Resident Evil 2 Remake, The Modern Take

Best game of 2019? I Don't Know, Played it In 2020

I'm a contradictory guy. I quaff energy drinks, yet claim to be one. Doesn't that make me a cannibal? Similarly, I openly admit that I don't like puzzles, that's why I play videogames in the first place. Horror games aren't my forte either, sure there's thrills to be had, but if you want to feel your heart pounding, try driving on the sheets of ice we call roads out here. For me it's got the same appeal. Playing through Capcom's cash-cow series, Resident Evil is an obvious contradiction to my personal tastes. Everybody is multi-layered and complex, like an onion. So I'm now on my third Resident Evil game including RE0. The series has been going so long that the fourth sequel is now slated for a remake. Playing my way to 8, maybe 9 by the time I get there will involve navigating a patchwork trail of spin-offs, remakes, prequels and sequels. It's not doubt in Capcom's best interest to keep their remakes faithful to the source material in theme and core gameplay elements, otherwise gamers will be subsiding on dry Chex Mix instead of well-layered Jill sandwiches. Whether Capcom succeeds in their task or not, one thing is sure; they're still better than the movies. Fight me. 

Playing through Resident Evil 2 has more choices than just difficulty and inverted aiming *visible confusion*. Claire and Leon both have a pretty bad time in Raccoon city, though each have different war stories to tell. Finishing the campaign as Leon had me utterly relieved and in need of a shower, but I met up with Claire and her new Child-survivor friend Sherry Birkin. That's at least one answer to the burning question "what the hell just happened in Raccoon City?". After surviving Leon's harrowing (mis)adventure, the "2nd run" mode was unlocked, a great way to play over again as Claire. I played the Leon-A and Claire-B campaigns, twice as much as IGN expects, but not the tedious slog that playing A/B for each character would be, its not a huge compromise for a guy that professes to dislike horror games after all. 

Leon Kennedy 

Leon's first and worst day as an RCPD officer starts right outside of Raccoon City, great time to turn back, but hey, he is an emergency responder. Splitting up is a good way to cover ground, so he and Claire part ways until the games end. Puzzling, shooting and keying our way through Leon's would-be workplace makes up the first segment of the game. Opposition will consist of RE regulars like zombies, dogs and lickers. All these guys are creepy, but the ominous Mr. X is by far the most horrifying of the bunch. His plodding steps and stoic demeanor are a testament to simplicity in game design, he alone could be the object of a slasher movie with his slow, methodical pursuit. Thankfully Mr. X won't be following players throughout the entire game, as there's some segments he's mercifully absent. Friendlier non-playable characters include Ada Wong who's motives and identity are obscured by lack of transparency and distracting choice in attire. Wong adds a lot to RE2's plot as she helps to direct Leon in the direction of Raccoon City's underground secrets, ultimately leading to a final boss fight that felt like the quintessential Resident Evil experience. Maybe a little predictable, but it's not like I was bored getting there. 

Claire Redfield

Claire's campaign runs alongside Leon's from the beginning, but she's in Raccoon City for a far more compelling reason, she's looking for her brother, Chris Redfield who's disappeared following the events of the first game, though he had the foresight to teach his little sister some survival skills before becoming a super S.T.A.R. Claire will unknowingly venture into a zombie filled city to find him, because that's what family does. Claire first meets up with Leon early in the game and similarly decides not to turn back and call the national guard. She and Leon part ways as soon as the starting police station though it really just means one ends up in the front of the building and the other uses the back entrance. It's enough to keep them separated by a few minutes, so it explains why they don't run into each other very often. Mr. X somehow multitasks and manages to terrorize Claire too, though things play out differently with him. Speaking of differently, Claire's escape from the police station takes a little detour as she also meets Brian Irons and Sherry Birkin. It was a missed opportunity to cast Jeremy Irons as a voice actor, though Sherry would have sounded wrong. The young Birkin gives Claire a more achievable mission than finding her lost-cause brother who is assumedly trapped under a barbell somewhere judging by the 40ish lbs. of meat he managed to gain. 

Pretty relatable

Making my way through Claire's campaign was a mix of new and old. The puzzles and key locations were largely the same. I could complain and say they should have been all new puzzles, but my memory is bad enough that It provided enough challenge alongside the somewhat remixed enemy spawns and a pretty terrible ammo shortage early on. The police station had a pretty serious shortage of munitions considering Leon didn't manage to kill all the zombies for Claire. Ammo appeared more liberally mid-game, so there was enough lead for everybody assuming you don't plan on missing half your shots. What makes up for the lack of ammo-pockets on Claire's jeans is the more potent guns. After the handgun, the famous grenade launcher from RE0 returns in full force with two spicy grenade types. The Uzi arrives long after it's ammo does, but it's almost a stun-gun that was useful on bosses. The boss fights will be different for Claire, but it's still about not-dying. Avoiding death got me the "true" ending that would otherwise have been locked had I not played both A and B campaigns. I won't spoil it, but it was totally worth playing the two campaigns to see it. 

The Same, Only Better

Going from Resident Evil 1 to it's remade sequel felt like a big upgrade, but not a big change. Things that felt familiar to the series made their return and kept true to the series creative vision. Typewriters, healing herbs, safe rooms, inventory management have made their way into Resident Evil 2 no matter how unrealistic they may be. These aforementioned gameplay elements keep it Capcom, uniquely fresh in a kind of ironic way, especially considering the content revolves around stinky corpses. Graphical fidelity has been elevated to 2019 standards if not exceeding them. This gives us the modern third-person dynamic camera and aim-down-sights feature, but headshots are still a crapshoot unless you're willing to part with some magnum ammo, typical Resident Evil. It's just as important that modern gameplay elements aren't present to sully the Biohazard experience. Things like dodge-rolling, ranked loot, cover mechanics, and an xp system are refreshingly absent from a game released in such a modern time. It's a good two-pronged appeal to gamers: stick to the formula for die-hard fans while offering something unique to newcomers. 

What Now?

Overall, the Resident Evil 2 remake is an extremely polished game that's one of the strongest in my Steam library. Capcom's Resident Evil revisit provided the kind of horror, thrills and excitement that triple-A games and films alike often fail to deliver. The special sauce is compelling characters and the immersion to keep gamers on the edge of their seats. I've pondered whether or not horror is impossible in films, sure it can be scary, but there's a written outcome. When I play Resident Evil 2, the main characters life really is on the line, they can die over and over again. Though persevering makes me fell like a real Raccoon City survivor and that's a satisfying outcome. Overall, I'm satisfied with what the RE2 remake had to offer and I still plan to play more. See you next time, Space Comrade.