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The Tyrant of the horror genre still rules with an iron fist
Content Warning: Images and descriptions of gore and violence
I was still a child the first time I ever watched or played a horror game, completely unaware of what I was getting into. I remember sitting on the floor at a friend’s house, watching the screen as a man in blue trudged through the sewers, when suddenly, a giant alligator burst onto the scene. As Leon ran for his life on-screen, my friend and I were screaming the whole way. No game had ever made me feel terror like that before. We spent the rest of the day playing Resident Evil 2 (1998), and I was so distraught when I finally had to go home.
Once we got back home, I begged my sister to get me that game. Eventually, she did. Big sis pulled through, bringing home a copy of Resident Evil 2: DualShock Version. Not really knowing what I was doing, I played it on “Arrange Game”. How cool is an unlimited gatling gun or infinite SMG? Despite these powerful tools, I was still so scared of everything I was seeing and hearing. I could not play the game in the dark, or even alone. Those squelching sounds of the zombies and the lickers’ tongues haunted my dreams for some time. Eventually, I beat the game and fell in love with the Resident Evil Franchise.
Publisher: Capcom Developer: Capcom Platform: Played on PC Availability: Released January 25, 2019 for PS4, Xbox One, and Windows. June 13, 2022 for PS5, and Xbox Series S/X. |
Enter Resident Evil2 (2019), a remake of the previously mentioned, legendary game of the same name. While remaining fully within the same survival horror genre, this newer take on the classic now features an over-the-shoulder third-person camera, like the camera angles featured in many other modern Resident Evil games and popularized by Resident Evil 4. Modernized controls, camera angles, and completely revamped graphics make the idea of a remake an enticing prospect, and Resident Evil 2 (2019) delivers all of that and more.
The core of the game remains the same: A story split across 2 scenarios and stories (Claire and Leon), where you must navigate through the winding and intricate levels of a police station, sewer, and underground lab. While trying to make your escape and survive the night, you’ll come across zombies and other horrors, solve puzzles, and frequently rearrange your inventory to make the necessary space in your pack to continue through the areas.
There are differences, however, in how these function from the original game. The story itself has been slightly modified, and much of it is told through beautiful cutscenes that really showcase the great character and environmental design put in place here. The Scenario A/B function of the game is less impactful in the remake than the original game, but you’ll still see different enemy and item placements and get a different final boss. The game is also visually much darker than the original, with your characters navigating dark hallways and rooms with only a flashlight or minimal lighting to keep the enemies hidden. Puzzles in the remake are actually puzzles, rather than simple key item repositories.
There are a few concessions to modern game design principles, however. Items now appear on your map if you see them, and the map will automatically update to let you know if a room has been cleaned out. Navigating the halls of the station and other areas is seamless - no loading screens whatsoever. And finally, saves are now infinite, whereas in the original game they were limited to how many ink ribbons you had on your person.
Visually stunning and appropriately dark, the game knows just when to show it's hand.
Another big difference is the inclusion of Mr. X as a persistent threat in the first run of the game. He is somehow one of my favorite and least favorite mechanics at the same time. He is just so tenacious. The threat of this hulking mass wandering the halls and punching you in the face at any given time really ramps up the urgency of every action. And you’ll hear his big boots coming from a mile away. It always keeps the tension high, even if you can just enter a safe room to avoid him in many situations.
Without playing the game, you would assume that the increased character control and better gunplay would serve to make the game less scary than its predecessor, but I am here to tell you that is flatly untrue. While you are more capable as a player, so too are the enemies. They move faster, travel in bigger packs, and are in more tightly enclosed areas then the original game. On top of that, the graphics are so damn good – making the gore and decay present here truly repulsive sometimes.
Some moments in the game are absolutely brutal to witness.
All of this is tried together by the excellent sound design all throughout the game. As you wander in the dark, you’ll hear noises of your enemies in the distance. Shuffling of the walking zombies, or glass shattering, or various other disgusting sounds permeate the halls. Sometimes it’s a fake-out, and at others - a warning. Those sounds really keep you on your toes – I felt insanely paranoid throughout much of my runtime. The sounds are appropriately disgusting when needed, but I think it’s so well done in other areas, too. Things like clanking of metal bars, or aluminum cans, or how your gun rings out when you fire it are expertly crafted, and if you have a good sound system or pair of headphones, you’ll be wowed by just how great everything sounds.
The voice acting is perhaps the only thing that is uneven in the sound department. Some of the performances are stellar here, while others remain a bit flat. Nothing ever reaches outright bad acting, but it’s not the strongest feature. This is a bit of a disappointment, because the story and presentation are truly excellent, overall. It serves as a great re-telling of a classic story but does enough to make itself stand out from the original material. I found myself engaged throughout the entire experience, and there were more than a few surprises, even for someone familiar with the source material.
It may not have been pretty, but we made it through the experience.
Something that makes this game difficult for me to review is just it’s inherent nature as a horror game. It is with great shame that I admit this game scared the ever-living-hell out of me - basically from start to finish. Every enemy I can’t see but can hear drives me into paranoia. Each time Mr. X walks through a doorway, I start spiraling into a panic. It can be hard for me to focus on the details as I play the game, because I am just so flustered. I’m just trying to survive.
Despite that constant state of fear, I loved this game. Or maybe it’s because of that fear that I appreciate the craftsmanship on display here. That is the point of a horror game, after all, isn’t it? I know my general state of panic was horrifying in the moment, but when I look back on each memorable set-piece, or fight, or scene, I can’t help but think to myself damn, that was cool.
Verdict Resident Evil is a franchise that exemplifies horror, and Resident Evil 2 (2019) goes even beyond that. It is, quite simply, the finest horror game I have ever played. From the exciting story to the frightening creatures on display, this game shines brightly in the dark. It’s a game that makes you consider your options constantly and puts you on the spot to face your fears at every turn. Best of all, it’s so damn fun to play. If you are interested in Resident Evil as a franchise, or even just horror games as a whole, you owe it to yourself to play this masterpiece.  |
Image Credits: Capcom and Taylor Rioux
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