Man alive, there’s a lot of mans not-alive
I’ve never played Resident Evil 2. And, I knew that Capcom’s Resident Evil 2 remake wouldn’t be showing any new content at PAX West. Still, I had to get an appointment. CJ’s E3 hands-on was enough to convince me that this is something I need to try for myself.
My intuition is still undefeated. This was a superb use of 20 minutes during a busy convention.
The first things I noticed were all the obvious ones. Wow, this PlayStation 1-era classic looks incredible on current tech. This overrun police station is atmospheric and spooky as all get-out. People weren’t exaggerating when they said Leon had “the worst first day ever.”
But the more subtle personal revelations are the ones that made me most excited for the remake. My time with Resident Evil 7 seems to have me well-prepared to take on this version of Resident Evil 2. The item/inventory system seemed damn near identical. The map feature is a convenient way to get around without getting too lost. The methodical third-person headshot-hunting is always tense because ammo is always at a premium.
The Resident Evil 2 remake has a way of seemingly building on the best aspects of the series over the years and dragging them into the modern era. I ran across some medallion and symbol-based combination lock puzzles. They’re Resident Evil staples, and they’re back (probably) because they’re familiar and they aren’t laughably outdated.
I didn’t have enough time to complete those puzzles, but I’d assume they’re less cryptic than in the original Resident Evil 2. The remake (and RE7) have a skilled way of signposting where your eyes need to fall. Remember that bit in RE7 where you use the knife to cut the tape that leads to the garage fight? Resident Evil 2 has that and you just immediately know what to do. It strikes a nice balance where you feel clever for quickly figuring it out even if it’s not all that far removed from a giant arrow just pointing out the next step.
Capcom is smartly pushing Resident Evil in a direction that modernizes it by using the best systems from recent games and improving upon them when necessary. I really can’t stress enough how comfortable I felt with the Resident Evil 2 remake simply because I played Resident Evil 7 in 2017. Well, as comfortable as you can be when zombie police officers jump out of the shadows and your coworkers’ viscera is slopped all over the floor.
