If Resident Evil 7 showed promise in Capcom's new direction for the franchise, this game all but confirmed that 7 wasn't just a fluke. While the former felt different enough from what had come before in the main series due to the new camera perspective and lack of direct connection to the overarching narrative, 2 Remake feels like a modernization of the classic Resident Evil formula, taking the best elements from everything that came before and blending them masterfully.
The return to the original game's setting, environments and story is executed in a way that makes it feel familiar enough while adding freshness with the remixed locations, puzzles and, most importantly, vastly improved visuals and mechanics. The over the shoulder, third person camera that marked the beginning of the action focused era of the franchise is implemented surprisinlgy well in a game much more focused on creating tension through atmosphere and survival than on sheer number of enemies.
Speaking of enemies, while 7 famously suffered from a disappointing lack of variety of them, 2 Remake thrives on making every type of enemy unique, forcing the player to create vastly different strategies for dealing with each of them and creating incredible moments of tension when you're faced with more than one type of enemy in a single area (a hallway in the police station that, at a certain point in the game, houses zombies, a licker and possibly Mr. X at the same time comes to mind as a highlight on that front).
Add to that elements brought from the fantastic remake of the original Resident Evil, like the defensive weapons and the map being updated when a room is clear of items, and you've got what I feel is the absolute best title in the modern RE era, feeling nostalgic enough for fans of the classic games while also being modern in its mechanics and presentation so as to welcome new players unfamiliar with the franchise or even fans of the more action focused titles.
The return to the original game's setting, environments and story is executed in a way that makes it feel familiar enough while adding freshness with the remixed locations, puzzles and, most importantly, vastly improved visuals and mechanics. The over the shoulder, third person camera that marked the beginning of the action focused era of the franchise is implemented surprisinlgy well in a game much more focused on creating tension through atmosphere and survival than on sheer number of enemies.
Speaking of enemies, while 7 famously suffered from a disappointing lack of variety of them, 2 Remake thrives on making every type of enemy unique, forcing the player to create vastly different strategies for dealing with each of them and creating incredible moments of tension when you're faced with more than one type of enemy in a single area (a hallway in the police station that, at a certain point in the game, houses zombies, a licker and possibly Mr. X at the same time comes to mind as a highlight on that front).
Add to that elements brought from the fantastic remake of the original Resident Evil, like the defensive weapons and the map being updated when a room is clear of items, and you've got what I feel is the absolute best title in the modern RE era, feeling nostalgic enough for fans of the classic games while also being modern in its mechanics and presentation so as to welcome new players unfamiliar with the franchise or even fans of the more action focused titles.