For all the survival horror that I've dabbled with over the past few years, this is the title that made me the most cognizant of the "survival" aspect. It’s this elaborate balancing act of juggling every limited resource at your disposal: ammo for bosses and enemies, kerosene to burn necessary corpses after downing zombies to secure routes, health items as fail safes, ink ribbons to save when deemed necessary, and most importantly, inventory space to minimize backtracking with the bare minimum (knowing what you’re likely to use up as you progress so you have enough room to forage). What’s key to all of this is that it’s often worthwhile not downing zombies at all to not only conserve ammo, but also prevent the possibility of a more dangerous Crimson Head when kerosene is not only limited but requires further planning for refueling and additional inventory slots (lighter + flask). It’s punishing, but in the best way possible; damage and death become instruments of observation to properly plan out backtracking and understanding exactly what goes where. Perhaps my favorite example of this in action was abusing the various doors in a room connecting the shed corridor with a safe room; by quickly going in and out of the entrances, I could not only reset a Hunter’s awareness and spawn, but also place myself in a position where I could immediately run at the Hunter to proc an attack and slip past every time. It certainly helps, regardless, that there’s plenty of leeway for careful experimentation, thanks to all of the scattered health items about the mansion (granted, often requiring careful planning to optimize grounded herbs in rooms and keeping enough inventory space open for trips). It’s also fairly firm at setting its boundaries by telegraphing enemy placement far in advance with rattling doors/windows to signify enemy shifts, background moaning when a zombie is present in the room, and even environmental noises like crunching fallen glass to make up for the lack of vision with fixed camera angles.

That doesn’t mean, however, that the horror has been neglected. If anything, I found this game far more unsettling beyond sudden surprises. It’s not so much the fear of the unexpected, but rather, the lingering fear of waiting for the other shoe to drop while you’re expecting the unexpected. They're scripted events, sure, but they're well disguised thanks to every room often acting as its own isolated microcosm without the presence of the protagonist (not to mention that it's pretty easy to get caught up in the middle of things and forget about each individual room, which makes it all the more viscerally shocking) and there's still a feeling of player control with careful planning and routing. This fits perfectly alongside its core philosophy of risk versus reward, the existential dread of having to backtrack through several zombie infested corridors when you realize you forgot an inventory key and having to constantly and deliberately throw yourself into tight situations just to save another trip across the map. It’s what makes this such an ideal speedrunning game: not necessarily because of satisfying movement or combat, but because Resident Evil is really a game about time management. Every second wasted tromping through another passageway is time that could contribute to a zombie reviving as a Crimson Head or another second spent replaying if you’re not willing to use that extra ink ribbon. The primal fear arising from guaranteed safety as a fleeting resource lends perfectly to the need for optimization; in that sense, pressuring players into constantly checking the map to avoid confrontations and getting lost goes hand in hand with spending as little time as possible, for nothing is more terrifying than having to rewind the simulations in your head for another go.

I can’t help but feel that every detail of this game was thought down to the bone, even the original tank control scheme. That’s right, I’m actually defending tank controls for once in my life… how the turns have tabled. Dodging enemies can seem tougher, but most are conveniently placed near corners and more open areas to give you the room necessary to dodge with a backstep/quick burst to the side if you’re willing to wait and bait committal attacks. More importantly, using tank controls lets you maintain your direction and momentum while running through different camera angles of a room. With alternate controls, you most likely have to hold down the joystick to maintain velocity and upon a new camera angle, will have to quickly retap to keep the intended direction with each new angle. This becomes paramount in tighter chase sequences, where even slight moments of stagnation can lead to damage/death, as well as one timed puzzle where I had to press a button and then quickly run through several fixed angles to get into position to push a statue. In addition, I found it rather difficult to reliably walk (as opposed to running full-time) with alternate controls over tank controls, which can absolutely backfire during an end-game sequence where running for a prolonged period can trigger an explosion during nitro delivery. Therefore, the circumstances created by the environment not only are doable with tank controls, but in fact necessitate the usage of such controls.

Everything just comes together as this tightly designed package. Puzzles have fairly evident tells and can be figured out with careful observation of the surroundings while facilitating the inventory scramble that plays so heavily to the game’s survival elements. The lore never feels overbearing or excessive, and does a great job weaving in hints for crafting approaches and figuring out exactly what has to be accomplished. There’s never an explicit timer on screen outside of the final ending segment, yet the game is great at creating circumstances where you’re forced to make decisions on the fly from environmental stressors and considering the mansion not just on a per room basis, but as a sum of its parts. I genuinely don’t think I have any gripes; it was more than happy to beat me down, but understanding its parameters to scale up against its challenges was an incredibly fulfilling experience. I’d damn well say that REmake is the most focused and cohesive survival horror experience I’ve ever played. Not just a perfect remake, but perhaps a practically perfect game.

RE marathon continuation and at this point we came back to the heart of it all the remake of the ps1 game and arguably even better received and more beloved than the cult classic and still having played the original too i can think of them as 2 different beasts entirely

sidenote

every single playthrough i have done of resident evil 1 i did it choosing jill because even though you can sneeze on her and get her at CRITICAL status she got 8 item slots that really streamline the game a lot . i chose here in the original resident evil and i chose her when i played REmake on gamecube BUT i found out that you can choose chris but with the resident evil 5 screen and what happened is i moaned came in my pants and chose him over jill in a 0.2 seconds whim and that is the very first playthrough i ever did with chris fucking redfield and ironically also got to know who rebecca is for the first time in my life since after the release of resident evil 0 they locked her in a bunker or something and never brought her existence back to life

first things first the art direction of this game and also retrospectively compared to the original is possibly the most beautiful revamping work ive ever seen in my entire life every single room of the mansion is filled to the brim with details the camera angles are absolutely jawdropping and make for some incredibly unforgettable sceneries (ive played this game years ago and i could predict the precise camera angle that was gonna show up thats just how iconic every single game of this game is) and the lighting work is mesmerizing i cannot begin to tell you how much the artistic department of this game fucking snapped and brought this mansion to life

in the original one it can be said that the yellow disgusting rooms and kind of aseptic sceneries may have been 50/50 intentional AND due to technological constraints but here they took the spencer mansion and completely overhauled it into a gothic / renaissance chiaroscuro artist (EG caravaggio) wet dream and mine alike

character models are also absolutely fucking insane not because theyre like high tech whatever but because they blend so well with the overall environment its just UGHHHHH also jill looks hot as fuck as always im not a fan of prepuberal chris redfield and thats why i chose the other skin so as for re5 chris redfield ? hes so fucking hot he could smash my head between those biceps and i want him to fuck me raw until i cry my eyes out that being said rebecca why the fuck are you wearing a cowboy vest and boots what the hell

all in all the core feeling of original resident evil is here and thriving the survival horror feeling is not only completely untouched but also improved now you get zombies that get up in a stronger form if you dont burn them and thats pretty fucking funny also the mansion got incredibly expanded and theres also some new areas AROUND the mansion that give some more insight to the game and more runtime to the exploration the puzzles were also revamped a little and the progression isnt as linear as you may think this game is absolutely fantastic

you got also a new boss and storyline with the lisa something but it deeeeeeeefinitely feels like an EXTRA than something that got entwined to the main story flawlessly but its fine because the design of the monster is actually kinda great even tho the boss fight can be done in 12 seconds if you know what you need to do

the music is somehow more atmospheric than the original but somehow less memorable ? i have no idea if that makes sense but some tunes from the original one are engrained in my neurons and will never get out i fear

the story is the same nothing to add you get infodumped at the last 20 minutes like every single resident evil and honestly im here for it

so umh great resident evil game or whatever people are right when they say this is the greatest remake of all time and also a masterpiece of a game theres really nothing that feels quite like this

There's few games I revisit as much as REmake. It's become a tradition at this point to replay it every October, but since I have a big slate of games I want to get to next month, I decided to replay this one a little bit early.

