Resident Evil 2 (2019)

I’ve never really played the Resident Evil series before, except for a short time with RE5 on Xbox 360 like 15 years ago. With the new Resident Evil 9 Requiem out now I thought I will try some of the games before that.

I will go for playing through RE2 Remaster, RE4 Remaster, RE7 Biohazard and RE8 Village, in that order.

Resident Evil 2 is a remake of the classic game from 1998. This remake was released 2019. You play as Leon or Claire trying to survive a zombie outbreak in Raccoon City. It’s caused by a virus released by Umbrella Corporation. I choose to play as Leon, who makes his first day as a Police-officer at the Racoon City Police Department.

I really like the atmosphere of the game and I early wonder why I’ve never played this before. I got hooked instantly. Gameplay if fun! It’s a mix of combat and puzzles. Combat is great and the feeling that you’re almost always out of ammo keeps you on the edge. Quite small spaces and dark enviroments helps create a creepy vibe. Also the sound, especially when you’re hunted by Mr. X and you hear his footsteps getting closer.

Absolutely worth playing 2026 and a good game to get into the RE game series! I went directly on the RE4 which I will review next.

Rating: 🌲🌲🌲🌲

Other games I’ve played as part of my October 'Terrorthon': Carrion, KONA, Outlast, Outlast 2, Inside, Resident Evil Remake

First of all, I never played the original, so my thoughts are exclusively related to the remake and my experience with it.

This isn’t meant to be controversial or anything, it’s just my sincere opinion. To this day, I think I’ve literally only seen one review that levels quite a bit of - IMO logical - criticism against REmake 2. I can’t help but wonder why so many people seem to overwhelmingly praise the game without also laying a critical eye over its shortcomings. Maybe this is because most people who critique it do so against the backdrop of whether this reimagining is faithful to the original or not. That’s fair enough, but when you judge its merits as a standalone game, you come away with a slightly different opinion. At least I did.

My main gripe with the game revolves around narrative coherence. I am deeply confused by it. Are both runs supposed to be complimentary, contradictory, or both? Because what happens between the 1st and 2nd run feels very conflicting. The game clearly indicates these two realities are co-existing in the same space - you meet each other at the same moments, you find notes from the other character, and some situations are different on your 2nd run because the 1st character already changed them - which gives a fantastic sense of continuity. However, this illusion falls apart too many times for it to be believable. For every time the game does this, it throws you into another moment that does the complete opposite. Not even going into the fact that the early game timing seems off, or that you spend the biggest chunk of your 2nd run solving the same puzzles and dealing with a lot of the same issues (I understand the need for this from a gameplay aspect). But some interactions literally collide with each other from a narrative perspective. That you get the exact same character dying two different deaths in two different moments on your 1st and 2nd runs is the most glaring example of this, but REmake 2 is ‘generous’ with how often it throws things like this at you. Which, of course, chips away at coherence and narrative consistency, and I honestly don’t understand why there isn’t more acknowledgement of it. If I’m missing something here I’d love for someone to explain it, because I truly find it puzzling. Another problem I have with the game - though this is way more of a personal preference than anything else -, is that there’s almost an underwhelming number of differences between both runs to fully justify them. I understand that I’m probably alone here and that RE early games were designed around speed runs and multiple playthroughs, but for someone like me who normally only plays through games once or twice, it is precisely because they encourage multiple runs that the differences should be more accentuated. For the most part you’re doing the same things in both runs. Again this is more of a personal thing and I know I’m definitely in the minority here, but I felt that the loss of that sense of novelty made both experiences too similar to feel ultimately rewarding on a second try, even if you need to play through the game a 2nd time in order to get what is considered the true ending.

