I Don't Get Resident Evil

Resident Evil is one of those series that has never made much sense to me. On its surface, it's a bio-horror action series featuring zombies, genetically engineered viruses, parasites and biological super weapons. However, underneath all that it carries these bizarre puzzles that seem like they could only have been thought up by an insane chessmaster, like a homicidal schizophrenic version of Batman's Riddler.

You find keys shaped like miniature statues, in some cases in the shapes of actual chess pieces. But why? Nowhere in the series is there any mystical elements beyond the seeming symbolism of these objects that are entirely out of place. Granted, a lot of the villains really ARE totally insane, but most of them don't seem to be what I would describe as "brilliantly insane", like eccentric geniuses. Instead, they seem to be more just criminally insane, or, as in the case of Albert Wesker, insanely gay (CHRRIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIISSSS!). Not once have I seen a character who seems either brilliantly insane or insanely brilliant, nor have any of these characters shown an honest interest in the occult.

I honestly have not yet played Resident Evil 4, and I only did a quick run-through of the original game. I never played RE0 either, nor did I ever finish Code Veronica. But I've gotten the general gist of things, and none of the villains ever came off, to me, at least, as ever really explaining the placement of these items. Puzzles to solve to open secret passageways seem to be found throughout the series, and yet nowhere is their presence justified, with maybe a few exceptions.

This doesn't ruin the games for me, of course. I can still enjoy them for what they are, but I don't think they will ever make sense. In comparison to what is, in my opinion, both a better series, writing-wise, and scarier, Silent Hill, Resident Evil will never manage to compare, but the Resident Evil series will still remain an enjoyable one in general, even if it is sort of nonsensical.

After all, shooting the heads off zombies will never go out of style, right?