Resident Evil: Revelations 2, released in 2015, was largely overlooked but stands as one of the series' best survival horror entries. The game masterfully creates tension through scarce ammunition, forcing players to use dangerous tactics and strategic character-swapping to survive.
The gameplay revolves around two character pairs: Barry Burton with the psychic girl Natalia, and Claire Redfield with Barry's daughter Moira. Each character has unique abilities, like Natalia seeing enemies through walls or Moira blinding foes with a flashlight, encouraging cooperative tactics that can quickly fall apart under pressure from groups of enemies.
It embraces a schlocky but well-written B-grade horror movie tone with a cast of archetypal characters. The story, set on a Russian prison island run by a sadistic overseer, is self-contained and episodic, building to ridiculous cliffhangers.
A key strength is its focus on survival horror tension rather than pure action. The fear comes from managing limited resources in restricted locations, a direction that would later influence Resident Evil 7. The game also features a robust Raid mode for pure combat after the campaign.
Despite a misstep involving its two-ending system, Revelations 2 delivers everything fans want from the genre: constant tension, strategic combat, and a gloriously over-the-top climax.