Obviously it still holds up, I wouldn't come back to it annually if it didn't, but it's also hard to overstate how much it improves on the original Resident Evil. The entire mansion has been completely overhauled, with new puzzles, rooms, and enemies not only adding to the experience but improving it. The pacing is better, gameplay feels tighter, and the sequence in which puzzles progress feels far more fluid. Navigating menus (something you do a lot of in Resident Evil) is snappier, with the clicking and snapping sound effects that accompany navigation making them feel good to interact with. In general, the game benefits from some amazing sound design for a game released in 2002. Guns pop off with a satisfying punch, and the distant growls and groans of monsters provide both a sense of spatial awareness and foreboding.

My favorite addition is the Crimson Head zombies. In the original Resident Evil, which zombies you took out boiled down to whether or not you had enough ammo on hand to afford killing them. There was a certain layer of strategy there, forcing the player to decide if it was worth clearing out an oft-traveled hallway or continue to risk taking damage. REmake adds an extra level of anxiety to this by forcing the player to dispatch zombies either by exploding their heads or burning their corpse, or else they'll resurrect as more powerful 28 Days Later style zombies, transforming what was once a safe zone into a murder hall. REmake was the first survival horror game I played, and being so new to the genre and acclimating to the clumsy tank controls made Crimson Heads the most terrifying thing ever.

REmake is also one of the few games I can replay immediately after finishing a run. Finishing a casual playthrough and reacclimating to the mansion's layout is fun in itself, but the true meat of the game for me is taking everything I've learned and trying to plan the most efficient route for a second run. REmake also adds a slew of additional modes to augment subsequent runs, and trophies provide additional challenges like clearing the game with a knife only, or completing a run without saving. That fun of planning a second run then becomes planning a third run while considering invisible enemies and not healing, or routing around Real Survivor's non-magic boxes and going knife only. Despite coming back to this game over and over and over again, I'm always able to squeeze so much fun from it.

One area where the 2014 remaster doesn't quite hold up is in its presentation, which is a little ironic given the whole point of the project was to bring the game into HD. Some textures aren't scaled properly, leaving them blurry, and a few pre-rendered backgrounds just have a quality about them that feels off. Full 3D movement was also introduced in this version of the game, a godsend for people who hate tank controls. While this control scheme does make it easier to bait and juke zombies, it doesn't exactly play nice with the pre-set camera angles, making some screen transitions finicky. These are both minor complaints, however, but are observable weak points in the HD remaster over the Gamecube release.

The Resident Evil series is filled with so many great games, but none have ever topped REmake for me. And that's fine. I own this thing on like, three different platforms, plus I have it loaded onto my jailbroken Wii, and I have the ISO on two PCs and two external drives. The only way I will stop playing this game is if I die.

recently when I mentioned I had picked this game up again to one of my friends he recoiled a bit: "I thought you said that game was shit." after starting it last year I put it down after just a few hours and decided it simply wasn't for me... too scuffed and too boomer-ish. deep down I knew it was just a mad-because-bad reaction, but I had to pretend otherwise for the sake of my own pride. I couldn't stay away forever though, and earlier this week I hopped back into it to try to see it through, ending with me shotgunning the second half of the game as I couldn't stop playing it.

few other remakes exist which came from the original team in such a short time frame after the original's release, and it's apparent for anyone comparing this to the modern resident evil remakes. the designers behind this game held up the early "survival horror" style as a conscious action game design and not a limited-by-resources restraint as we do today, where the pre-rendered backgrounds, tank controls, and obtuse puzzles feel dated. every choice this remake makes expands upon the original and seeks to elevate its strengths, such as keeping backgrounds prerendered in order to make the character models ridiculously high-poly, and adding the body-burning mechanic to avoid dangerous crimson heads that can quickly negate any QoL features you may have been leaning on. every camera angle feels purposeful and tense, and the game knows how to lull you into complacency before busting out a zombie located just out of view after entering a room. features like these are amplified by the far-superior hardware of the gcn compared to the psx, and I applaud the developers for finding ways to enhance the original vision rather than water it down.

of course, swallowing my pride required making a few other caveats in order to keep myself going. for one: I really needed to use the HD-exclusive alternate controls instead of the original tank ones. this makes enemy dodging much more trivial a lot of the time, which admittedly reduces the tension, but its erraticism in areas with frequent camera angle changes balances it out a smidge. on ps4 with alternate controls mapped to the analog stick and tank controls mapped to the d-pad, I felt like I got the benefits of both styles depending on the situation I was in. I also had to dip into a guide occasionally to figure out how to handle some of these puzzles. none of the puzzles here feel completely arbitrary like in the PC adventure games that inspired them, but they do retain those games' proclivities for pixel-hunting interactable objects. it's easy to overlook important objects in cases where there's no camera angle highlighting them or flickering light indicating their interactability, especially since the areas are so dark and it's impossible to zoom in on the scene. it doesn't help that items can be purposefully tucked away from view, requiring new players to walk around mashing cross in the hopes that the playable character will finally pick something up. a particular puzzle that the game was not particularly helpful with was retrieving the yellow/red gemstones from the hunting trophies... it never felt clear to me that the eagle having the MC in its line of sight would keep the gemstones from coming loose, but this may just be my brain failing to make some sort of connection. most of the other parts that confused me were mainly just puzzles that crossed multiple areas or required remembering about an item from hours prior; these are understandable puzzle designs given the overall small scope of the world and tight area design, but I need a helping hand occasionally.

