Fails to excel at anything in particular nowadays (especially the parodical ethos of the foundation); would have likely been incredible had each element been sewn into the disconnected fabrics. Frankenstein's monster had its limbs strewn about in various points of the room instead of being put together. As it stands, however, each element/mechanic makes for an aloof treat. A fun-house mirror that warps your silhouette (permanently). Illbleed reinforces & confirms that variety is, indeed, the spice of life.

When the B side of This Heat's sophomore record, "Deceit", begins, the first track starts the exact same as when the A side plays. The listener may, for a brief moment, think that they may have a faulty vinyl & are lulled into believing that the opening song may be repeating itself. That is, until, an entirely new, manic, anxiety inducing song commences to completely tear the rug out from underneath you. During some vignettes of 2:22 AM, a similar instance occurs when suddenly, a stroll around a desolate city that you thought you knew erupts into a nightmare when the buildings begin to ascend to the heavens, shattering whatever dreamy scenario you thought to be experiencing.

Played at 4 AM. I'll see you in my anxiety dreams.

Divulges the "twist" of the story a little too early on, leaving the second half of the game for the protagonist to reckon with their actions which, as a player, can feel rather sluggish to meddle about until it is completed. Effective, maybe, but I much prefer the mysterious first half of traversing a Silent Hill-esq school, solving puzzles while avoiding the wrath of mostly benign enemies with impeccable sound design. The puzzles in the second half certainly manage to hold my attention to continue pushing through the fractured nightmare of ones own foggy memories.

Well executed story, all in all. A tad on the derivative side, generally speaking, but one so chocked full of oppressive atmosphere that coincides with some of the themes that it rounds out the heart twisting narrative to the fullest.

Forgive thyself.

"Escape" over "explore". Truncating some of the better areas + puzzles in the original is a sacrifice made for the sake of streamlining an explosive title such as this. While brief, the scale here feels elevated significantly, transforming it from survival horror to action/adventure horror. Solid (but not great) replay value in substitute for a longer experience (more intense difficulties & points to start new playthroughs with refreshing + game-changing items), making this the highlighting feature of the game for me. Removal of the quick-time-selection-branches was a shame & only stands to shine a light on how little wiggle room you have in this game. Look no further than how streamlined the exterior level design is of the Racoon City streets.

Disappointing in the content department, but a reboot of one of the more underrated RE cuts in the series worth playing nonetheless. If REmake 2 is a haunted house, REmake 3 is an amusement park.

A good game, but a butchered remake.