Don’t Bother With Resident Evil Revelations 2’s Bonus Episodes

The complete version of Resident Evil Revelations 2 hits today, meaning you can get all episodes digitally or on disc. The retail version includes two bonus episodes, which are also available to purchase digitally. I played through both after finishing Revelations 2 to see what they offer, and I was not impressed. 

You're best playing the bonus episodes after completing the main story, as they fill in some blanks that you wouldn't understand otherwise. Moira stars in The Struggle, which shows some of her time on the island trying to survive, interacting with a new character, and learning new weaponry. The other episode, Little Miss, centers on Natalia locating her lost teddy bear and confronting another version of herself. Since Moira and Natalia functioned as support characters in the main campaign, I was excited to see them get the spotlight.

Both episodes try to add something different to gameplay. In The Struggle, Moira scrounges for rations by hunting wildlife. You have a limited time to pick up these rations, and you can only carry five. Rations count as your lives, which means it's game over if you don't have any left - and your save data gets erased. This unnerved me, since The Struggle is far from easy. Between hunting and scavenging, you must kill a certain number of vicious foes to proceed to new areas. On my first try, I only picked up enough rations for three lives. I lost in the very last battle and had to rally my enthusiasm to try again. I beat it on my second attempt, but it sucked having to repeat content - especially since the A.I. deserves the blame for two of my deaths.

The Struggle brings a lot more intense combat that keeps you on your toes. Moira finally picks up a gun, but apart from her foul-mouthed commentary, she plays the same as Claire. I felt more challenged here than in all of Resident Evil Revelations 2. You need to be mindful of your resources and take advantage of your surroundings. That being said, it isn't all that different from raid mode, and I had way more fun there.

Natalia's episode is easier, but more boring. The whole episode focuses on stealth; you can't attack enemies, and if one spots you, it's game over. Luckily, this episode has some pretty fair checkpoints so you don't lose much progress.  The problem with both episodes is you're strutting through environments already seen in the main campaign. We've backtracked through these areas already in both Claire and Barry's campaigns, so now they're doubly overused. I thought Natalia's episode had a unique concept, but merely sneaking around gets boring fast.

Moira and Natalia's stories do have some interesting resolutions, but ultimately aren't enough to make the bonus episodes worth playing. They do little to change your perceptions of the characters or provide any new observations from what you can find in the main storyline.

Both bonus episodes are short; I got through them in about 45 minutes each, but they feel more like busywork than fun. They're forgettable, and left me thinking I had better ways to spend my time. A bonus episode isn't expected to match the greatness of the main ones, but they should at the very least entertain or offer more exciting insight into the characters and world. These just fall flat in all areas.