10 Reasons Resident Evil 6 Isn't THAT Bad

10 Reasons Resident Evil 6 Isn’t THAT Bad

Welcome to MojoPlays, and when you think about Resident Evil as a series, there truly is only one proper dark spot in its history. And I don’t need to tell you which game it is. Even though it gets absolutely railed on, time has softened my opinion on it, and after replaying it recently in co-op, I regret to inform you I enjoyed myself. These are 10 Reasons RE6 Isn’t THAT Bad.

Fluid Action Combat

RE5 was a real hard turn for the series, opting for combat over scares, and “RE6” continued that feeling with many forgetting that this entry massively expanded how players could move and fight, layering in shooting on the move, sprinting, dodges, slides, and more intricate melee chains that gave combat far more freedom than earlier installments. I know, that almost sounded like a compliment (it was). Combat felt less rigid and more expressive, letting players flow between actions instead of committing to a single approach. Staggering enemies and chaining into brutal finishers added real weight to encounters, making every close-range exchange feel deliberate and satisfying. The system rewarded aggression and timing, turning melee combat into something dynamic rather than situational, and if you go from RE5 straight to RE6, you’ll feel the difference in a really positive way.

Non Stop

The one element I really wish “Resident Evil 6” had carried over from earlier entries is the concept of save rooms, or at least some kind of intentional pause to let players breathe. For me, this is what brings down the experience, mainly because I am old and need to chill from time to time. But for a little chunk of the internet, this is what they LOVE about this entry. The game’s momentum is so relentless that, after a while, the constant action starts to blur together, for better or worse. And like I said, better for some. In Leon’s campaign especially, the nonstop barrage of enemies has monsters lunging, sounds blaring, and set pieces firing off one after another. Sure, the game doesn’t exactly BUILD tension, but it does smash you in the face so much that you aren’t really sure if you’re loving it or hating it. I know this entire entry just sounds like an insult, but cut me some slack. It's goddamn “Resident Evil 6”.

The AI Was Improved

Many players consider the partner AI in “Resident Evil 6” a clear improvement over “Resident Evil 5,” largely because it removes a lot of the friction that made solo play aggravating. The AI in the fifth entry was, in a word: Abysmal. But, because the sixth is clouded in so much hate, there’s no time to consider how many of these quality of life improvements would have improved the fifth. In “RE6,” AI companions can’t die, never run out of ammo, and are far less prone to getting stuck on a slightly large pixel, which allows the player to focus on combat rather than babysitting their partner. This makes single-player sessions feel smoother and more action-forward overall. That said, some fans still defend “RE5,” arguing that having to manage an AI partner’s health and ammunition adds a layer of tension. I don’t, I hate it.

Fan Service

“Resident Evil 6” is often criticized for leaning hard into fan service, cramming itself full of callbacks, and a lineup including: Leon, Chris, Ada, and Sherry. The result, for many players, was a bloated and unfocused experience that struggled to establish a clear identity and risked pushing newcomers away. Yet fan service itself isn’t inherently the problem. Just look at “Spider-Man: No Way Home,” a film that proudly indulges in nostalgia and crowd-pleasing moments, even when it comes at the expense of tighter dialogue, cleaner plotting, or deeper character work. The difference is execution. Fan service can be celebratory and effective when it’s intentional and confident, but when it’s used as structural glue, as it often feels in “Resident Evil 6,” it can turn from a strength into a distraction. With all that said, the game is clearly just out to have fun, and if you put down the monocle and the film studies degree, you can appreciate the fan service for what it is: Fun.

Is Cheese REALLY That Bad?

“Resident Evil 6” is remembered for one major thing: Being majorly over the top. This includes the infamous plane sequence, and more flash and bang than a Hollywood action film. Combine it with corny dialogue that matches the first entry, and you’ve got one of the cheesiest entries in the whole series... But what the HELL is wrong with that!? Cheese has infiltrated most of our favourite series. Metal Gear Solid whips it out in waves, while games like Far Cry use it to their advantage in combat, and you know what? Resident Evil pulls it out more often than anyone. With a series built on B-Movie cheese, I wonder why it is that people harp on how cheesy this entry is, and I don’t really have an answer, but I’ll tell you what, if you replay it in 2026 with a beer and a smile, you will have an awesome time. Maybe we were just all jaded teenagers when it first dropped.

