Being of the survival horror genre,Resident Evilgames typically want players to complete objectives without getting hit as much as possible. Characters likeChris Redfield and Leon Kennedymay be more capable than the average human but they still feel pain just like everyone else. When enough damage is accumulated and left unchecked, the player character dies and progress is lost.
Since theResident Evilfranchise is still somewhat grounded in reality, Capcom makes things more difficult by adding a bevy of animations that reflect the pain characters experience. Shouts, limps, and staggers are a few of the ways injured characters convey their agony, with subsequent attacks resulting in longer and more pained expressions. While these animations do their job well, some of the longer-lasting ones make it hard for players to get back on their feet.
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Staggered Animations Have Been A Constant In The Resident Evil Franchise
Most protagonists inResident Evilgames have 3 health states: Fine, Caution, and Danger. “Fine” is color-coded green and denotes when a character has suffered little to no health damage. “Caution” is usually a toss-up, as the status can be color-coded yellow or orange depending on how much health the character has lost (yellow means above half health while orange is below half health). Lastly, a red “Danger” sign is displayed when players have taken significant damage and are close to death.
Save for “Fine” which has characters moving at their normal pace, the Caution and Danger states typically have special animations that play to convey damage. This takes the form of labored breathing, walking with a limp, or holding one hand to the chest. As an example.Jill Valentine in theResident Evil 3remakewill clutch at her abdomen when she hits the “Caution” state. This animation evolves into her walking with a heavier limp and pained expression when she enters the “Danger” phase.
The Damage Animations In Resident Evil Games Decrease The Possibility Of A Comeback
The problem of these damage animations lies in their longevity. As more damage is taken, the animations get longer and can only be alleviated by the use of a healing item such as aFirst Aid Spray or Herb. Without these items on hand (or should players choose not to use them for certain achievements), it becomes much harder to complete objectives. Going back to Jill Valentine, getting hit by the Nemesis once on normal difficulty is enough to put her into the Caution state. As players get up from the initial attack, the slowed animations of the Caution state increase the likelihood for Nemesis to hit Jill before she can recover. In this manner, it becomes advisable to avoid damage completely or risk taking more hits from a more disadvantageous health state.
Since the longer animations of the lower health states are so ingrained intoResident Evil, it can be difficult to remove them from the franchise. Longtime players would notice their absence no matter what perspective the game may be, ascharacters like Ethan Wintershave distinct low health movements from a first-person angle (he moves slower the more damage he takes). While longer animations heighten the tension, they also give players fewer options the lower their health is.
There may be a way to balance the animations. By slowing the characters' movements upon taking damage for a set amount of time,Capcomcan still show how much pain they are in before switching back to the default movement animations. This way, players can still find themselves at a momentary disadvantage before recovering their full movement speed. Injured characters that find themselves near death tend to ignore the pain they are in, so it would make sense to a certain extent. Giving players the opportunity to retaliate or retreat when they are low on health should be preferable to making them feel helpless and is a mark of improved gameplay elements.
Resident Evil 3 Remakeis available on PC, PS4, PS5, Switch, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.
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