There are a couple more issues I have regarding REmake 2, but to be honest they would be more akin to nitpicks when compared to everything the game does right. And what stands above the rest in this regard is the survival horror elements. Damn they absolutely nailed the aspects every survival horror game should nail. From the build up (short but effective), to the sense of tension you’re continuously pushed against, to the careful balance around your inventory management, to the scarcity of resources throughout (you always feel like you may have just enough to make it but you’re never quite sure) and to the difficulty, this truly feels like survival horror done right, and should probably stand as a blueprint for future games using a similar framework. Another thing that stood out to me were the incredible physics. I can’t remember a game doing it better in this genre. The way zombies move, react to localised damage, ragdoll etc is really impressive and absolutely adds to the immersion. Sound design is another aspect where REmake 2 excels. All audio effects are great and a lot of them contribute to that aura of tension and creepiness that permeates the entire experience. There isn’t all that much music throughout except during those Mr X encounters, which actually helps ramp up the tension. And speaking of Mr X, I can certainly relate to those who say overexposure to those moments during the 2nd run is an issue, because I also felt it initially - and especially because the pace at which he moves off camera makes his appearances sometimes feel cheap and unfair. However, when I understood what the game wanted from me at that point, and started looking at it accordingly, I gained a new appreciation for those moments. Finally, the game looks amazing. It does have obvious problems with screen space reflections - which seems to exist across all platforms -, but these are ultimately irrelevant in a game that otherwise delivers such a fantastic visual, atmospheric and cinematic experience.

So my conclusion/TLDR: I had great fun with REmake 2, but I question its universal acclaim on all fronts. Its replay value seems inflated to me, and both narratives end up colliding with rather than complementing each other. The 2nd run loses a lot of its charm because the wondering factor is gone. This is effectively the case in the overwhelming majority of games, but in a title oriented around multiple playthroughs, it ends up affecting the overall enjoyment of it. However, the game’s almost perfect crafting of survival horror elements, incredible physics, sound design and visual excellence are more than enough to recommend it without any shred of hesitation. I can’t speak for fans of the original, but anyone who didn’t play it yet likes survival horror has an absolute winner here. I give REmake 2 a 8.5/10.

What makes a remake versus a remaster? People have a tendency to treat both words as synonymous whereas developers treat them as mutually exclusive terms. Remaster implies a near one to one, if not exact, recreation of the game. The main difference being an update to graphics, and perhaps some quality of life changes. RE REMASTER is probably the best example of this. A remake implies making an old game with modern sensibilities while recreating the experience of the original. I would argue RE 2 REMAKE is a great example of this.

The main contention around this game seems to be from its departure from the original RE 2, both in terms of game play and narrative. I think it's flawed to allow nostalgia to bias critique and ignore what Capcom did to modernize antiquated design philosophies. Nostalgia typically blinds an individual to flaws, because of selective memory bias. You focus on the highs and not the lows.

The tank controls, while a huge factor in the original RE's survival horror, were a combination of conceits and the contemporary control scheme. A strength of the original PS hardcore compared to the n64 was raw storage space and cost of CDs vs cartridges. A N64 cartridge was limited to 64 MB of storage whereas the PS1 CD had 700MB. This extra storage space allowed developers to include pre-rendered backgrounds and robust sound. The later being the main reason why you didn't have voice over often if at all in n64 games. The quality of music was also noticeably superior between PS vs n64 again due to memory storage. The advantages of the 700MB storage was beautifully detailed and realistic backgrounds that were pre-rendered (though they lacked camera manipulation) and allowed for more storage space and memory that can be allocated for more detailed models. What nintendo lacked in raw storage, it made up for in power and speed. Most n64 titles had none to very limited loading times thanks to more than double the RAM of the PS1 and the advantage of the cartridge over the CD. This also allowed n64 titles to have larger maps and greater draw distances, such as Mario 64 which likely would have been impossible to release of the PS. The conceit was more cartoonish (albeit smoother) models, but larger worlds, draw distances and fast loading.

