8.5/10
Grand, fast, addicting. Those are the words I'd describe the remake of the Gamecube classic. You couldn't blame me for being cautious about this remake since its announcement. A remake of a game that could only exist in 2005. A game that was ground-breaking, infinitely replayable, and charming as hell. How do you remake that? What made matters worse was that this was following the underwhelming Resident Evil 3 Remake. While that game is nowhere near bad, it followed the greatest remake seen since the Gamecube remake of the original Resident Evil. Fortunately, all my worries subsided after completing the intro sequence of the game. It was pure fun. Enemies were fast and incredibly smart. Leon felt great to control. And crowd control has never been more fun in a shooting game. And luckily, the game only went up from there.
The expansion of especially the village and castle feels so natural that it took me a few minutes before I realised that this wasn't in the original. Exploring and completing side quests carries this immense satisfaction that only adds to the already addicting rhythm of the game. I like the redesigns of most characters and enjoy seeing them all in RE Engine goodness. And seeing certain encounters from the original game reimagined was the coolest shit ever.
It's hard to compare this game to one I've been playing since I was 7 but this almost reaches its heights. In fact, some parts of this game are better than the original. Exploration, bosses, enemy design, writing, and visuals (ofc). Bosses here are much more realised aside from Del Lago which is literally just the same fight but without the QTEs, making it incredibly boring. Music is just as good as the original game's which really surprised me. The bonus time music playing for the first time got me so excited. Hearing that theme remixed like that was incredible. And the new Salazar theme really caught my ear. A grand waltz that fits the almost dancing rhythm of his fight. Also fitting the added depth to his character in the remake.
Speaking of, pretty much every character in this game has been given much more depth than the original, making the nonsensical story of the original actually make sense and even become engaging. The cheesiness and camp are still there but they blend it with the darker tone and world-building of the recent RE games. Filling areas with interesting and flavourful notes that give insight on how each monster or variant of the virus you fight was created as well as other interesting stories. Other notable ideas and features include the parrying system, which is just incredibly fun to pull off. The shooting range, where I sunk hours into to try and get the best scores possible. Ashley, who's character arc is much more satisfying. And Ada and Krauser's awful voice acting. Not sure what happened there...
If the OG game is a 9/10 then this is an 8.5 and is a perfect follow-up for newcomers coming from the RE2 remake. I would understand if someone likes this as much or more than the original. This has solidified Capcom as the greatest video game company of the past 5 years. With the revival of Resident Evil and Devil May Cry and now Dragon's Dogma as well. And Monster Hunter is still dishing out good games and Street Fighter 6 looks great in comparison to the lacklustre SF5. I hope they continue to kill it. (please give me Devil May Cry 6 please and thank u)
Grand, fast, addicting. Those are the words I'd describe the remake of the Gamecube classic. You couldn't blame me for being cautious about this remake since its announcement. A remake of a game that could only exist in 2005. A game that was ground-breaking, infinitely replayable, and charming as hell. How do you remake that? What made matters worse was that this was following the underwhelming Resident Evil 3 Remake. While that game is nowhere near bad, it followed the greatest remake seen since the Gamecube remake of the original Resident Evil. Fortunately, all my worries subsided after completing the intro sequence of the game. It was pure fun. Enemies were fast and incredibly smart. Leon felt great to control. And crowd control has never been more fun in a shooting game. And luckily, the game only went up from there.
The expansion of especially the village and castle feels so natural that it took me a few minutes before I realised that this wasn't in the original. Exploring and completing side quests carries this immense satisfaction that only adds to the already addicting rhythm of the game. I like the redesigns of most characters and enjoy seeing them all in RE Engine goodness. And seeing certain encounters from the original game reimagined was the coolest shit ever.
It's hard to compare this game to one I've been playing since I was 7 but this almost reaches its heights. In fact, some parts of this game are better than the original. Exploration, bosses, enemy design, writing, and visuals (ofc). Bosses here are much more realised aside from Del Lago which is literally just the same fight but without the QTEs, making it incredibly boring. Music is just as good as the original game's which really surprised me. The bonus time music playing for the first time got me so excited. Hearing that theme remixed like that was incredible. And the new Salazar theme really caught my ear. A grand waltz that fits the almost dancing rhythm of his fight. Also fitting the added depth to his character in the remake.
Speaking of, pretty much every character in this game has been given much more depth than the original, making the nonsensical story of the original actually make sense and even become engaging. The cheesiness and camp are still there but they blend it with the darker tone and world-building of the recent RE games. Filling areas with interesting and flavourful notes that give insight on how each monster or variant of the virus you fight was created as well as other interesting stories. Other notable ideas and features include the parrying system, which is just incredibly fun to pull off. The shooting range, where I sunk hours into to try and get the best scores possible. Ashley, who's character arc is much more satisfying. And Ada and Krauser's awful voice acting. Not sure what happened there...
If the OG game is a 9/10 then this is an 8.5 and is a perfect follow-up for newcomers coming from the RE2 remake. I would understand if someone likes this as much or more than the original. This has solidified Capcom as the greatest video game company of the past 5 years. With the revival of Resident Evil and Devil May Cry and now Dragon's Dogma as well. And Monster Hunter is still dishing out good games and Street Fighter 6 looks great in comparison to the lacklustre SF5. I hope they continue to kill it. (please give me Devil May Cry 6 please and thank u)