the rest of the game is simply so tight that I was willing to work past the above in order to enjoy just how excellent the gameplay loop is. early on when playing I fell into the trap that I imagine many new players get ensnared in, where every bit of damage taken feels like failure and death feels like a major setback. that's not a healthy attitude to take with this game, and in single-player games in general. instead I found the game encouraged a dungeon-crawler type loop, where an area must be observed and a plan must be developed before doing "a run" and actually attempting to execute a given section. death can serve as a way to explore areas prior to planning, where there's no sense of finality in the player's actions and any accomplishments made are to further the player's understanding of the environment. the game neatly encourages this via making your saves a finite resource via the ink ribbon system. infinite saves would encourage players to divvy up the game into bite-sized pieces in order to reduce the consequences of failure in a segment, and would in turn ruin the pacing. limited saves force decisions on how much can be accomplished with a single set of items, and the player must guess how long they can last before a sudden death could lose them a large chunk of time. in this way saves become part of the resource stack along with ammo, inventory space, health, and kerosene, which creates scenarios that challenge the player to make trade-offs they may be uncertain of. its this uncertainty that fuels player fear, where making a wrong decision feels like it could permamently jeopardize one of your resources and leave you lagging in the late-game. of course, the game parcels out items with little care, and I found that after being so thrifty in the early game I was vastly overencumbered with resources by the late game, but the tension still exists that made me feel obligated to make "smart" choices such as leaving zombies alive to preserve ammo/avoid crimson heads, or rerunning sections after studying enemy attack patterns to reduce damage.

indeed, I feel like a more accomplished gamer now having beaten this, as I've been able to consciously conceptualize the above approach to playing and put it into practice among other games that have given me trouble. part of what helped me get back into RE was playing dark souls and smt4 recently and realizing that this observe-plan-execute framework can apply to all three and make what seem to be difficult games more manageable. its part of what makes these games rewarding, as the patience involved yields immense satisfaction. REmake is a thoroughly japanese game that seems more intent on molding the player in the image of the game design, rather than attempting a simulacrum of cinema with instant interactive gratification for the player, and in the process encourages critical exploration of the game design itself.

This is the best introduction to the survival horror genre. Let me give some background to me, I am a complete pussy when it comes to the horror genre and I absolutely loved this game. I played through this game as Jill, which makes the game easier as she can carry more items than Chris. It instills a perfect feeling of terror and isolation with its atmosphere and level design. The puzzles are tricky and will require a walkthrough sometimes but are fun and intriguing. Jumpscares work because they aren't just instant deaths and give you a chance to defend yourself, which makes it more terrifying in my opinion. Enemies are fun to fight and have awesome designs. I absolutely love all of the lore and facts I learned about the Spencer Mansion throughout the playthrough. The soundtrack isn't your typical soundtrack as it serves more for the atmosphere. The save room is an awesome song and was stuck in my head the entire playthrough. The characters are very cool and create a feeling of a team exploring something new and terrifying together. This game has a learning curve but once you get the hang of it, it becomes a very fun game to play. Cannot wait to scream my lungs out while playing Resident Evil 2.

𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐟𝐨𝐥𝐥𝐨𝐰𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐩𝐥𝐚𝐲𝐭𝐡𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡 𝐡𝐚𝐬 𝐛𝐞𝐞𝐧 𝐝𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐨𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐏𝐒𝟒 𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐮𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐏𝐒𝟓 𝐛𝐚𝐜𝐤𝐰𝐚𝐫𝐝𝐬 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐩𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐛𝐢𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐲:

Running away to avoid being eaten by zombies has never been scarier... The first proper experience I have gotten with the Resident Evil franchise was this wonderful gem (my first tryout was Revelations).
The opinion I have of this remake is the same as Metroid: Zero Mission is: do a complete overhaul, add nice stuff/plot, rewrite the wrongs and improve the good, a marvelous remake.
The experience with this game was truly unexpected: went blind and didn't know that there was a need to do manual saves, oh and they are limited! Was so ready to complain and had to remember myself this is survival horror, the elements I had become used to (Silent Hill 1/2 unlimited inventory space, saving whenever I wanted) were absent from this entry, but I learned to be more cautious with the use of resources and appreciated the game even more.
I started to get more scared of dying and losing 30 minutes of progress than the occasional dogs, zombies and other enemies jumpscare moments.
The soundtrack is really powerful even when there's no music playing (my personal favorite is the safe room one) when my goal was trying to avoid getting scared with the camera angles of the game, sometimes acting against me when running away from enemies.
I feel the mechanic of burning enemies is a time waster but at the same time it makes you really think which zombies should vanish forever.
The game has so many areas to explore, alternative options and different playstyles (I played with Jill because of more inventory space and fun fact: had to restart my playthrough with her because with Chris I used all my ink ribbons), settings and a creepy atmosphere that still holds to today, there are rumours that Capcom is remaking this entry in 2026 but personally think that if we had a settling point this would be it. Great and without a reason to complain: it is such a fantastic entry to new Resident Evil fans. The next installment I have on my mind is Resident Evil 0, hope to enjoy it as much as this one.

Eu realmente fui pego desprevenido pelo quão pateta é a execução narrativa desse jogo. Não só por ter um roteiro extremamente simplório, mas principalmente por ser cômico de tão tosco. Há cenas tão ridículas que parecem intencionalmente ruins, como o incrível momento do Wesker ao fim da história.

E essas avarias não se limitam apenas às cutscenes, já que as mecânicas de gameplay também te enxurram com puzzles bestas, controles imprecisos, limitações consideráveis e horas de tomadas de portas abrindo. É notável o esforço dos desenvolvedores para dificultar a vida do jogador e tornar a exploração genuinamente inconveniente.

Porém, eu não enjoei.
Todo o tempo que gastei com essa aventura foi confortável e abdicado de bom grado. Pois, apesar de tudo, durante toda a campanha, eu me encontrava imerso na atmosfera fortemente cativante e deveras convidativa daquela icônica mansão.

Fiquei genuinamente impressionado ao descobrir que esse jogo foi lançado para a sexta geração de consoles, ainda em 2002, pois o trabalho gráfico é exorbitante.
Os personagens e monstros que movem-se vívidos na tela...
Os cenários belíssimos que os excêntricos ângulos de câmera ostentam...
A iluminação cuidadosa que muitas vezes se sobressaía na decoração...
Todos os aspectos visuais compõem um ambiente intensamente atraente e deslumbrante.

Devido a isto, criei legítima disposição em prosseguir jogando e desbravando os obstáculos bobocas que aquele casarão me apresentava, e descobrir o raso plot através desta atmosfera se tornou deveras agradável. O afinco em polir esse ar do jogo se provou extremamente frutífero e facilmente salvou a experiência com esse bobeirol que é a história de Resident Evil.

This should not work.

This game absolutely should not work.

The amount of questionable design decisions stuffed into this one game is very worrying on paper. 1. You have a finite amount of ammunition in the game, meaning you can softlock yourself if you don't have enough to take down mandatory bosses.

2. Narrow hallways can have as many as four enemies at a time that can potentially all come back hours after you've killed them off, stronger and faster than before.

3. You have a whopping SIX item slots (yes I played Chris) to carry guns, ammo, healing drugs, keys, and whatever other items you need to progress, and because of that,

4. there is a shit ton of backtracking.

5. You have a finite amount of saves throughout the entire game. If you fuck up and save too often too early you can completely screw yourself (it's this exact thing that's part of the reason I can't stand Ori and the Blind Forrest).

