Capcom’s Resident Evil franchise has always packed a diverse and disgusting bestiary, and Resident Evil 6 is no exception to this tradition. However, it takes a warped mind to come up with some of the more memorable bio-weapons to grace our screens, and past games have certainly delivered the goods in this respect. Creatures like Crimson Heads, Nemesis, William Birkin, Hunters and El Gigante remain some of the most iconic foes to have haunted our dreams, and continue to do so to this day.
With Resident Evil 6, Capcom has introduced a wide array of beasty B.O.W.s to battle, chief among which are of course the return of the shambling zombies of old, alongside some intriguing new additions. In fact, RE6’s enemy line-up boasts what PSU considers to be some of the best and worst the series has to offer, from genuinely freaky abominations to almost comical monstrosities that had us with a distinct ‘WTF’ look plastered on our faces.
Check out our highs and lows below – and be warned, spoilers ahead!
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The best..
Ustanak
This is RE6’s answer to Nemesis. Like Resident Evil 3: Nemesis’s titular, towering monstrosity, Ustanak is an indestructible foe, relentlessly stalking Jake Muller and Sherry Birkin throughout their campaign. Fast and packing an array of projectile/proximity-based weapons on one of his arms, this abomination can withstand an alarming amount of firepower before either fleeing or giving up the ghost – albeit temporarily. A testament to his ferocity as a bio-weapon can be seen in the fact no less than four of RE6’s heroes will team up against him at one point, and he still manages to prove a tough customer even for Raccoon City’s finest survivors. Despite his bulky appearance, Ustanak is deceptively speedy, and will attempt to grab, shoot, crush or generally smash you about if given half the chance. This inexorably adversary is highly evocative of Nemesis’ antics, and combined with his fine combat prowess remains one of RE6’s most effective and deadly foes.
Zombies
While the undead have become ubiquitous in videogames these days (Call of Duty, Dead Rising, Plants vs. Zombies, the list goes on) it was Resident Evil that first brought them to mainstream videogame attention back in 1996. As such, they were sorely missed in the past couple of iterations, making their long-overdue comeback all the more potent. Here, the C-Virus has created a zombie for the modern Resident Evil. They still retain those quintessentially old-school traits, such as shambling form and rotting skin, but they’ve got some new moves up their sleeves to accommodate the dynamic shift in combat. Zombies can now run, leap and wield a variety of weapons – including but not limited to golf clubs, rifles and even magnum handguns – and in packs remain a deadly foe. What’s more, they don’t feel pain, and therefore don’t flinch like their more human J’avo counterparts. Capcom has done them proud, and we hope they make a return in the inevitable Resident Evil 7.
Rasklapanje
One of the most lethal B.O.W.s in the entire game is the Rasklapanje. These rubbery-looking creatures recall the fearsome Regenerators from Resident Evil 4, possessing incredible metabolisms allowing them to recover lost body parts. As such, Rasklapanje can be literally blown apart, losing its upper torso and limbs, and continue to pursue you. Perhaps the most alarming aspect is that it can’t be killed outright; only incapacitated momentarily. To eliminate it, you’ll have to use external means and not rely on your guns or fists. These things can attack you however they see fit, whether by choking you with dismembered hands, booting you with its lower body or gnawing on your petty face with its slug-like maw. This combined with its near-indestructible nature and ability to regenerate makes it one of the most lethal foes in the entire game, and a complete nightmare to deal with. Make no mistake, you WILL learn to hate Rasklapanje, but begrudgingly respect them for their sheer tenacity and the danger they pose.
J’avo Noga-Trchanje
One of the better and ultimately tougher variety of J’avo mutations, the Noga-Trchanje (no, we can’t pronounce it either) essentially augments the host with an insect-like lower body complete with skittering limbs and increased mobility. While still capable of firing its weapon, the J’avo will instead adopt new tactics to accommodate this drastic mutation, chief among which involves lying in wait on the ceiling and pouncing on unsuspecting victims. Despite their size, these creatures can prove difficult to target due to their speed and dexterity. Insect BOWs have always remained pretty tough customers in the RE games, and this mutation offshoot recalls the days of the giant spiders, plague crawlers and brainsuckers from past ‘classic’ RE titles. More please, Capcom.
…and the worst.
Derek Simmons
We admire tenacity (see above), but sometimes people take the proverbial. Derek Simmons is one of those people. RE6’s central antagonist, is, aside from the cause of the entire C-Virus calamity, a royal pain in the arse, and one of the most tired bosses in the entire RE universe. Why? Simple – you are forced to fight him SEVEN times before he finally gives up the ghost. After being injected with the virus he sought to wreck chaos with across the globe, Simmons undergoes a severe metamorphosis, mutating into something that resembles a cross between a T-Rex and a canine, depending on what mood he’s in. At last count, he absorbs hundreds and hundreds of rounds, gets smacked in the face by a train, impaled on a gigantic spike, burnt to a crisp, punched to death and still manages to get up for more. Resident Evil games are known for playing the old ‘he’s not dead just yet’ tactic, but Simmons goes one (or seven) steps too far. While aesthetically the creature’s design is quite appealing, it loses all its impact when you are forced to fight him again and again…and again. A shame too, as it spoils the end of Leon’s campaign and by the last battle you are simply fed up with pumping lead into the dastardly doctor, begging for the credits to role. Stay dead Derek, please.
J’avo Noga-Skakanje
The J’avo – ostensibly RE6’s version of the Los Ganados/Majini from past games – boast some strikingly effective and fearsome mutations. Sadly, this isn’t one of them. From a design point of view it looks almost comical, with the human host sporting almost bird-like legs, allowing it to lumber around like some giant chicken/human hybrid armed with a machine gun. It looks awkward, it isn’t frightening in the least and it’s pretty easy to dispatch as long as you aim for the torso of the J’avo host itself. They’re annoying buggers too, as aside from using their firearm to attack, they’ll give you a mighty kick, sending you to the floor and generally slowing you down something rotten. Some J’avo are pretty intimidating, but this one is just plain daft, and you wonder if Capcom was running out of ideas at this point and resorting to design left on the cutting room floor.
Whopper
This rotting, shambling tub of lard should look familiar, probably because it is. Valve’s Left 4 Dead series introduced something strikingly similar in the shape of the Boomer a few years before RE6, making this cheap knock-off a bit of a let-down. Essentially, the Whopper does exactly what it says on the tin: it’s a fat zombie, slow and meandering but ultimately deadly in close quarters. However, they’re exceedingly dull to fight, and literally act like flabby bullet sponges as you fill them with lead enough times to finally drop them. While they can summon a surprising burst of speed, there’s just so little creativity poured into these behemoths – combined with their aforementioned resilience to bullets – that they really slow up the pace of the game to a crawl.
What do you make of RE6’s enemies? Let us know in the comments section below.