While it may look like I went on a tangent above, I will now circle back to my point on tank controls. This design choice was a conceit to using pre-rendered backgrounds and based on current control conventions. The disadvantage of these backgrounds is the inability to move the camera, but the director wanted a more cinematic look anyways which he achieved. Tank controls were not invented by RE, they were considered a reasonable mode of control dating as far back as 1991 (perhaps earlier? But Alpha Waves used this control scheme). It allowed for consistent movement, regardless of changes in the camera. I think they add tension to game play, but they aren't genius or novel in implementation. There's a reason why games moved away from this control scheme. It feels like trying to operate a crane with crab claws.

What the tank controls generated in the game play loop was tension from the jank. Basic zombies early in the game were challenging to fight due to the shoddy aiming and their massive health. This created pressure on both your healing and damaging resources, which the management of these items is what created survival horror. It's this tension from the moment to moment combat that nostalgia has you harp on. The creation of resource management interlocked with combat was genius and I think resulted in some of the best horror to date. This is further elevated with inventory management. It created a novel game play loop of both strategy and tactics, since you have to plan out what you need before departing safe areas.

I would argue that RE 2 REMAKE (not Remaster) successfully emulated the moment to moment tension and anxiety. While you can aim more freely, the zombies are still veritable bullet sponges forcing you to consider if it's worth the resource expenditure. You can make an argument in some ways it's easier because you can stun a zombie with a head shot, or cause them to fall down by shooting their legs. There's some merit to the argument, but the pros drastically outweigh the cons. Moment to moment game play is now more complicated since you have more options in how you use your resources. Stunning the zombie or shooting their legs still has consequences. It's less resources in the immediate, but the zombie is still a threat. There's a ton of backtracking in RE2, so you will inevitably confront that zombie again and be faced with a similar decision of resource management. My only critique to the changes in combat is the randomness in damage creating an inconsistency with combat. I think in older games, when you have a lock on system, makes more sense to create more tension in combat. it's why there is randomness in JRPGs or dungeons and dragons. I would argue it leads to frustration when you have the ability to aim yourself. It feels like you are unfairly punished for skill.

Finally, narrative. The genius of the RE franchise was never from the plot. It's from game design. It's one of the dumbest stories ever written or acted. Wesker is cartoonishly evil with no believable motivation and it's staggering how he is still creating and utterly failing at making his bio weapons. Nothing about his plan has any conceivable utility or profit. The plot would be strengthened if he was at least motivated by tons of money. The departure from canon from the original RE I would argue is for the best. Who cares if a game where the plot is objectively the worst part makes changes?

Pros:

• Gameplay: Very fun. Gunplay feels very responsive and I enjoyed the difficulty in killing Zombies. Like in the first game every kill has to be judged by necessity. Do I really need to use my bullets to clear this corridor or am I just better off dodging each time?
• Puzzles: The first games puzzles varied greatly in quality in my opinion but this games puzzles all work well with not too much "adventure game logic". Some puzzles require backtracking but in a way that makes sense (In my opinion). Also tons of extra mini puzzles with there answers often hidden in the environment to solve that all work really well.
• Atmosphere: The game oozes a spooky atmosphere (though toned down from the 1st game). Zombies slow turn towards you as they realize your presence, the loud footsteps of a pursuing monster, the creaking of floor boards alerting you that you are no longer alone the game uses everything in it's power to drag you into Racoon City and (IMO) succeeds greatly at it.
• Graphics: Graphics are fantastic. Even at lower settings the game looks great.
• Music: Excellent. Sets the tone very well and varies greatly throughout each level

Neutral:

• Writing: I liked the writing but it is VERY campy. If you like that type of stuff you'll love it if not then this games story probably wont be for you. The voice actors do a good job with what there given but a lot of lines are very cheesy. Personally I enjoyed that aspect of the game but understand that others might not.

Cons:

• Bosses: If I was to have one minor nitpick with this game it would be that the bosses weren't very fun in my opinion. There built up well but I felt gameplay wise they weren't great.

Conclusion:

A high recommend for those looking for a Spooky game or a game with a great atmosphere.

