Resident Evil 2 | PS4 Review

When Capcom announced a remake to the vaunted Resident Evil 2, almost every series fan was thrilled. After all, Capcom had great success in its 2002 remake of the original Resident Evil, and it had long seemed overdue that the sequel get a similar treatment. That wait proves itself more than worth it, as Capcom saw fit to overhaul the game entirely. Make no mistake, this is more than a mere coat of paint. Resident Evil 2 is a brand new game.

Remakes, reboots, and remasters are so commonplace these days that it’s often hard to distinguish between them. So it’s best to approach this newest survival-horror game as its own beast. True, the puzzles harken back to yesteryear, as do many of the gameplay mechanics. But between the new story cutscenes, graphics engine, and remixed progression, it quickly becomes apparent this game is its own beast.

The Horror at Home

Leon S. Kennedy is reporting to his first day on the job at Raccoon City Police Department. But as it seems to be for every rookie cop in fiction, things don’t go as planned. Quickly he comes to realize the entire city has been overrun by zombies. Claire Redfield is a woman on her own mission, determined to find her missing brother. These two characters meet early on, and part ways almost immediately. This leads into one of the major features of Resident Evil 2.

You can choose to play as either character at the start of the game. No matter who you choose, you’ll be going through the same motions. Same areas, same puzzles, same undead creatures of the night. Where things get mixed up is in their storylines. Claire meets up with Sherry Birkin, a young girl in need of help; whereas Leon meets up with Ada Wong, and FBI agent investigating the shady Umbrella Corporation. Though both stories lead you through the same environments, the story changes help to distinguish things.

Borne From Trauma

Both leads are well acted, and display a compelling arc. They start off cautious and afraid, but by the end of their versions of the story, they start becoming action heroes. Pulling off quippy one-liners and displaying bravado that was formerly missing. It’s subtle, but I really appreciated it. Special mention goes to Stephanie Panisello, who blew me away as Claire. I felt the frustration in every exasperated swear word she uttered, of which there are many.

As you explore the areas in RE2, you’ll notice something quite a bit different. Though this game is 2019 in looks and control, it becomes apparent that the 1998 game design shines through. This may sound like a negative, but it’s anything but. It’s refreshing in the modern gaming context of quest logs and skill trees. It harkens back to an era where you have to actually remember the safe codes, instead of a character doing it for you. The old-fashioned design of finding keys inside mysterious statues feels refreshing here, not annoying. Same goes for the reliance on maps, instead of waypoints.

The combat is another great example of blending old with new. The perspective shifts to an over-the-shoulder 3rd person angle, instead of the locked camera angles of the original. With this comes changed combat. You’ll aim as you do in most games, but the difference comes in firing. Your crosshair expands incredibly wide with each shot, and with no aim assist (by default), it means you’ll be missing a lot. It takes a healthy amount of time for the crosshair to reset, and you’ll feel the pressure as zombies shamble closer. The game requires patience from the player, but that can be difficult with undead nasties clawing after you.

Ace Combat

This difficulty in having a shot connect makes it so the tension persists throughout. Coupled with the incredibly low ammo count, Resident Evil 2 keeps every combat encounter palm-sweat inducing throughout the entire game. Especially against the repeating enemy Mr. X. This invincible mostronsity will begin stalking Claire and Leon partway into the campaign. He can only be slowed, never killed. Since he can show up at random in the police station, it makes backtracking less of a chore, and more of a macabre dance of death.

The bosses in Resident Evil 2, however, are a complete disappointment. The franchise has a pretty good track record in boss fights, but they feel designed for 1998 in this game. Unlike other old-school design choices, though, the bosses don’t translate as well. It feels like little effort was made in molding them to the new combat system. Fortunately, this is far from a focal point of the game.

Escape is Not an Option

Resident Evil 2 appears to be quite short when you first see credits roll, but then the game unlocks “2nd Run.” Say you beat the game as Leon first. After you complete it, Claire unlocks a “2nd Run.” I found myself pretty disappointed, and even frustrated, with the mode at first. I assumed it would be completely new and show us what Claire had been up to during Leon’s events. Turns out it works as more of an abridged narrative.

The levels, puzzles, and enemies are mostly the same as the standard mode, albeit with solutions remixed into different areas. At first I was pretty bored with this, but eventually you get to the new Claire narrative. It’s the same story with Sherry you’d get in the “1st run,” but with a lot of the cutscenes before it removed. Both characters also have a different arsenal and final boss, so that helped in keeping it fresh. The core gameplay is so very, very good that I found myself ready and willing to redo it all immediately anyway, once that initial frustration wore off.

Resident Evil 2 should inspire game developers. This jaw-droppingly beautiful game also plays immaculately. It’s not afraid to respect game design of yesteryear, and is brave enough to update in intelligent ways. It trusts the player to figure the game out by themselves in an era where games desperately call attention to every nook and cranny. When figuring out gaming’s future, I hope more developers are smart enough to look to the past.