And despite all of this (or perhaps in light of all of this), it is beyond brilliant.

I don't think I've ever experienced anything that so genuinely makes me feel dread. It's a horror game, but aside from a few jump scares it's not even scary. But it is undeniably so fucking stressful, and I love it. All of these things that sound terrible on paper put you so on edge, and the sound design and cinematography doubly so. The gameplay is literally just a point and click game: get things to use on other things, but it works perfectly in this horror theme. I cannot possibly praise this game enough, I had no idea I would love it this much. There's nothing I can even say to do it justice.

"Fear can't kill you. But..."
This may be the most daunting piece I've written to date, for many reasons.
There's Resident Evil's cult status. There's its DOOM-like place in survival horror history. The original and remake are both cornerstones of the genre, having pushed it into the mainstream eye; the 2015 release is heralded as a beloved remaster in its own right. You also can't discuss one version of RE 1 without comparing it to the other two, adding an entirely new layer to reviewing it.
But I think the biggest hurdle for me to overcome is how densely packed an experience this game is. Its mechanics, story, presentation, and atmosphere all have a million tiny details to discuss. As a result, it's difficult to know how to articulate everything. Or where to even begin, for that matter.
So I'll just start with this. RE 2015 is an absolute classic in every sense, one that I began months ago and have slowly waded through. It was a slow process. The puzzles and backtracking put me off at times. But I never once felt like abandoning it for good. There's just something about it that gets under your skin, that demands you return to see the experience through. You must find out exactly what is going on at this eerie mansion you've been trapped in. You must save yourself from the undead.


SHORT REVIEW

Visuals: 5/5
Audio: 4.5/5
Story: 4/5
Gameplay: 4.5/5
Worldbuilding: 5/5
Overal game score: 4.5/5 [4.6/5]

Visuals:
Starting off on a very high note, RE 2015 is a perfect example of how you do both a remaster and a remake.
The 2002 version was already a massive visual improvement over 1996. It showed off how rapidly graphics in video games progess, even in such a short period of time. The mansion went from brightly-lit and empty-feeling to dark, unsettling, and lived-in. While 1996 still holds up for its time, there's no denying that 2002 is visually superior.
Now take the jump from 2002 to 2015. Aside from allowing the game to become playable on modern consoles, this second update allowed for finer details in the visual design (even if it's not as drastic of a change.) Things are generally less blurry-looking. You can see of all the carvings in the woodwork, all of the fabric textures in the clothing. The lighting is adjusted to allow a better view of your surroundings. Proportions are adjusted for the better, as well.
The 2002/2015 versions also add new subsettings to the already fairly wide selection. There are now forests and underground tunnels to explore, on top of the labs and dormitories that were present before. Each one is unsettling in its own right, keeping you on your toes as you constantly adjust to the new surroundings and puzzle your way through them.
Two big factors in making every single setting outstanding are the colors and the lighting. The mansion's dark shades of brown and red make the dimly lit rooms intriguing to the eye; the lighting perfectly highlights the dreary, but thoughtful, palette. Windows bathe the hallways in moonlight, allowing you to even see the dust dancing in the air. Lamps add a cold glow to otherwise dark rooms. These things, coupled with gorgeous pre-rendered backgrounds, add up to some of the best video game locations I've encountered.
A few of these new locations - the tunnels, a little shack hidden in the trees - are governed by a mutated beast named Lisa Trevor. Lisa is easily one of the best additions to 2002/2015. Although she was slated to be passively mentioned in 1996, she was ultimately cut due to story contradictions. Not only was her existence restored the REmake - she was given a much bigger role, becoming an important recurring boss.
Lisa's design is both thoughtful and terrifying. The hunched back, the pillory around her wrists, the tattered gown, and the faces covering her own - everything demands your attention. It's similar to Silent Hill in its portrayal of story aspects, though Lisa's is a more direct depiction of her own backstory and the world around her, rather than symbolism.
The human characters stand out, too, though obviously in very different ways than Lisa. It's hard to believe that a cast comprised entirely of military members would be so diverse in design, but the REmake accomplished it perfectly. Everyone is totally unique in their clothing and silhuoettes. Jill looks like a badass with her short hair, beret, and appropriate military gear. Chris' green vest stands out in the gloom of the mansion. Barry's stocky frame, slicked back hair, and dad face make him very visually interesting to me.
Now, to discuss the elephant in the room. The fixed camera angles. This is something that many REmake players have a problem with - but I very much disagree, from both a gameplay and visual perspective. In fact, they're one of the best and most unique parts of the game in my eyes. These fixed angles allow for some really beautiful, very intentionally chosen shots that would otherwise be impossible. The corridors feel more claustrophic; the inability to see ahead of you adds an entirely new level of tension. This is one of the few games that I think feels truly cinematic - not only in cutscenes, but in regular gameplay - for these exact reasons.
I have only one minor complaint about the REmake's visuals, which is the strange blurriness in many cutscenes. I won't pretend to know why this happens. It could have been an intentional choice, or a side effect of something else. But it occasionally makes cutscenes a bit of an eyesore, unfortunately. They are very enjoyable otherwise, though, if a little goofy. The characters are surprisingly expressive in them (minus the inability to use their mouths correctly.) And little details, such as Barry playfully shoving Jill, add to their character and relationships a lot.
Ultimately, I simply adore the REmake's art design. It's akin to watching a classic 90s horror flick, with the benefit of some modern-day technology sprucing it up. It's not only tense and disturbing, as anything scary should be, but it's just a beautiful game. I could look at it for hours without getting bored.
Overall, 5/5.

Audio:
The REmake is an absolute masterclass in sound design. It uses everything available to its advantage, creating a thick and creepy atmosphere in the process. Distant cerberus howl hauntingly as you explore outside. Zombies moan out of your line of sight, alerting you to danger that you can't yet see. You gunshots crack loudly to break the gloomy silence.
Yet much of that silence is undercut by an eerie, violin-heavy score. The understated nature of the music means it never distracts from the task at hand - it only adds to it. Much of it sounds like whispers in the wind, subtly setting the mood as you travel. And still, it also knows exactly when to bring itself to the forefront, just as much as it knows when to stay in the background.
I'd specifically like to discuss Save Theme for a moment. This is a track that has become one of my absolute favorites of all time, for many reasons. The soft pluck of a classical guitar allows a sense of calm to wash over you - the only calm you will get throughout this entire game. You are safe in these save rooms; the game never breaks that promise. But even then, the siren-like wails that overlap the guitar allude to more danger ahead. You've found a place to hide for now, but you can't stay here forever. You must continue on your journey, and leave this newfound safety behind.
Although I think Save Theme is an especially well-done piece, there are many tracks in the REmake that could warrant just as much analyzing. The specific mood they convey, the way instruments and strange vocals are utilized to unsettle. Vacant Room is another standout. This one plays while you make your way through rooms devoid of enemies. Much in the same way Save Theme does, it alludes to distant danger through its unsettling backing music and unusual tempo; the tension stays high because of it.
All in all, the REmake has a horror soundtrack that will always stand the testament of time, being possibly one of the best ever made. Any movie would be lucky to have half the atmosphere this one does.
But there is still one more important aspect of the audio design to address. The voice acting.
If you've ever heard the original RE's voice acting, then you've been subjected to some of the funniest and cheesiest VA work this medium has to offer. Such iconic lines as "You were almost a Jill Sandwich!" and "What is this? BLOOD." are abundant. Thankfully, the REmake took the opportunity to rewrite and re-record the dialogue. You can now play RE1 without feeling like you're watching a parody of the entire genre.
The original game's VA DOES have its own brand of charm in its overwhelming goofiness, but it simply wouldn't work in a modernized game that's meant to be taken seriously. 2002/2015's is much, much better, if still a bit stilted and silly at times. It's a testament to the quality of these games as remakes; they take what was a flaw in the original and make it something worth praising.
Overall, 4.5/5.

