Reviews
[Review] ‘Resident Evil Resistance’ is Messy Multiplayer Mayhem
Resident Evil 3 came and went last week to a somewhat mixed reception. While it was a fun game, I personally thought there were plenty of missed opportunities throughout. At the same time, the open beta for the packed-in multiplayer game; RE: Resistance, had experienced issues with PS4 and PC players, so I left it out of that review.
But over the weekend, the issues had seemingly been fixed, and so I played many matches of RE: Resistance to give my experiences of it so far in its current state.
With it being a modern multiplayer game, this incarnation will be the first of many, with plenty of changes and updates over the coming months and even (Capcom would hope) years. In its current state, however, I was left feeling bored and frustrated, with a lot needing to be improved upon in every aspect of the game.
RE: Resistance aims to give you a sort of throwback to Resident Evil: Outbreak and Left 4 Dead, with a fair sprinkling of modern asymmetrical multiplayer titles such as Dead By Daylight thrown in for good measure. There are two ways to play. ‘Survivor’ is essentially a run from one point of the map to another before a time limit expires. The other mode is called ‘Mastermind’, where you’re essentially an Umbrella-employed director playing a twisted version of Kevin from the film Home Alone, laying traps and enemies on the map to maim and kill the survivor team as they try to clear the level.
Before you begin, you are brought into the Tutorial section, where you can try out both Survivor and Mastermind modes, and have the rules explained without the pressure of a live game.
In Survivor mode, you can play either on your own or in a group of four – there’s no other option. You need to go from one part of the map to another, all the while picking up cash in the form of ‘Umbrella Credits’, helping out teammates, and shooting/avoiding all the enemies that the ‘Mastermind’ spawns.
Even though there are six characters with varying abilities, Valerie, Tyrone, and Becca are the only ones, for now, worth playing as. Their speed and effectiveness when battling hordes of zombies really helps to survive the onslaught. But even so, the controls can still feel sluggish. Pressing the usual ‘Tab’ key to bring up weapons or items to use takes far longer than in Resident Evil 3 for some reason, and being able to help your teammates also feels drawn out. I also expected to share items or ammo, much like how Resident Evil 5 managed this system, as it would have given better variety and better teamwork dynamics, but it’s nowhere to be found here, which is a shame.
I was able to ignore the above faults at times. There were a few fun matches played with the tension and excitement of scraping by, balancing risk and reward to grab ammo and supplies. You need to make sure you’ve got enough for the hordes of enemies that the ‘Mastermind’ player almost always spawns, and the kicker is you never know what exactly you’ll be dealing with.
Usually, towards the end of the level, many zombies and zombie dogs were spawned, alongside William Birkin or Mr. X from RE2, which would predictably end up in game over more often than not. It gives Resistance a feeling that it isn’t as fun and fair as it could be, that the ‘Mastermind’ and their arsenal of undead tricks have no fair balance to what they could spawn over the course of the match. Your only viable choice usually is to go down the ‘every man/woman for themselves’ path and stock up on ammo and health before this horde of G-Virus enemies come to end you all.
It has quickly become a chore to play through Survivor in its current form; it all still feels rather unfinished, an open beta that seems like it could have done with being released separately and given time to iron out these issues that could have made this side of the game more compelling to play.
As I previously noted, the Mastermind side of the package lets you be the director of those stages. You are presented with an area map to lay down your traps and enemies before the survivor players reach the rooms. You’re also given ‘boosts’ to place down different enemies, or multiple amounts of some to make it more challenging for the players. You can also take control of enemies, from the shambling zombies all the way to the hulking William Birkin and Mr. X, to really cause some damage.
I had the most enjoyment in this mode, mainly because I was able to control the bosses from RE2. If it wasn’t for the risible controls and the UI, I would have had even more fun.
Cycling through the enemies to spawn is an often confusing act. When you do spawn some, you’re not really sure if they will actually appear on the map. One example was when I spawned a pack of dogs onto the map, but because of a pillar in the way, it only spawned a couple of them, instead of just letting me know to spawn them somewhere else. The spawn cards themselves are also confusing, as you’re not sure what exactly you can spawn, and even how to cycle through them all. I tried every key imaginable to swap between traps and enemies. It made the whole thing more frustrating than it needed to be, and in the end, I just waited until I could spawn Birkin and went on a desperate onslaught across the map. Finally, connecting to a match takes far longer than it should. Every match took at least five minutes to let me in to start playing.
Overall, I came out of this feeling frustrated and more than a little bored, and honestly would have much preferred the Mercenaries mode to come back in a remade form instead. Resistance is a jumbled mess of ideas without a clear vision, albeit with the potential to get better. Unfortunately, it’s released in a buggy, slow, frustrating state. There are cracks of hope that it could eventually be a good game once feedback and new seasons of content are implemented, but I don’t think I’ll be coming back to the game anytime soon.
Resident Evil Resistance review code for PC provided by the publisher.
Resident Evil Resistance is out now for PS4, Xbox One, and PC as part of Resident Evil 3.
Carlo Collodi’s The Adventures of Pinocchio was written nearly 150 years ago, and yet it’s still considered to be the ultimate parable about the fundamental human experience of learning right from wrong and the importance of empathy.
Its message is still evergreen, and the reason that two separate big-budget Pinocchio films by auteur directors were released in 2022. And yet, it’s a story that also has creepy enough bones to fuel a really potent horror film when properly executed (please watch Pinocchio’s Revenge if you’ve never seen that piece of dark, gonzo filmmaking before).
