Do It On The Day: A Video Game Podcast by Jess McDonell · Jessica McDonell

Why Resident Evil 9 Should Be Your First Resident Evil Game & It's My First Ever Resi Game!

·45 min·3 clips
Jess argues Resident Evil Requiem should be the first Resident Evil game for people who think the series is "not for me."
1. Do It On The Day: A Video Game Podcast by Jess McDonell focuses on Resident Evil Requiem and whether Resident Evil 9 can be a first Resident Evil game. 2. Jess McDonell hosts the episode, and viewer Raider Crusader matters because they commissioned the game after her earlier comments about game prices. 3. The episode asks whether a player who has "never played one" can start with Resident Evil Requiem and still understand why the series works. 4. Jess says Resident Evil Requiem costs $107.95 in Australia, which she uses as a concrete example of how expensive new releases have become. 5. She says she has only played "little pieces" of Resident Evil games before, and that her history with horror on GameSpot's "House of Horrors" made her cautious. 6. Jess contrasts the older series' "punishing save systems" with the modern save approach she chose in Resident Evil Requiem. 7. She explains that old Resident Evil games often left players overwhelmed with "a limited number of bullets" and few safe ways to clear every enemy. 8. Jess says she expected the game to be "not my kind of game" because she dislikes being stalked, pressured, or unable to save whenever she wants. 9. She says the modern system still includes inventory management, item combining, crafting, and a classic ink ribbon option for players who want it. 10. Jess notes that she saved "about 10 times" whenever she reached a typewriter room, showing how cautious the game made her feel. 11. She says the slow movement made the characters feel so sluggish that "Alan Wake" seemed fast by comparison. 12. Jess describes discovering that a stealth item let her take down an enemy she had assumed was an unkillable boss. 13. She connects the game's pressure to the way rare saves and lost progress make a player more careful in Elden Ring and Cairn. 14. Jess says she was playing on the regular difficulty, which she chose because she was unsure how hard the experience would be. 15. She recounts one moment where a monster girl who "hates the light" punished her for standing next to the wrong lamp instead of finding a well-lit room. 16. Jess says the tension becomes more effective as she thinks more about inventory, crafting, bullets, and which corridor to try next. 17. The tone is casual, profane, and personal, with repeated self-corrections and jokes about being "hoisted by my own petard." 18. The format is a solo monologue with stream anecdotes, game comparisons, and repeated references to live audience reactions. 19. Best for listeners who want Resident Evil entry-point advice and horror-game talk. 20. Skip if you want concise structure or zero spoiler-adjacent game detail.

As heard by us

A chatty, digressive case for meeting Resident Evil at the point where it teaches you how to play it.

Jess MacDonald uses Resident Evil Requiem, or Resident Evil 9, to argue that the best first Resident Evil game is the one that teaches how the series wants to be played.

Read the full review in PlayNext →

Why you'd press play

Want a Resident Evil argument that starts with fear, failure, and one bad lamp?

Read the full recommendation in PlayNext →
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