Story:
As you likely already know, there are two playable characters in RE1 - Chris and Jill. Not only do they feature differences in gameplay, but they have their own unique storylines, too. I have currently only played Jill's, so I will only be discussing hers (as well as the ongoing substories of the mansion.) I do look forward to revisiting the game in the future to see Chris', and will likely update this review to reflect my thoughts when I do.
In the first few moments of RE1, we are introduced to our cast of characters and the basic story outline. A police enforcement unit - S.T.A.R.S. - have been sent to investigate a large forest, where they've lost contact with another team of their comrades. That first team was sent to investigate the possible origin of mysterious murders around the city.
But as soon as S.T.A.R.S. begins their search, they find themselves attacked and chased by a pack of savage dogs. Their helicopter pilot flies away to evade the situation; the surviving members run toward a strange mansion situated in the middle of the forest. This is their only hope of safety and survival.
With no way out, S.T.A.R.S. must instead work to uncover the mansion's secrets, and - hopefully - find a way to escape. But they soon discover that this is no ordinary home. This place has been built specifically to keep the average person out. Every other room is a complex puzzle that blocks progression until it's been solved.
I found this tidbit particularly interesting, that there is an actual, in-game reason for why all of these insane puzzles exist. The mansion was built to be near-impossible to navigate, in order to hide its dark secrets. There is a named character we hear about in notes that was specifically contracted for this purpose.
Obviously, this is a very outlandish idea that was specifically thought of to allow for RE1'S puzzle elements to mesh with the story. But every other plot point in this game is just as outlandish, so why not? I find this to be a really creative solution to a plothole that most similar games don't bother to address.
And, ultimately, all of those outlandish plot points add up to something very good. It's all cheesy, and it's often needlessly complex, but who's to say that doesn't make it even more entertaining? A secret laboratory run by evil scientists, a betrayal within your tight-knit group of comrades, a mysterious zombie outbreak. On paper, it sounds too tropey to be worth your time... but it somehow just WORKS. It's a blast from beginning to end.
I think a big part of this is the unique way RE1 relays its narrative. Instead of being a vehicle for the plot, Jill's cutscenes serve more as a way to break up the gameplay and see the characters interact. They're far from the most exciting moments in cinematic history - most of them just consist of Barry doing her a small favor, then leaving. Alternatively, much of the story is told through the environment and the notes scattered around; you spend much of your playthrough simply immersed in the atmosphere and gameplay. The settings you visit, the enemies you fight, the little details that surround you - THIS is what makes it all worthwhile.
As I've mentioned, there are also a few substories going on in the background, which mostly involve the mansion and its former tenants. These serve to add to the history of the world around you. Possibly the biggest and best example of this is Lisa, whose tragic life makes it quite depressing to fight her.
Lisa is arguably the most developed character in RE1 - but the majority of the cast are all quite charming in their own right. Jill is expressively voice acted, and although she's a bit bland, she's studious and makes for a good protagonist. Barry is easily the most interesting out of the human characters; I find him to be very likeable. And while I didn't see much of Chris on the Jill playthrough, I still found him witty and fun.
In the end, there are many better plots out there, with more intriguing characters, and more engaging cutscenes. But the way RE1 utilizes atmosphere and worldbuilding to tell its story - the way you are totally immersed in it through this method - makes it something very special. It's nothing if not endearing and entertaining.
Overall, 4/5.

Gameplay:
The gameplay is by far the most controversial part of RE1. Many people downright loathe every aspect of it. The fixed camera angles, the tank controls (optional now, fortunately), the limited inventory, the finite amount of saves and ammo - there are so many things that one could argue are too aged for the game to be any fun now. In fact, some people will likely think I'm insane for giving it a 4.5. But I implore you guys to hear me out.
Yes, the combat is clunky. The storage system can be annoying as hell, and the backtracking it causes is a serious pain in the ass. The puzzles are infuriatingly convoluted at times. BUT, many of these things are exactly what cause an overwhelming sense of dread and stress while playing. THAT is what makes RE1 genuinely scary to this day.
You can't mow your way through zombies - instead, you must weigh if using the ammo is worth it. Even then, it's possible that they could just come back stronger, so you must weigh burning their body too. You have to plan the safest travel routes, and try to avoid backtracking to dangerous areas. You must strategically choose what items to bring whenever you reach a storage box; you can't have all of your weapons on you, you can only bring so many healing items, and you have to guess which items you'll need for puzzles soon. All of this is what puts the 'survival' in survival horror. You are not a unstoppable hero, or a total powerhouse. You are vulnerable to the brutish undead, as any human would be.
That is why I believe that, despite its obvious flaws, the gameplay of RE1 mostly adds to the experience. What's scarier than feeling helpless, like you're actually at the mercy of the monster(s) chasing you? Or making split-second decisions about whether to use precious resources or tough something out?
That's not to say it's all roses, of course. The backtracking caused by limited inventory space is time-consuming and irritating. Item boxes are few and far between - meaning you likely will have to make ten minute trips to-and-fro more than once.
The puzzles are ridiculous at times, too. Maybe I'm simply not trained for 90s brain busters, but RE1 (and Silent Hill 2) have some of the strangest in history to me. There were multiple times where I would hit a wall, only to find out that I needed to examine something in my inventory to progress - a mechanic I definitely am not in the habit of using often.
That being said, I WAS able to solve the majority of them on my own. And, just as importantly, it was very satisfying to do so. But I do hope that these are dialed in a bit in future entries. I just want them to be more fun to figure out in the moment-to-moment.
I'd be remiss not to briefly mention the tank controls, too. These are totally optional in the 2015 version, so even if I did strongly dislike them, It would feel wrong to count it against the game's score. I made the daring decision to play with them, in the hopes of getting the most 'original' experience possible. I'm sure it's not a surprise to anyone that they are definitely clunky and outdated. There's really no reason to play with them, unless you're like me and simply enjoy the novelty. I did enjoy them, and I found them charming in a way. They fit in with the rest of the game perfectly. You get used to them eventually, anyways.
Overall, 4.5/5.