Intense horror at it's finest. I've come into this game with no previous experience with the original, so I was going blind into this. Very likeable characters with some well polished voice acting. The stories you play as both Leon and Claire were fine but too similar for my liking although there were a few notable differences. The setting and atmosphere is where this game shines most and leaves you on edge for the majority of the stories run time. On a slightly smaller note this games map design is one of my favourites in all of gaming, and the inventory management though frustrating at first I grew to really appreciate as It really added to tense experience I felt pretty much throughout.

When I was younger, I would play through the original Resident Evil trilogy at least once a year. For some reason, it was one of the few video game stories that I really dug into and because of that, Resident Evil 2 is probably the Playstation game I played through most often. While I loved it at the time, Resident Evil 2 is one of those games that I don't go back and play because I can't imagine time has been too kind to the tank controls and jaggy edges of untouched Playstation graphics. Which is why I'm so glad that Capcom has updated the first three games in this series with better controls, beautiful graphics and updated systems. I can finally revisit this story that I've worried wouldn't live up to my expectations anymore.

But why I played RE2 more than the first or third games in this series was the dual story, where the game would change depending on who you played through the game as first or second. I think just because the discs were labeled this way, I tended to play through as Leon first, then Claire, which is what I did this time as well.

As Leon, I played on the normal difficulty, and found myself constantly frustrated. I wanted to explore and dig into this world again for the first time in decades, but I found it hard to do with waning ammo, scarce health products and the Tyrant stalking my every move. Yet so many want to play Resident Evil for a tense experience, and in that, Resident Evil 2 certainly succeeded. By the time I left the police station, I was ready to get away from this zombie-filled hell hole, with precious little resources to take with me to the next area.

But with Claire, I decided to loosen the game up a bit. Not only was the game easier because I now knew each location thoroughly, I knew what the game was asking for me, and now, I had almost too much stuff in my stock at all times. This allowed me to explore these areas I once knew so well, but had forgotten over time. Revisiting the police station felt like going some place I hadn't visited in years, yet once there, I almost instinctually knew my way around. I know the challenge wasn't there in Claire's mission, but I enjoyed slowly exploring and getting to use the excellent weapons, without any fear that I'd soon run out of ammunition.

But like I mentioned earlier, one of my favorite things about RE2 was the way the two storylines intersected and played off each other. This aspect has greatly changed in this update, for better and for worse. Especially in the police department, this leads to both Leon and Claire tackling this area in different ways. Both can access different areas, and I loved that I thought Claire was done with the police department, only to return from underneath in the parking lot for a completely different vantage point. I also appreciated how Leon and Claire's companions through the games offer enough of a varying storyline to make playing through the game twice worth it.

Unfortunately, there are too few differences in this remake. Mostly, Leon and Claire are doing the exact same things to progress through the exact same levels and by the second play through, I was just powering through levels, knowing exactly what I needed to do. If these are supposed to be two parallel stories, it's a shame that so much of these stories are exactly the same.

Maybe I'm wrong, but if I'm not mistaken in the original, even the items that were picked up in the game changed depending on what you picked up in your first play through, but that's all gone here as well. Considering the technology has significantly improved since the mid-1990s, it's a shame this couldn't have been updated more than it already is.

I'm very glad this update of such a great game exists, and I loved revisiting this story and these locations again for the first time since the 90s, but I couldn't help wanting slightly more. The story - which I adored as a kid - is too repetitive and slight now, and I wish this could've been more of a rehaul than it is. This is still a great game though, but it's much harder now to ignore the flaws than it was originally on the Playstation.

What’s not to love about the RE2 remake. It’s been said many times now but it really is a perfect blend of all the best and most refined elements of all the instalments thus far in an extremely varied series of games.

Having now binged and completed every numbered entry available on current gen (except 6 which is taking forever), I can say that I’ve been converted into a full-on fanboy of this series. Sometimes terrifying and sometimes wacky, these games are generally of a very high quality and almost always swing for something interesting (even when they occasionally fail at it).

