Tbh the first true survival horror game I’ve ever played and holy hell what an amazing introduction to the genre. Feels legitimately perfect from a gameplay perspective. Cohesive in its design to a degree I don’t think I’ve ever encountered previously. Absolutely everything - the backgrounds, the camera angles, resource scarcity, health pool, carry capacity, the save system, the crimson heads - works in concert to create an experience of constant tension and uncertainty for the player. An experience where you have to really think about every item collected, every item left behind, and every route taken because making the wrong decision means losing significant progress. RE requires the player to respect its gameplay systems and in return it respects the players intelligence and their time; deaths absolutely never feel cheap or unavoidable. Honestly worth playing just to see how well designed it is even if you - like me - don’t have a ton of interest in the survival horror genre.

What can be said about REmake that hasn't already been said? This is the pinnacle of classic survival horror. Lush visuals, unmatched atmosphere, and challenging but fair gameplay. Every room, pre-rendered background, and camera angle is expertly crafted to suit the mood and needs of the scene, whether that is building suspense, drawing your eye to a specific location, or offering a reprieve from the horror.

I played the Steam remaster using Jill on the Normal difficulty, with tank controls. I appreciate the option for newer players to go with modern controls, but as far as I am concerned there is no option, tank controls are the way to go.

This is the fifth classic RE game I have played, having previously enjoyed 1, 2, 3, and Code Veronica. At first I was surprised at some of the changes compared to Code Veronica. Jill is a lot heavier and slower than I was used to my main character being. An individual zombie is a legitimate threat, able to take you down in 3-4 bites. If you are grabbed, you will receive a bite, unless you use one of the new defense items. The pistol no longer has any knockback on zombies, meaning you have less room to operate in while taking them down. Once I adjusted to the changes, I came to appreciate them for making this experience feel truly unique among the series. The first RE doesn't actually have that many zombies in it, mostly due to technical limitations at the time. REmake is faithful to the enemy count but has incorporated it into the gameplay design by making each encounter more important and memorable.

The Spencer Mansion is still the greatest setting the series has seen. The story is fun, with the new twists involving Lisa Trevor doing a great job at shaking things up and subverting expectations. The voice acting isn't as cheesy as the original, but it has plenty of charm.

The game has plenty of replayability. The protagonist selection, along with numerous small choices along the way, the multiple endings, the unlockable difficulty settings, costumes, and weapons. It is a complete package. I just finished the game but I am already looking forward to eventually replaying as Chris one day. I am sure this is a game I will come back to many times in my life.

In short, REmake is a masterpiece, and a must play for everyone.

Imported from my Backloggery:

What an incredible piece of gaming history. Although this game feels a little clunky with its tank controls, the entire experience feels deliberately crafted, with scares being meticulously planned in advance. Although the graphics are serviceable, the prerendered backgrounds and general art direction create an oppressive atmosphere. The scares especially were terrifying in all the right ways. To top it off, it had a great range of emotion, from campy characters to emotional side stories.

I thought that getting into this series with 4 would make the fixed camera angle games seem obtuse and difficult to get into, but I'm pleasantly surprised to say that this game is probably even better than 4! The oppressive mood and atmosphere is overwhelming, it's genuinely scary and I feel so tense when playing, and peeling away at the INCREDIBLY designed mansion through Metroidvania-esque progression is so satisfying. Immaculately designed game, I absolutely adored it and can't wait to play the original version of 2 next.

I'm glad I chose this remake to be my first step into the RE series. The way it makes the player feel absolutely helpless in the Spencer Mansion, there's not even that many enemies once you take the entire game as a whole. But the way it hammers in the point that conserving ammo is sometimes better than taking everything out immediately is absolutely great. To the point that I felt I was wasting precious ammo sometimes due to panic moment or realizing I killed an enemy I could've totally maneuvered around, or the game sometimes punishing you for not disposing of some enemies correctly.
The soundtrack of this game is pretty unique in that there aren't many genuine songs in this game, instead opting to do great ambient sound design that actively made me nervous to be in a room or turn a corner not knowing what was there until the static camera show would show me. The track "Macabre Hallway" is a great example of the soundtrack's use of ambient horror.
The story is incredibly fun and offers a lot of replayability whether you want to do Jill or Chris' route, each route is unique in story and gameplay.
The added content to this remake such as the Trevor family does a good job of showing how evil Umbrella Corp. is from the start along with the enemies in this game doing a pretty good job showing off body horror such as the Chimeras or Hunters.