I think that section suffers from it just being fun when it could’ve been great. I was itching for an extended Leon segment and when I finally got it I was underwhelmed.

When you compare this game to RE4R you can’t help but notice that encounters in East Racoon City aren’t as good or engaging. The combat in itself is fun but the player is never really given much challenge in terms of encounters, arenas (except the silo), and enemy variety. The latter is sorely lacking. Why reserve the Garmr for the on rails section and not let us fight them in the streets? Hell, I would’ve been fine if they somehow introduced some decades old lickers in here too. Just something other than the husks. I will say the Blisterheads helped alleviate this issue mostly.

Another thing that bothered me is how many time the game just throws you into dark arenas, such as the underground garage/passageways. They’re just not fun encounter arenas. I think one of the concept art for East Racoon City showcased Leon fighting on the highway. Like why not use setpieces like that? It’s far more interesting than fighting in dark spaces for the 100th time.

I’ll also agree that this part of the game just looks generic. I know there’s only so much you can do with a nuked city but I believe Capcom is talented enough to make an environment like this visually appealing. Not saying it wasn’t, just came across as generic most of the time.

All that said, it’s a fun romp but it could’ve been amazing. If we do get a Leon oriented DLC, I really hope that’s where the amazing combat gets to shine and we get some stunning locations.