RE2 is a beautiful place to finish that binge. Genuinely heart-racingly tense and still very endearing. The voice acting is finally up to a passable standard (as it was in 7 also). The puzzle solving is simplified but still feels rewarding.

I loved this. Bring on Nemesis!

Oh how I miss the survival horrors of yore, which were essentially adventure games with some combat and jump scares thrown in.

Still not keen on the sewer bits (does anyone ACTUALLY like sewer levels?), but overall I really enjoyed this updated classic. Remember when you needed to write things down to solve puzzles? Good times. Great visuals, lighting and character animations. And I still love the incredibly non-intuitive Resi Evil architecture, with baroque police stations that require Indiana Jones style puzzle-solving to complete the most basic actions. Get the jewel from the sceptre! Find the three medallions! Amazing.

More of this, please. Dino Crisis remake? Priddy priddy pwease?

I haven't played the original Resident Evil 2, so I can't compare it to that. I don't think it's as good as Resident Evil 4 or even the Resident Evil Remake, but it's still really good and better than Resident Evil 7.

They took the old-school Resident Evil approach and combined it with the third-person shooter approach of the later Resident Evil games. It's not successful enough with this take to make me feel like future Resident Evil games should be like this. It uses the shooter perspective, but it's not a good shooter. I found killing zombies to be more frustrating than satisfying because of how many shots it takes to kill a zombie. It's more in line with how fighting zombies in Resident Evil Remake was like. I might have less of a problem with the shooting if it wasn't posting as a shooter with it's third-person perspective. I might find it more acceptable if it had the old fixed cameras. The shooting is more fun during boss fights though where you are targeting different parts of a boss to take it down.

I was curious to see how Leon and Ada were in this game. They are cool B action movie characters in Resident Evil 4, but here, they are not as fun. Ada's red dress fit better with the tone of Resident Evil 4 than it does in this game. It becomes distracting here. I was wondering if she just came from a party or the club to handle this assignment. Leon's a rookie in this game, so he's not as badass as he was in Resident Evil 4. That's at least understandable. I didn't buy their romance at all, and it led to one of the most annoying cut scenes in the game towards the end.

Unlocking doors and solving puzzles while dodging zombies is still fun. The map is clear about where you haven't been yet and which key a door needs to be opened. It makes the part of the game smoother than Resident Evil Remake. I'm glad for this because I can't stand running around in circles in a place because I can't figure out which doors I can unlock. It's also useful for planning out the best route to take to get to my destination and form a strategy for my trip. This is especially useful when Mr. X is around.

I was disappointed with how the different campaigns worked. When I was seeing Claire pop up during my Leon playthrough, I was excited to play Claire's campaign thinking it was a story happening in parallel to Leon's. When I played through Claire's campaign, I found that she is playing through the same areas, unlocking the same doors, and solving the same puzzles. There were a few moments where you go to areas that Leon didn't, but it's a small part of the campaign. It at least had a different story to keep things interesting, but it mostly felt like I was replaying the game.

I feel like I'm gilding the lily by adding another voice to the overwhelming praise this game has gotten, but: yeah, it's good.

A common wishlist game among many Resident Evil fans was an RE2 remake a la the RE 1 remake released in 2002, and I've always strongly disagreed with that. Mainly because the original holds up very well decades past release and is mostly remembered for the reasons the team want it to be, but because the RE series has a very bad problem with crawling up its ass -- about half of the series takes place in or around Raccoon City's 1998 outbreak. I believe the later games (which some call the "BSAA era" games) were on the right track to establishing a background beyond Raccoon City and said background is ripe for ideas. When the RE2 remake was announced I was naturally skeptical, especially since it was likely response to the small crowd of "not my RE!" reactionaries after RE7's release. I kept my expectations low until I got the game.

I played it and I loved it. How could I not? It translated the same sense of thrill, suspense, and claustrophobia that was present in the original to a style of contemporary gameplay that's more palatable and accessible to modern audiences. It's of the same caliber as the RE1 remake and Tomb Raider Anniversary in updating and tweaking a classic game while retaining its spirit.