Worldbuilding:
I love worldbuilding. It's one of my favorite aspects of any fictional medium. It's something I put a lot of weight on.
For me, what merits an exceptional grade in this category is a combination of atmosphere, presentation, and setting history. And while there are a million ways in which RE1 is great, a million different things I could praise, I think it is particularly exceptional in this category.
Its atmosphere alone stands up as one of the best. Your fear while playing is not just because of the protagonist's vulnerability, but the way RE1 hones in on negative emotions through its presentation. You always feel exactly what it wishes you to - fear, sadness, gloom, tension. The environmental details, while making RE1 a wonder to explore, also provide constant reminders of the terrible, dangerous state of the place you're in. Scratch marks, broken glass, cobwebs. The sound design hammers home a sense of dread, too, with the eerie music and unsettling groans of the undead; it tells you that you'll never be safe within this forest. And the fantastic lighting and camera angles allow for a beautiful lense into this dreary world.
The mansion is also built for a perfect sense of progression, prodding both your curiosity and satisfaction. The hallways and rooms wrap in upon themselves perfectly; every corridor feels intentional, and every locked door gates progression in a way that manages to not be irritating. You still have access to plenty of areas before broadening those horizons, after all. And you'll feel great gratification from gaining entry to new ones, as you slowly make traversal easier.
The surrounding settings are just as unique. The forest feels unnaturally still, but those distant howls alert you to the danger that is always there, even when things seem calm. The dormitories are overtaken by dangerous flora and fauna - not something that's very scary on a surface level, but provides such a challenge gameplay-wise that you can't help feeling fearful. The caves are dark and damp, overseen by the monstrous Lisa, feeling smaller and smaller as you try to avoid her.
Of course, a big part of what makes the worldbuilding so fantastic is the history. Notes and environmental details strewn about give insight into what this strange place was like before you ever visited. There are characters who have tragically died and are remembered only by their handwritten letters, many of which were left for loved ones. The mansion is filled with these lives cut short by the manmade virus which now plagues Raccoon City. It gives you a true sense of how treacherous, deadly, and sad this situation is.
All of this adds up to a very intentional experience; nothing is left forgotten about. Each room you enter tells its own story, has its own puzzle, presents its own problem. That's why its worldbuilding is some of the best. You are never forced to look behind the curtain because of obvious flaws, such as empty spaces or nonsensical details. It never gets old to explore, and you are always totally immersed in the world.
Overall, 5/5.

Overall game score: 4.5/5. I've exhausted every possible talking point about RE1, and all to say that it is a damn good game. It's one of the prime examples of a remake + remaster done well, building upon and reworking the original in countless ways to make it a more focused and fun experience.
I hardly come out of writing my reviews excited to revisit a game any time soon, but this one is an exception. I can't wait to see what a Chris playthrough has to offer me.

It’s been a while since a game made me excited to keep playing. I’m always looking for that feeling when I choose what game to play next, and I wasn’t certain before but sure enough Resident Evil was a perfect fit. Basically one giant zelda dungeon themed to a zombie thriller. I love the careful and meticulous nature it encourages you to play as on the first go. I’m not sure how the hell anyone says survival horror is a “comfort genre” for them because this game had me stressed out until the last few hours. Excited to play RE2 soon

Alright, fuck. I was wrong. Sometimes you do get it perfect on your first try.

Of course, this is pretty far removed from the original release of Resident Evil; it’s a remaster of a remake of Resident Evil with plenty of bits shuffled around and new mechanics stretched overtop. Still, though, these new trappings are just a couple extra layers of flesh. This is Resident Evil deep in the marrow of its bones. Slow, shuffling zombies taking up just too much space in cramped corridors, creaky floors, doors that fall apart, giant man-eating plants and a very silly conspiracy centered around the most obviously evil man alive that nobody suspects until he reveals himself at the end; this is what you ought to be thinking of when someone says the phrase “survival horror” around you.

It’s been an open secret for quite a while (even if Shinji Mikami refused to acknowledge it for decades) that this game is more-or-less a Japanese take on 1992’s Alone in the Dark; same creepy mansion, same spooky monsters, same arcane puzzles, same unconventional camera angles that obscure the action to throw the player off. It’s all present here, just as it was about four years before the original Resident Evil dropped; what sets (and continues to set) Resident Evil apart, however, is entirely in how it constructs an atmosphere. Unlike how Alone in the Dark had Edward Carnby slapping the shit out of every zombie he came across like that one Sonic video, Resident Evil plays the whole thing much more reservedly. This game is tense, and deep, and fucking scary. I sat awake late in bed one night after playing, trying to come up with a safe route through the mansion, and getting progressively more and more panicked when I realized just how few options I actually had. This was after I had stopped playing for the night. Resident Evil sticks to your insides. It goes down hard and it refuses to digest easily. You will play on its terms, and it will kill you anyway.

I wasn’t especially hot on the game by the time I’d finished Jill Mansion 1. I was constantly getting lost, constantly getting bogged down by too many inventory items, constantly failing to figure out what I even needed to do to make any progress. I kept drawing unfavorable comparisons to my beloved Silent Hill: why can’t I carry all this ammo at once? Why can’t I have unlimited slots for key items? Why can’t the map give me some information as to what the rooms actually are instead of just giving me unlabelled floor plans? I knew it was all intentional, but there was something about the execution that felt sloppy. I understood it, but I didn’t really get it, if that makes any sense.

The minute I gained access to the courtyard, though, I felt something click. Maybe it was just getting a moment outside on the most linear path imaginable that gave me a much-needed break to clear my head. I cleaned out the area, blitzed through the puzzles, broke Lisa Trevor’s ankles like she was Wesley Johnson screening Harden, and walked right back into the mansion like I owned the place. The hunters spawned in, giving me more than enough incentive to start spending all of the ammo I’d been hoarding, and I realized just how much easier I could have made the early game on myself once I killed every single one of them and still had buckets of grenades and shotgun shells to spare. Don’t let the speedrunning, invisible-enemies, knife-only people trick you; you’ve gotta play this game carefully, but you really don’t need to be that careful.

The big trick of it all was that I’d fallen entirely for the brutal design of the mansion and allowed my nerves to muck up my decision-making. Every zombie I’d encountered took so many bullets to go down, and other zombies would stumble in from the other rooms, and some of them would even get back up stronger than ever if I forgot to burn the bodies. I put my pistol away and sprinted through the rooms and just prayed I wouldn’t get grabbed around a corner. That was all a part of the trick, though; it’s actually shockingly easy and reliable to kill just about every zombie in the game so long as you’re careful about how you budget your resources. It’s the layout of the mansion on your first go that fucks you up; all of the obfuscatory angles and hallways that lead to locked doors and dead ends that loop around on themselves with a zombie blocking the only way back. The architect must have been an axe murderer. It’s an evil fucking residence, hence the title. When you finally have your Kevin McCallister “I’m not afraid anymore!” moment, you realize that the zombies can only hurt you if you let them. The second half of the Kevin McCallister moment where he runs and screams and hides under the covers comes when a hunter pounces on you from behind and you remember that you are, in fact, still incredibly afraid.

