Resident Evil 2 Remake earns its spot as one of the best games to come out for this year. The release of this game helps put the franchise back on its feet! The series has struggled before with its previous releases. Especially, when the fourth-main entry of the series came out – that’s when the franchise starts to derail itself from its identity and lost its true self.

Rebirth of The Survival Horror

Resident Evil 2 Remake made me fall-in-love with the series and genre once again. It captures the essence of the original; the horror is amazing, inventory management is back, and my god, the gore! I have not yet seen a gore that’s both epic and gross. The gameplay is an updated version of the original – no more fixed camera angles, and no more tank controls. Players are now provided with a third-person over the shoulder camera, that brought out a fresh perspective of the place that players have come across twenty-one years ago. The combat is great! Aiming feels tight, but that accuracy wouldn’t matter so much when the zombies almost takes up a clip and a half to fully pop its head off! There’s also a new addition of sidearms in the game; knife and grenades, players can use it as is, or use it as a counter-attack once a zombie gets a hold of Leon and/or Claire. Veterans of the series will appreciate the ink ribbons, as it is back but only when playing hardcore mode. I do recommend new players playing the game in Hardcore mode, as this is the best way to experience survival horror.

X Gon’ Give It To Ya!

The tyrant, oh, the lovely Mr. X. The malevolent being adds dread to your already menacing journey. The players will be constantly forced to move around, as it hears gunshots and will know right away where the players at, and he will stalk you for the whole duration of the game. It may be a turn off to other players, but, in my opinion, I enjoyed the tyrants presence. It forces me to strategize and know my ins-and-outs of the whole RPD. Don’t let that footsteps scare you! I know it is scary, but he can be easily fooled like a little puppy.  

This can be a good B-Movie

Yes, you read that right. The game’s story isn’t the greatest, as a matter of fact, it’s very cheesy, and I love how Capcom embraced how trite and cheesy the plot is! The developers from Capcom hardly changed anything from its trite plot, they only made it more fleshed out. They could’ve improved the game’s plot, as they actually tried to make the story grounded in its fiction, and made it feel more realistic. Every room and hallway almost tells a story and it feels real. The notes you read feels real, and the return of the typewriter is amazing. It made me feel that I am one of the survivors telling my part of the story, yes, they really did a good job with that, and for once in a Resident Evil game, I was immerse in it. The only problem with its plot is the lack of crossover with both Leon & Claire. The original game has more interaction between the two protagonists.  

Two Different Roads, Same Destination

This is the game’s biggest flaw. Both Leon & Claire’s campaign is extremely similar. The game forces you to do the same puzzles that you’ve done in your first run, and it doesn’t chronologically make sense to see the door that you’ve unlocked in your first run, and having to find that door locked in your second run. The only difference is that some puzzles have a tiny twist to it, other than that nothing.

Conclusion

My conclusion over this game is that it is a very good game; The gameplay is tight, the atmosphere is amazing. The biggest flaw of the game is the lack of crossovers between the two protagonists, and how the first and the second run is extremely similar. Besides that, the game is amazing, and I couldn’t recommend it enough. The franchise has finally recovered and embraced its true self once again.