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.
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.