How the Resident Evil 2 remake is different from the original

January 25 is the celebration day for all Resident Evil fans. Resident Evil 2 Remake, teased us before on game events with its impressive look, finally became available for broad public audience. More than 20 years have passed from our first visit in Raccoon City. Have something changed in the game during this time? A lot have changed, if not to say all.

Plot

All that Capcom left from the original RE2 is the characters and the plot.
The circumstances are the same: Leon Kennedy (first-day police officer) and Claire Redfield (searching for her brother, protagonist of the first RE game) arrive in Raccoon City when it is outbreak of zombie epidemy happened. Our heroes wouldn`t be alone: Leon will be accompanied by charming spy Ada Vong, while Claire — by Sherry, little daughter of the scientist William Birkin, responsible for start of the epidemy.

The game is still divided on two campaigns (both characters will go through same locations), but scenarios are gone. In classic RE2, both Leon and Claire had scenarios “A” and “B”. But things are simpler now — you shouldn`t go through the game four times to see all possible events. This is especially good, considering the game now twice as long. But if you want more, check two additional campaigns for To-fu and special operations soldier Hunk.

Scenes sequence was changed in the remake. Capcom did its best to make the narrative more meaningful and dramatic.

Locations

Developers had actively showing the police department from RE 2 Remake before release. It was already clear — rooms became bigger.

But in general set of locations is still the same. However, at least one new location was added — “Orphanage”.

Graphics

It`s pretty obvious — games from 1998 and 2019 are very different.

RE 2 Remake is made on Resident Evil 7 engine. However, the developer team didn`t risk to bother themselves with first-person view and VR support.

Fixed camera from original (which worked well with 3D characters and 2D backgrounds) was replaced by third-person view. Naturally, loading screens between locations disappeared. Appearance of all characters was made on basis of real peoples. Some characters changed completely — for example, Sherry finally looks as American child and wears right clothes. But zombies changed the most — every dead now have unique appearance and get realistic wounds. Physical model of the game considers the part of a zombie`s body you shot — Capcom`s dedication to details is astonishing.

Gameplay

Now we finally come to the main dish — gameplay. Here we also have some important remarks.

Gameplay of RE 2 Remake focused not on shooting, but on rooms` exploration and puzzle solving. Similarly to the original game, puzzles are not hard, but are not pushovers either — you need to carefully collect items and check every corner.

Also characters will learn new tricks. For example, Ada Vong now has a special gadget to control electronic devices from the distance.

Autoaim also is available option if you want to feel nostalgic.

In RE 2 Remake zombies became serious threat. They follow protagonists, break into windows and open doors in boundaries of their territory. Each of them is not easy to beat — you need to waste quite a few bullets to kill it (or it can just pretend — and rise from the ground behind you). Despite there are no additional types of enemies, these zombies greatly varieties gameplay and freshen RE series general impressions.

What else Capcom added?

Deluxe Edition of RE 2 Remake will allow you to walk along Raccoon City streets listening to classical soundtrack. However, melodies will change softly unlike the original`s sharp transitions. Also, Deluxe Edition contains special costume for Claire — the costume of Elza Walker, female protagonist from the original script of RE 2, later replaced by Chris Redfield`s sister.

As you can see, RE 2 Remake has plenty of stuff to evoke nostalgic feelings. Capcom made a creative move even with trailers. For example, it shot a video with real life actors clearly inspired by Japanese advertisement of RE 2 directed by George Romero, the famous horror director (“Dawn of the Dead”, “Night of the Living Dead”).

What we can say in conclusion? It is obvious: Capcom correctly updated the classic by preserving the basis and complementing it with elements, essential for modern blockbuster. More than 2.6 millions of users played the Remake demo — that`s the sign of players excitement. Only problem for you could be in system requirements. If you don`t like compromises, sign up to Playkey.net— Resident Evil 2 is already in our catalogue.