upgrade systems. Each will improve a hero’s strength and eventually increase your squad power. I made a hero tier list guide; you can check that to know more.
The things don’t end here as the game provides a barrage of events, rally mode, exploration, and mini puzzle games. There are always several things going on in this game to kill your time. I fought against zombies, and the game turned into an RTS, then I also practised and played real-time against other players in the Arena mode. Exploration mode lets a player fight against hordes of zombies, like a tower defence game.
A story builds up in the beginning, only to perish later
Yeah, the game followed the hard and fast rules of having a story so that players feel for it and have something to catch on to continue. But I strongly believe that if it were ignorable, the developers would never tell us a story. The existence of those introductions and so-called level-based story just doesn’t work on this one. And the game starts from? Oh, not again! In a Hospital, where else?
I woke up and got dressed after realising I had gotten caught up with the zombies when travelling to Raccoon City. Now, I have no idea how I ended up in this Mansion, which will later turn out to be my base of operations. Then I moved to explore the place, which is where the game first let me control the operative with a joystick.
For obvious reasons, the game drew heavy inspiration from State of Survival. Though I don’t complain much about it because what else would the game put in if it is not the same elements from a zombie survival game? I mean, the genre demands what the game has right now, and it’s true that similar games under the same genre will have quite identical elements.
The story then introduces the place and the goals. I unlocked quite a few heroes within the first hour. However, the chapter-based system, where you should be guided by the objective of the story, simply stops. Yes, the story just drops, and the game becomes a base-building game in full.
The RE franchise has been running for so long and still appears with the same appeal. We remember the corporation, characters, locations, and those electrifying zombies. So, the game had so many fronts to start with a story. Instead, it chose to be a complete build-to-play title with a pay-to-win model, which I discussed later.
The graphics and sound deliver what you need, not more, not less
Zombie survival games that look colourful lack the principle of visual representation. It becomes more like a controllable animation with fancy designs on top. The very feeling and experience horror game should be able to send is possible by wearing a gloomy coat and a dark atmosphere.
Resident Evil Survival Unit doesn’t have the burden to present itself as a near-console level game; rather, small screen gamers prioritise experience and expect some good time from the titles. This one is quite successful in this sense. It won’t provide an exaggerated experience or graphics. Rather, I knew from the very first moment that I was inside a horror game.
I do admit that the game has a lack of sharpness, and close combat in third-person mode looks average, mimicking the graphics from the last decade. But the large-scale artworks, graphics, and animations did get quite a nice touch, which didn’t let me complain much. The people involved behind the visuals are the best in their job, and when I saw names like Yoshitaka Amano (popular and famous for his artwork on Final Fantasy), you know the rest.
The work on its sound design is also decent. I wouldn’t say it’s super awesome or above average, but let me assure you, the game hasn’t left much to complain about either. The sound will provide an ambience of a dark and horror-filled surrounding.
It’s not worth mentioning except that it hasn’t buried the attention to detail rather worked a little on it. Resident Evil Survival Unit has weapon sounds, menu sounds (each different from another), etc. The lack of variety in gameplay stuck the game in the same place, so it doesn’t need a diverse sound either.
The game offers a user-friendly UI, one that helps to navigate quickly
The navigation menus, at first, may cause a bit of trouble as the game hurries to introduce the whole of it within the first few chapters. It does let one unlock a thing after another, but the elements are so many that I forgot what to do after a few levels.
I wondered how much the game would allow me to be into the character’s background. Little did I know that there wasn’t much room to be Leon S. Kennedy or Jill Valentine, or any other. I played RE games before, but this is disappointing.
But after I get settled, I know what to do. The UI is user-friendly, not hiding anything deep inside that I need to navigate through some steps. However, with so many things going on, the options don’t fit on a small screen, so I need to scroll and slide side to side to navigate the menu.
The buttons are designed well. I believe the game was developed to attract a large number of players. That’s why I saw it having some attention and care in some cases. However, the biggest flaw it has is that it starts as a player-friendly game but later grows into a money-driven one.
As expected, you are thrown a P2W model disguised in a friendly outfit
Now comes the interesting part. Who is the target audience of Resident Evil Survival Unit? The game has lags, glitches, and all, but the bottom line is you don’t feel welcome without spending money. I’m not talking about minimum, rather the game is heavily designed to take your money out.
As I mentioned earlier, there are lots of items, resources in the early game, but eventually, after hitting a wall where paying money is the only option to proceed. Besides the 3rd person sections, I found meaningless, the most hurtful thing for players is that the game becomes a pay-to-win.
You can’t get Legendary characters without spending. The gacha system uses a flare gun action, and you need to buy them to pull characters. The base building system is stuck at a point where you can’t upgrade more establishments because you need to unlock the Construction Queue, but that is also behind a paywall. Even if you have premium currency, you will need to pay money to unlock the queue. That’s why the progression becomes slow later.
Final Verdict
When it comes to summarising the title in a line, the game spreads a bit of chaos among players. I hoped the game would be player-friendly, reviving the classic feel of what an actual RE game can offer. The game is not perfect; it could have been so.
The early impression of the game took it this far, and players became hyped. But once it reaches the pay wall, there will be a decreasing number, I believe. However, the game did well in providing the vibe, characters, and Umbrella spreading fear to the living. Yes, you have to try it, and you can decide the best!
Resident Evil Survival Unit Review by GamingonPhone
Gameplay Mechanics - 6.5
Gamemodes and Storyline - 6
Graphics and Music - 7
Controls and UI - 7.5
Free-to-Play Elements - 5.5
6.5
Average
Resident Evil Survival Unit comes as a promising title from the renowned IP, that was let down by the overall offering. It comes with a decent effort on gameplay, sound and UI, but was pulled down with lackluster storyline.
That’s all from us for the Resident Evil Survival Unit Review! Did you find my review helpful? Let me know in the comments below!
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