Classic Zombies Return

One of the best things to happen to the series was its RE2 and 3 remakes, proving that fans miss the feelings that were created from these early entries. But Leon’s campaign in “Resident Evil 6” gave us a taste years before, and it was ACTUALLY awesome! Leon’s campaign deliberately dialed things back, reintroducing the slower, more methodical zombie encounters that echoed those first three games. By emphasizing deliberate movement, tighter spaces, and classic undead threats instead of constant spectacle, it catered directly to fans who missed the tension-driven horror roots the franchise was built on. The game catered to everybody, while forcing you to play the other styles.

Skill System

“Resident Evil 6” did something new that hasn’t been replicated in the series since, a skill system... And it was kinda awesome. The skill system works so well because it quietly adds depth without ever interrupting the focus of the game. Instead of locking character growth behind rigid classes or intrusive menus, skills act as modifiers that let players subtly tailor how combat feels. Whether you prioritize survivability, melee, faster stamina recovery, or efficient ammo usage, the system supports multiple playstyles, a common theme for this entry. Just as importantly, skills encourage experimentation, and every gamer’s favourite thing: Replayability. Swapping them between chapters is easy, so players are free to adapt based on campaign, difficulty, or personal preference. Player expression is a major element of this game, meaning that no single playthrough will really look the same. The system also rewards mastery: skilled players can stack abilities that amplify aggressive play, turning movement, counters, and melee finishers into an honest to god ballet.

Enemy Variety

One of the most impressive strengths of “Resident Evil 6”, and probably the thing I noticed the most after playing it straight after “Resident Evil 5” is how wildly diverse its enemy roster is, refusing to let combat ever settle into predictability. Rather than relying on a single archetype, the game constantly reshuffles the rules depending on who you’re fighting, and who you’re fighting as. Traditional shambling zombies coexist with faster, mutated soldiers, each capable of evolving mid-fight into entirely new threats if handled carelessly. This variety keeps encounters reactive instead of routine, demanding quick reads rather than memorization. What makes it especially cool is how these enemies intersect with the game’s movement-heavy combat system, but I can’t harp on that anymore than I already have. By constantly changing enemy behavior and threat profiles, “Resident Evil 6” stays interesting, and where Resident Evil 5 had a LOT of moments where my brain simply turned off, Resident Evil 6 did not.

Very Decent Co-Op

The thing that defined the slightly less impressive entry following “Resident Evil 4”, was its co-op. Had Resident Evil 5 followed this mammoth just as a single player game, I feel (disagree with me if you want) it would have been considered an incredibly disappointing follow up, and may have even killed the series before the sixth entry saw the light of day. But the co-op did make it an entry worth our time, which makes it so odd that the sixth entry is so hated when the co-op plays and feels SO much better. The entire game is built around shared momentum rather than one player playing bodyguard for the other. Both players are fully capable, equally empowered, and encouraged to stay aggressive, which keeps the fluid experience that you get alone in this entry. The combat system supports this beautifully: sliding past enemies, setting up melee finishers, covering flanks, and reviving each other all happen organically in motion, making teamwork feel real, not forced.

Pure Ambition

There’s one thing you have to agree with me on. Whether it resulted in an experience that you hated, or that you loved, “Resident Evil 6” was so ambitious, and almost deserves applause just for attempting what they did. By splitting its campaign across four separate narratives, Leon, Chris, Jake, and Ada, the game delivers an enormous amount of content that encourages replaying the game from multiple angles. Each story offers a different tone, pacing, and gameplay focus, reinforcing the sense of scale and variety while fully committing to a bombastic, cinematic action-horror experience, even if that ambition meant moving away from classic survival horror traditions, it also meant moving towards an explosive, out of pocket fun-fest.