3/5 ★ – TheGamingNutt's review of Resident Evil 3.

Few franchises elicit fear and excitement like Resident Evil. The survival horror series has terrified gamers for over two decades, and has seen a number of popular entries over the current console generation. Ever since Resident Evil 7: Biohazard successfully revitalized the series in 2017, publisher Capcom has found even more critical and financial reward through remaking some of the franchise’s earlier titles. 2019’s Resident Evil 2 Remake released to unanimous acclaim, and claimed several Game of the Year awards in the process. Following in the footsteps of its predecessor, Resident Evil 3 Remake is a highly enjoyable action title, though one that doesn’t quite reach the heights of Resident Evil 2 due to its unfortunately short length and drastic reduction in exploration. With its storyline occurring simultaneously alongside Resident Evil 2, RE3 takes place in the zombie-infested, hell-razed streets of Raccoon City. Former S.T.A.R.S. officer Jill Valentine is ambushed at her home by a monstrous creature known as Nemesis, whose sole purpose is to eliminate Jill at any cost. Players control Jill as she navigates a number of unique and memorable environments in order to keep one step ahead of the Nemesis as it pursues her. Zombies lurk around every corner in Raccoon City, and pose as much of a threat to the player as they did in Resident Evil 2. Despite its broader emphasis on action, Resident Evil 3 never sacrifices its dread-inducing atmosphere and enemy encounters that RE fans crave. The arsenal of weapons at Jill’s disposal never create a sense of feeling overpowered, as zombies are still able to overwhelm you at a moment’s notice if the player is not careful at managing their resources. The attention to detail in RE3 is astounding. Decaying flesh hangs off the sides of zombies’ faces, streets are littered with burning cars, interiors boast immersive lighting effects, and character models look as good as any other AAA title on current gen consoles. The real star of RE3 is Raccoon City itself, with tall, dark buildings looming over the player as they explore the devastated streets, creep through shadowy alleyways, and fight their way through abandoned hospitals and shopping centers. Every level in RE3 feels distinct, and there is a nice sense of progression as you make your way through the story. Jill has always been one of my favorite RE protagonists, and her characterization is strong in RE3. She’s tough, determined, and can handle herself well, but she’s also willing to do what’s right, even when the hordes of flesh-eating zombies and the unstoppable, hulking Nemesis put her out of her league. The supporting cast is serviceable, with Umbrella officer Carlos being a standout. His banter with Jill is funny and the duo form a nice friendship that you want to see maintained over the course of the story. The game’s villains don’t prove as memorable, with the Nemesis itself often feeling like a more properly developed character than the actual antagonists. The story does end on a mostly satisfying note, albeit one that is familiar to anyone who has a history of playing past RE titles. The combat and exploration that made Resident Evil 2 such a worthwhile nightmare return in RE3, although they are noticeably stripped down from the previous game. The number of environmental puzzles and sense of discovery in RE3 feel decidedly sidelined to make way for action set-pieces and moment-to-moment combat encounters with zombies and Nemesis. The controls are tight and blasting a zombie’s head off with a shotgun never stops feeling satisfying, but the familiar gameplay loop of shepherding coveted items from one portion of the map to the other is proportionally reduced. This would only hurt the game’s overall quality more if the combat wasn’t enjoyable, but thankfully it is. The roster of weapons at Jill’s disposal is vast, and offers the player numerous choices in how they want to approach dealing with enemies. Weapons can also be customized and upgraded through parts collected in the environment, so there is incentive to explore, despite how little of it you actually will be doing in comparison to RE2. The biggest drawback Resident Evil 3 has is its short length. My playthrough concluded at roughly 5 hours and 30 minutes, despite me taking my time to fully explore environments, complete small optional objectives, and look for collectibles. While it is true that Resident Evil 2 clocks in at the same amount of time, that game benefits from offering three additional campaigns that add, and significantly alter, the story by shifting the protagonists’ perspectives. Resident Evil 3 doesn’t have multiple campaigns to play through, and therefore, the replay value in experiencing the story is severely diminished. It’s not to say my time with the game wasn’t well-spent, as I thoroughly enjoyed every moment of it, but in a day and age when previous titles are offering up to four campaigns at once with tens of hours of playtime, it makes RE3 look unfortunately deficient in terms of overall content. Despite its length and reduced focus on exploration, Resident Evil 3 still offers a highly polished, scary, and terrifically fun journey through Raccoon City. Satisfying combat, a loving attention to detail, a superb and haunting atmosphere, likable protagonists, and a terrifying villain in Nemesis add up to a title that is sure to keep the series’ renewed momentum from decaying.