4.5/5 ★ – SlashStriker's review of Resident Evil 2.

It should be criminal that I didn’t check this game out until recently. I’ll admit my first foray into the RE franchise wasn’t ideal, my first game was RE5 which I got at launch and thought was janky and boring as hell. Since then I avoided the franchise thinking it wasn’t for me. Then last year I played through RE7 and really enjoyed it, leading to a desire to try these recent remakes I had heard so much about. This RE2 remake is easily one of the most polished remake games I’ve ever played and is a hell of a game in general. Resident Evil 2 Remake is a third-person survival horror game developed internally by Capcom. The game focuses around the experiences of two characters, rookie Raccoon City cop Leon Kennedy and a young girl named Claire Redfield who came to town looking for her brother. They have both been forced into confronting a new breed of zombie-esque monsters who have fully taken over the city. Neither character is prepared for this reality but both face the issue head on and deal with their own unique experiences across the course of the story, which is split between their two stories. Yes that means two playthroughs are needed to get the full picture of the plot here, but choosing to only do one path is still very satisfying and if you do choose to go into the other the gameplay shifts in various ways to keep things fresh. Gameplay alternates between combat, puzzles and general environmental interaction. Every enemy you come across in the game is a threat, even the lowliest grunt, so you are forced into constant split second decision making. This is made more stressful by the focus on resource management, with limited ammo and healing items available in the game. The game takes place across 3-4 key locations in the city but centers around the Raccoon City Police Department, which is where I believe the game shines the brightest. The sense of ‘place’ this game exudes is something other games should really be learning more from. Every location feels grounded, key items are always highlighted by natural signposting and the map in this game is one of the best I’ve ever seen. It’s a maze of a game, but you have all the tools to find your way through it and feel damn good coming out the other side. Leon and Claire are both very ‘cool’ and generally interesting characters. Their portrayals are very enjoyable, with Leon especially being a real lovable idiot. Sound design across the board is really great, lending further atmosphere to these great gameplay sandboxes. Boss battles are a real highlight here, with none feeling unfair and all scratching the classic boss battle itch like few modern games do. Combat in general is really responsive and satisfying, even if enemies get back up a good bit too much.. I would, and already have, recommend this game to anyone and everyone who is willing to give it a chance, it is definitely the ideal jumping on point for modern RE. If this short review sounds gushy it’s because I loved the heck out of this experience and would love to share that experience with others! I played this game on PS5 using the recently released native app for the console and purchased it at a discount price off the PS Store (it goes on sale for like $10 across all platforms constantly!).