The Twisted Childhood Universe – or TCU, if we must call it this – has largely been more hits than misses. That being said, Pinocchio Unstrung isn’t just a surprisingly entertaining horror film, but it’s a genuine love letter to practical effects and old-fashioned animatronics instead of being some cheap CG slog. Rhys Frake-Wakefield has crafted a disturbing reimagining of Pinocchio that doesn’t get its strings tied up in knots.
In Pinocchio Unstrung, James (Cameron Bell) loses his mother and best friend, so he’s sent to live with his grandfather Geppetto (Richard Brake, 3 From Hell), who seems detached and isn’t necessarily the best role model for this grieving boy. There’s actually a fairly interesting idea here by having both Pinocchio (Jude Evan Lloyd) and a real boy living with Geppetto, while Pinocchio forms a frightening attachment towards James.
Geppetto built Pinocchio for James so he can have a friend, rather than it being a creation to heal his own sadness and loneliness. This heads into even more tragic territory for this vulnerable boy that feels like something that’s more akin to The Boy, Child’s Play, or even the later Puppet Master sequels, rather than Pinocchio. This Pinocchio wants more than to just be a real boy. He wants to be James’ “best mate” and a real friend, which is achieved by killing the various people who have wronged him in life and gotten in James’ way.
Going against Geppetto’s wishes, James brings Pinocchio to school and chaotic carnage ensues as the student body – particularly James’ bullies – become casualties in this macabre learning experience. The messaging is very heavy-handed, which is not unexpected for a film of this nature, especially one that’s pulling from such a moralistic fairy tale in the first place that’s designed to teach lessons.
To the film’s credit, there are some genuinely creepy and unnerving scenes during the film’s first act when Pinocchio bonds with James and demonstrates a fascination with his anatomy and how they’re different. Pinocchio also acquires a checklist of body parts, skin, teeth, hair, eyes, and items to become a real boy. This, while formulaic, is the right style of creepy for this film. It provides a clear focus and trajectory for what’s to come, but also facilitates a lot of gruesome gore.
There are actually some decent gore effects that are well-executed, even if some of them have weak and unearned setups. Obviously, a film like this is trying to be tongue-in-cheek and doesn’t strive to be taken as high art, but it could work a little harder to build to its gory setpieces instead of just throwing them out there and making it seem like it doesn’t care about anything else. A second pass could have helped refine a lot of these elements and turned this into something truly great, rather than operating like a clunky series of poorly written scenes that are designed to string together exaggerated deaths.
These vicious kills are very Terrifier–coded and, on their own, aren’t bad and should please the gorehounds in the audience. There’s an inspired “nose kill” that Pinocchio Unstrung holds off on, but is worth the wait. Pinocchio Unstrung is arguably the goriest of the TCU films, which is a step in the right direction, even if other elements are lacking. In the end, there’s effort here, and director Frake-Waterfield is genuinely trying, even if some of his instincts are misguided or need to be sharpened. For instance, there’s a running throughline where Pinocchio wishes that he had had a penis.
Robert Englund delivers a committed and satisfying performance as Cricket, Pinocchio’s de facto conscience. However, Frake-Wakefield also includes a ridiculous “Wood Mother” concept, which is another wooden abomination who is there to get in Pinocchio’s head. The Wood Mother is presumably meant to be a Blue Fairy analogue, but she just feels extraneous and an excuse to show off more animatronics. Somehow all this leads into a story about rebirth and immortality as the film broadens its scope, which doesn’t always work in its favor. There are plenty of ideas here that are interesting, but ultimately half-baked.
When it comes to Pinocchio himself, the titular puppet’s design initially feels a little lacking, albeit still creepy. Fortunately, it actively improves throughout the film as Pinocchio builds upon his anatomy and “becomes” more human. It also doesn’t hurt that Jude Evan Lloyd is actually a competent actor and a worthy foil for Pinocchio.
Most importantly, it looks like a real movie and features some compelling lighting, which is more than what some of the earlier Twisted Childhood Universe films can claim.
To this point, Pinocchio Unstrung proudly boasts that the film is all done with practical effects and puppetry, which makes such a difference. There’d be no point in even making this movie if it didn’t commit to this practical authenticity. It’s not just a better movie because of this, but it reflects a respect and passion for the craft that’s lacking in other TCU entries. It’d be very easy to cut corners here, and so it’s appreciated that it puts in the effort and goes the extra mile. There’s also a really effective shadow puppetry introduction that’s reminiscent of 2021’s Candyman and a great way to kick off the movie.
Pinocchio Unstrung gradually finds its rhythm and confidence as it goes on, just like a young boy who is figuring out his way in the world. It develops a genuine personality by its end, and there are some weird, unique scenes that really unexpectedly go off the rails and transcend anything from the other TCU films. The place that the film ends is legitimately shocking and feels completely different than the type of movie that’s initially teased. This sort of radical pivot is worth it and turns Pinocchio Unstrung into something weird and wonderful, even if a lot of it still doesn’t work. It deserves credit for taking such big swings, even when they’re unsuccessful.
Those who were left empty from Winnie the Pooh: Blood and Honey and its various offshoots may be pleasantly surprised by this. It actually manages to say something about identity, morality, autonomy, and rising above the expectations that are placed on us, which seems like an insane thing to say for a film like this. It’s a morbid, mindless way to spend 80 minutes.
By the end of this experience, Pinocchio Unstrung transforms from a wooden concept into a real horror film.
Pinocchio Unstrung releases in theaters on July 24, 2026.
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