Survival horror Resident Evil Co-op and multiplayer horror

Resident Evil Revelations 2

Rate it

Claire Redfield and Barry Burton on an island of mutated prisoners.

Platforms: PC, PlayStation, Xbox, Switch
Stores: Steam
Price: Paid
Rated: Mostly Positive on Steam (78% of 32,397 reviews); Metacritic 75 on PS4 (30 critics); 4.29 of 5 on the PlayStation Store (166,958 ratings)
Length: about 10 hours for the story
Players: 1 to 2
Made by: Capcom
Released: 2015

On PlayStation: one of the PlayStation horror games.

Get it on Steam PlayStation Store Xbox Nintendo eShop

What frightens Claire Redfield and Moira Burton wake in a ruined detention facility on a remote island, watched through cameras by an unseen captor and hunted by the Afflicted, twisted people whose fear has turned them violent; months later Barry Burton comes searching for his daughter across the same island.
Content: gore, blood, violence, strong language, jumpscares.

Resident Evil Revelations 2 is an episodic survival horror game from Capcom. Claire Redfield and Moira Burton are kidnapped and wake on a remote prison island overrun by mutated Afflicted; in a second story, Barry Burton comes looking for his daughter. Each campaign pairs a fighter with a helper, for one player or two.

About Resident Evil Revelations 2

Resident Evil Revelations 2 was released by Capcom in 2015, first as four weekly episodes and then as a complete season, on PC, PlayStation and Xbox, and later on Nintendo Switch. It continues the Revelations side series, set between the main games, and returns to a smaller, darker kind of Resident Evil.

Claire Redfield, now working for the anti-bioterrorism group TerraSave, is at a welcome party with Moira Burton when armed men storm the office. The two wake in an abandoned detention facility on an island, wearing bracelets that react to fear, while a voice taunts them over the speakers. In the second half of each episode, Barry Burton arrives later to search the island for Moira, accompanied by Natalia, a little girl who can sense enemies and hidden items.

You switch between the two members of each pair. Claire and Barry carry the guns; Moira's flashlight blinds enemies and reveals items, and Natalia can point out threats and hidden things and sneak where Barry cannot. Ammunition is limited, crafting turns herbs and parts into supplies, and the Afflicted and stranger creatures come at you in prisons, villages and factories.

Besides the Afflicted, the island holds new creatures: the Rotten, whose bones show through their bodies, and the Revenant, stitched together from human parts. Two extra episodes, The Struggle and Little Miss, were sold alongside the season, and the Raid Mode offers 15 characters and over 200 stages, some drawn from earlier Resident Evil games, with online co-op added later.

The Switch version arrived in November 2017 and lets you aim by moving the right Joy-Con. On PlayStation and Xbox, Episode One: Penal Colony can be downloaded free, so you can try the start before buying the rest.

It is more action-led than the oldest games but more tense than Resident Evil 5 and 6. It is a good choice for two people on one sofa, and it has a Raid Mode of repeatable missions for those who want more.

How to play Resident Evil Revelations 2

Pick an episode and play its two halves: Claire and Moira's escape, then Barry and Natalia's search.
Switch between the two characters of a pair; one fights, the other uses a flashlight or senses enemies and items.
Search rooms for ammunition, herbs and materials, and craft them into healing items and weapons.
Fight the Afflicted with what ammunition you have, and sneak past or around enemies where you can.
Play with a friend in split-screen co-op, or try the Raid Mode for repeatable missions.

Screenshots

Resident Evil Revelations 2 screenshot: Claire Redfield walks down a dark corridor with Moira Burton behind her holding a flashlight

Resident Evil Revelations 2 screenshot: Claire fires a pistol while Moira shines her flashlight on two mutated Afflicted in a grimy tiled hallway

Resident Evil Revelations 2 screenshot: Claire grips a knife as a mutated creature with a swollen, raw face reaches through a barred window

Resident Evil Revelations 2 screenshot: Claire looks down at a large smear of blood across the floor of a room with a red chair and scattered papers

Resident Evil Revelations 2 screenshot: Barry Burton aims a pistol and flashlight in a misty forest beside stacked logs, with Natalia in a white nightdress pointing at his side

Resident Evil Revelations 2 screenshot: Barry, a rifle on his back, faces a pale, bloodied creature bound in wire in a wooden storeroom

Resident Evil Revelations 2 screenshot: Raid Mode: Barry shoots a bloody, grinning Afflicted while level bars and an Enemies Routed counter fill the screen

Tips

Let Moira's and Natalia's abilities find hidden items; they are a big part of your supplies.
Aim for weak points rather than spraying ammunition.
Barry has to use his ammunition and weapons sparingly, so pick fights with care in his half of each episode.
On Switch you can aim by moving the right Joy-Con instead of using the stick.

Questions

Can Resident Evil Revelations 2 be played in co-op?

Yes. The campaign supports two-player split-screen co-op, and Raid Mode has online co-op.

Do I need to play Resident Evil Revelations first?

No. It is a separate story with different characters, though it shares the Revelations name.

Is Resident Evil Revelations 2 scary?

It is a tense, gory survival horror game with jumpscares, more action-focused than the earliest Resident Evil games.

How long is Resident Evil Revelations 2?

About 10 hours for the main story, according to HowLongToBeat figures quoted by Game Rant. A completionist run takes around 41 hours.

Can I try Resident Evil Revelations 2 for free?

On PlayStation and Xbox, Episode One: Penal Colony is free to download. The full game costs $19.99 on those stores, and the PC version is sold on Steam.