One of the nice changes made here that keep that spirit is with regards to the enemies. With the oversaturation of zombie media in the past couple of years, it's a hard feat to make zombies threatening again. We've also spent many, many games dodging them to conserve ammo for the real big bosses. In RE2 remake, they lumber, but they can make good headway towards you if they've got a straightforward enough path (even shooting off their legs doesn't seem to slow them down that much!), and take off a good chunk of health if they get close to you. The zombies' health is seemingly randomized this time -- maybe you'll get lucky and a couple of shots to the dome will keep them quiet, but I've had times where I've unloaded a full clip of .45 rounds into the head, and frantically wasted some higher grade ammo in an attempt to get them to finally piss off. Even then, unless you've more or less disintegrated their head, there's a good chance they'll be alive if you have to run back into the same room a few minutes later. In most games, zombie are fodder and a minor annoyance at worst, but here they're a genuine threat and poor luck and planning can very well make it so that they sink your game.

Similarly, Mr. X got a minor, but very key change -- no longer does he appear in set segments in the B game, he shows up early on in the first run and is a constant looming threat, patrolling areas where you're not sure if you hear his footsteps or not, hoping that you don't open a door and get cold clocked. You can evade him, but you can't stop him, and praying that you don't meet him around the corner when you've got two bullets left and you're on the last legs of your health where you can't maneuver around well is the feeling of "survival horror" many people have been wanting for years.

The one complaint I have regarding this remake where it falls short from the original is how it handles the scenarios. In the original, although there is some overlap in the puzzles and enemies/bosses, there were very key differences in the plot and in the enemies fought, particularly in whoever did the B run (to the point where Leon A/Claire B was essentially hard mode). Here, Leon and Claire do almost exactly the same things in their runs, no matter who you pick first. The original game also made some token scenes of interaction where their routes cross up, but here it's like neither character matters in the stretch between escaping the police car and at the very end. It also doesn't change the plot, and while that's arguably for the better (I'm sure some poor soul out there is still trying to argue the "Annette threw the rocket launcher" theory, even today), it hurts replayability and it feels disappointing when you go in expecting to discover something new on a B/2nd Run playthrough.

It's hard to hold that against the remake, since it does so much right that it's still a blast to play. The attention to detail, the faithfullness in keeping the original game's spirit, and the tight gameplay are so well done that I give my respect to the team. As much as I didn't want this game, I'm glad it's around and that I played it, and that it's a bridge between older RE fans and people who're more familiar with the newer ones.

This is the first Resident Evil game I've ever played. I didn't know what to expect and I'm glad to say I was not disappointed.

The game is basically a giant escape room where you have to figure out the puzzles whilst at the same time avoid being eaten.

Graphics are beautiful and the zombies legitimately scary. The female zombies in particular let out a high pitched shriek. Yikes. Lickers are great too and rather creepy. I love it. The best though is Mr X. He can't be killed, you can only run. He makes playing the game scary. Its a case of I don't want to play this anymore but I want to keep playing because its so good. You know when he's nearby as you hear the footsteps and his theme plays when he's seen you. Try solving a puzzle when he's power walking straight towards you with murderous intent!

I love how regular zombies can rarely be killed, you can only really knock them down unless their head explodes. This keeps the game from becoming too easy.

I played as a Claire first and then Leon. I preferred Claire's story however that does not mean Leon's was bad, just personal preference.

Fourth survivor mode is brilliant. One of the best game modes I've played in a long time. It really captures the feeling of dread, desperateness and need to escape. the theme is a masterpiece too.

The only part I didn't like were the Ada and Sherry sub-sections. There was nothing wrong with them as such, I just felt they were a little disconnected from the overall story.

Fingers crossed Resident Evil 3 will get the remake treatment yet. I've been told if I think Mr X is scary wait until I see Nemesis.