I beat the game with newfound confidence, immediately booted it back up as Chris, and breezed through the first part of the mansion in a fraction of the time it had originally taken me. I cleared out all of the rooms, stuffed my pockets with items, burned every corpse I left, and found myself with more green herbs sitting in my item box within the first hour than I could ever possibly use before credits rolled. The design wasn't sloppy, I was just playing it wrong. I wasn't engaging with enough of the game's systems; I had all of these tools that were provided to me, and I cowered against Resident Evil's glare. What I should have done was square my shoulders and fight back, and never once did that click for me on my first trip through the mansion. Going back through it as Chris proved that idea: all I needed to do was not be so afraid.

Horror as a genre has something of an inherent problem to it, where that sense of fear is often wholly dependent on surprise. This isn't to imply that it's all reliant on jump scares, but a scary movie is always going to be the same every time you go through it. You can be shit-your-pants terrified on your first watch, but pop the same film in again and you'll start anticipating the moments that got you the last time around. This is a big part of the reason why a lot of people like to "beat" horror media; they laugh, they rewatch, they dissect it and break it down, because horror is a lot less scary once we understand it. Rather than passively accept this, though, the Resident Evil team leans into it. You stumble through the game once, groping at the walls and frantically checking every doorknob in the hopes that you accidentally discover progression. You boot it up for the second time, and you turn into Arnold Schwarzenegger. You know where the zombies are, you know where the items are, you know how many you can afford to kill in a given moment, you know how to juke around zombies and make them grab air instead of you. People lament the loss of this type of survival horror game and how something like Resident Evil 4 completely actionized the franchise, but that wasn't a move that came out of nowhere.

It starts here. It's genius.

Chris in this looks kind of like a very sad monkey with a bad haircut and I laugh a little whenever he gets a dramatic close-up.

Eu nunca tive muito interesse de jogar a trilogia dos clássicos Resident Evil (os 3 primeiros) mas sempre gostei da saga desde o 4, joguei os remakes (do 2 e do 4 principalmente estão no meu coração), gostei mt do resident evil 7 que deu uma repaginada nas coisas, ate que eu comprei um switch e fiquei hmm, tem um resident evil pra ele, deve ser maneiro jogar um resident num portatil.

Foi ai que comecei a jogar, a adaptação foi dificil de começo para os controles de tanque mas logo peguei o jeito e comecei a gostar, o que me pegou de fato nesse jogo foi a ambietação, a Mansão Spencer é um ambiente mt singular/unico nos jogos, e cada sala e trecho que eu passava, com aqueles enquadramentos criativos, foram um deleite pros olhos, o jogo podia ser só isso kkkkk, mas não é, puzzles criativos, backtrack interessante, a historia tragicamente comica ao msm tempo, os acontecimentos são terriveis mas os dialogos/atuações tem um carisma ali, mas serio a historia da Lisa Trevor é triste mesmo, papo de silent hil, não sabia que resident evil teria essa densidade logo na sua primeira historia.

Eu ainda pensei em dar 4,5 estrelas pra esse jogo, porque embora eu tenha gostado da ambientação e do level design, chegou um momento que eu ja não aguentava mais as portas e os loadings, estavam demorando demais e comecei a pegar abuso kkkk, mas pensei po daqui uns meses quando eu lembrar desse jogo não serão das enrolas dos loadings que eu vou lembrar e sim de o quão único é esse jogo.

Tenho certeza que os japoneses tem level design no ensino fundamental, os cara tem zelda e resident evil.

Foi um prazer enorme revisitá-lo! Eu adoro a ambientação de Resident Evil, a cada troca de câmera eu me deparo com arte pura, e o fato dele ter as ilustres presenças de Rebecca, Jill, Chris e Barry (ou mesmo o Wesker, e F Richard!) torna-o um Confort Game pra mim, apesar da atmosfera amedrontadora em que se encontra a mansão Spencer e seus arredores. O Remake consertou algumas falhas do original e com esse Remaster a Capcom tornou essa a versão definitiva pra quem quer presenciar o início do gênero Survival Horror.

Sabe um detalhe curioso que eu gosto tanto? Que cada porta do jogo é única! kkkkkkk Pô, eu fico de cara com isso. Platinar Resident Evil 1 era um sonho de infância e ta aí, consegui fazer 100% de um dos meus jogos favoritos, porém agora não consigo nem abrir as portas de casa mais, do tanto que vi essas animações🚪

Haven't really played a game that's able to so effectively pile on the stress in the way this one does. Design choices on top of design choices that seem perfectly hand crafted to interact with one another in such a way that you're almost never able to feel fully comfortable with anything you do, all of it working near-flawlessly in this approach, even when your first playthrough is on one of the easier difficulties. Basically what I'm saying is that this is a borderline magical game with how well it accomplishes almost everything it sets out to do with basically every decision made being one that further contributes to the experience as a whole in a positive way. With this said, the way that the game's player hostility feels is rather interesting, since despite how unforgiving it often is, there's an underlying element of the game still wanting to push you towards success, even if it's one that can often be hard to see, at least on the first few difficulties. It's a cool dynamic because it never really feels like you hit a point where your progress is severely hindered unless you play really terribly, it just always feels like everything is going wrong and you're able to only barely scrape by, making for a really effective experience with how you always feel on the backfoot.

The level design stands out to me as a really high point, with the mansion being borderline magical with how it plays out, being as small as it is while still expanding outwards in such a way that the amount you have left to do feels almost intimidating. The mix of tight corridors and more expansive rooms makes for a nice balance in how it feels like you're expected to deal with enemies, giving you enough opportunities to easily kite around while still providing those moments where you either feel forced to precariously bait out grabs to run around or sacrifice some of your hp to take a hit while trying to escape. This works well with the tank controls providing just enough imprecision to your movement to make the former option feel like a real risk to take, often leading to the 2nd outcome anyway, further making you carefully consider your options when the only way to get past the situation without using any resources not only will be quite difficult, but will also most likely lead to you having to do this in the same location repeatedly due to backtracking, which could ultimately lead to a worse outcome than just spending some resources to destroy what's in your path and prevent the issue from constantly resurfacing.

This type of decision making reaches its peak with the entire crimson head mechanic however, straight up being one of the greatest bits of game design I've seen with how much it's able to transform the feeling of navigation. Because of these, the idea of not killing a certain enemy becomes just as interesting as killing them, due to having to take into account how much kerosene is left lying around making it that you're having to expend a lot if you want to stop the crimson heads from appearing, not just with raw items, but also with inventory space, since if you want to make full use of this mechanic, it'll cost you either one or two inventory slots, depending on the character, or force you to backtrack constantly, either way feeling like quite an unfavourable, yet necessary outcome at points. I also feel like this works in forcing the player to heavily consider their surroundings and the layout of the mansion, since there are so many factors at play that are vital to keep in mind to avoid wasting a lot of what you have later down the line, since as it is, most interactions with an enemy can already feel extremely costly without a bit of luck on your side.

While this gameplay experience definitely settles down a bit once the player leaves the mansion, the atmosphere does more than enough to make up for it, while also still keeping a decent amount of this feeling of dwindling resources to go along with it. The art direction and camera angles particularly do a great job at this, especially with how breathtaking a lot of the backgrounds are, with the amount of movement that takes place in them despite being entirely pre-rendered being downright mindblowing. Basically every room is rich with detail, with this constant theme of decaying grandiosity pervading everything, whether you're exploring a mansion, a garden, or a lab, and I feel like it adds a lot to the weight of the situation while also leaning into a fantastic sense of mystery that slowly unravels as you discover more of the dark secrets of your setting. The camera angles are definitely a strong point for contributing to a sense of horror with the way it often feels like the cameraman put good money on the zombies killing you and wants to rig things in any way possible.

If you're not careful you will be hit by zombies around a corner that you couldn't see because of how everything is positioned, but due to how you already have a ton of stress put on you from all the other interactions that have eaten away at your resources, it's not like you can afford to try preemptively make the first move in case you're wrong and have just wasted even more than you already feel like you've had to. Basically, while the game didn't actively scare me more than a couple of times, there were very few moments throughout that didn't feel extremely stressful in one way or another, with even a 2nd playthrough being able to evoke similar feelings given how much inventory management is centred around balancing survival and having key items to progress, an impressive feat considering I expected knowledge about where most things were to have made it an extremely smooth experience, even with a higher difficulty setting. Simply one of the greatest games of all time, the amount of game locations I like more than Spencer mansion is probably countable on one hand.

Enjoyment - 10/10
Difficulty - 6/10

Absolute classic <3 Words cannot describe my love for this game.
🏆

(I used the Upscale Mod for the textures since the upscale capcom did for this game is a little fugly)

This game is absolutely phenomenal in every way. It is the standard for survival horror games to me. I've played the original on Sega Saturn (yes its a great version of the game) and I already thought that was great. I'm usually doubtful on remakes "replacing" the originals, and I still stand by that, but REmake is just much better than the original in every way. The story is still cheesy but it has more clarity and a stronger sense of pacing. The visuals are some of the most gorgeous I've ever seen in a game. I think every single new thing in this game only improves the experience. This game is delightfully frightening, there are a bunch of moments that are experienced purely through gameplay that really got me.

I've played a few other resident evil games and I think this one boils down the appeal of it to a science. It's drenched in atmosphere, and you are overwhelmed with zombies and low on resources. But it has a earnest cheesy fun to it that shines through. Every shot feels incredibly good in this and the action feels like the reward to the survival more often then not.

When people are clamoring for yet another remake of resident evil 1, I always get really confused. We already have the perfect remake to an already great game. It's controls are so finely tuned and the visual side of it is so timeless. This is the genesis of tank controlled survival horror and I'd rather that be preserved than to be disturbed yet again.

Platform: PlayStation 4 (Via PlayStation 5)
Date Started: October 18th, 2022
Date Finished: October 25th, 2022
Time Played: 6 Hours

"Enter the survival horror."

A wonderfully atmospheric, true survival horror title that manages to be tense and cosy both at the same time thanks to its wonderful setting, Resident Evil is a strong game that laid the foundation for the most popular horror franchise in the medium.

I really like the fixed camera angle perspectives from which the game is played, they offer plenty of opportunities for great reveals by restricting what the player can see at any one time, however the quick switching between then can often make things tricky and I frequently found myself walking in the wrong direction because of this.

The game is quite obtuse, too, and knowing which key items to bring with you when can be tough and isn't something I enjoy, although I did use a guide.

Furthermore, the game doesn't take itself as seriously as I usually like, with b-movie, cheesy writing and voice acting - after accepting that this is what the game (and most of the series) is, however, I came around to it's charm.

These criticisms aside, though, this one is still solid. The sound design is great, (the series has always had top-tier footsteps) the house is fun to walk around and looks great, the characters, despite the writing being weak, are still compelling, as is the story, and it's overall just a nice feeling game to play, and a nice feeling world to be in. I'll be looking forward to continuing my journey with this series in the lead-up to and beyond the Resident Evil 4 remake.

Um baita remake do jogo original, melhora principalmente os controles, que eu não consigo gostar do controle tank, NÃO DÁ
A historia é a mais clichê possível, porém consegue ser engraçada e até tensa, principalmente ao enfrentar inimigos novos e os bosses, bem diferentes entre si.
Mas o brilho do jogo é a mansão, que level design foda, cada canto tem sua historia e sua importância, assim como armadilhas, monstros e puzzles, esses que são bem únicos entre si e me deram um trabalho até kkkkk
talvez meu único problema seja a câmera q não consegui acostumar, assim como os loadings diversos de abrir as portas e o manejo do inventario q é bem travado.

I'm going to echo what everyone is saying, it's a master piece. The gold standard of a remake. It also doesn't even invalidate the original IMO too. I play them for different reasons.

REmake takes the original and amplifies the atmosphere by 100. The spencer mansion has never looked better. The prerendered graphics look amazing in their detail even 20 years later. Seriously I've always been a fan of prerendered backgrounds. The detail in every background is just oozing with life. It really looks lived in. Subtle animations like wind blowing, clock ticking, rain and lightning, curtains waving coupled with the amazingly well done remastered soundtrack really set the tone. Character models looks so good with all the extra processing power being put into them.

The game is a remake in all aspects except and that's the core gameplay. With all the changes the game received I'm super glad that the basics are the same. Limited ammo, lots of items with minimal inventory and the pacing of gameplay is even the same. The cinematic camera angles and tank controls still work like a charm. The new modern controls added in the remaster version totally break the game, but if that brings new players while keeping the core controls intact so be it.

So many new things where added to the game but at the same don't feel like bloat. They feel like they were always there. Like the grave yard, the Lisa Trevor parts and the added rooms inside the mansion. The game even tricks players that are too familiar with the original game by changing up some of the puzzles and playing with expectations on where your supposed to go. You still take the same basic path in the right order but how you get there and with what maybe different.

If I had to list one negative thing that I don't really like in this perfect recreation is the new voice work. Look I get the original voice overs where over the top and cheesy and that is never going work in a serious remake. The problem is I find the new work to be so dull and lifeless. There's no emotion in anything and everything sounds flat. It feels like they were afraid to have any range outside basic line reads. I think REmake 2 and REmake 3 do much better in that regard. At the end though it's nitpicking and doesn't hurt the experience at all, just thought I throw it out there.

In summary it's a perfect remake, that honors the original while improving upon it without changing it's identity.

Platinum # 30