A survival horror with an interesting and strong approach to the moment-to-moment gameplay, and an emphasis in the action component which, ironically so, takes from the fundamentals of the original Resident Evil 4 and translates them in the context of a less bombastic but still cathartic experience.

There's an undeniable showoff, willingly so, made by the developers regarding their technical pedigree here: the biggest improvement from the previous entries (apart from Resident Evil 7) is an enormous jump in the sound department, from design to the original soundtrack: conveying the horror aspect also in this way enhance a lot the experience, and basically this alone sells such fantasy in a really successful way. The atmosphere is further enhanced by the lighting, god rays, lens flares and all details blooming around the ever-fascinating R.P.D. Station, used intelligently, never being too much in the way of the art direction.

The interesting parallelism which can be made with the previously mentioned RE7 is that RE2 Remake approaches horror mostly, if not only, from a design approach. You're not scared just because of the cut-scene, the set-piece, or the jump-scare, but because of the emergent aspect of the gameplay. The escalation of fighting a zombie, to a multitude of them in an open area, to more of them in a cramped area, to Mr.X approaching by himself, then by the zombies, then a lone Licker, then him alongside Mr.X, then two of them, and then more zombies... The game's constantly fighting against your comfort and your habits, and the tension never ends, given how they've managed the safe rooms this time around.

The game escalating this way also expects the player to further improve their tactics: shooting a zombie in order to discover how it reacts to gunfire, using a knife to counter and, before that, punishing another enemy in your way with melee attacks. It may not be enough, so better to focus on the head, right? Well, what if it moves too much? Time to cripple its legs. Are the resources not enough? Do not engage them at all. Are they are inevitable obstacle alongside your path? Now to master movement and evade them. And then, you start focusing on the stagger capabilities of your arsenal instead of their intrinsic lethality which, arguably, should be reserved only to bosses: mix movement, guns and melee, and there you have it. It's the evolution the series has always aspired to reach since Resident Evil 5 and 6. There could've been no other way to remake the original RE2 without falling into repetitiveness.

Some minor nitpicks may be found in the enemy variety, in the length of the experience itself or even in some missing moments of the original, which are either gone, replaced with something else, or even improved. Even with those (really) little issues, the game's phenomenal in a way it can only be experienced first-hand. Better so if the original RE2 nostalgia is vivid. Just like Rebirth, this game loves making fun of your memories.

Must-Play.

A survival horror with an interesting and strong approach to the moment-to-moment gameplay, and an emphasis in the action component which, ironically so, takes from the fundamentals of the original Resident Evil 4 and translates them in the context of a less bombastic but still cathartic experience.

There's an undeniable showoff, willingly so, made by the developers regarding their technical pedigree here: the biggest improvement from the previous entries (apart from Resident Evil 7) is an enormous jump in the sound department, from design to the original soundtrack: conveying the horror aspect also in this way enhance a lot the experience, and basically this alone sells such fantasy in a really successful way. The atmosphere is further enhanced by the lighting, god rays, lens flares and all details blooming around the ever-fascinating R.P.D. Station, used intelligently, never being too much in the way of the art direction.

The interesting parallelism which can be made with the previously mentioned RE7 is that RE2 Remake approaches horror mostly, if not only, from a design approach. You're not scared just because of the cut-scene, the set-piece, or the jump-scare, but because of the emergent aspect of the gameplay. The escalation of fighting a zombie, to a multitude of them in an open area, to more of them in a cramped area, to Mr.X approaching by himself, then by the zombies, then a lone Licker, then him alongside Mr.X, then two of them, and then more zombies... The game's constantly fighting against your comfort and your habits, and the tension never ends, given how they've managed the safe rooms this time around.

The game escalating this way also expects the player to further improve their tactics: shooting a zombie in order to discover how it reacts to gunfire, using a knife to counter and, before that, punishing another enemy in your way with melee attacks. It may not be enough, so better to focus on the head, right? Well, what if it moves too much? Time to cripple its legs. Are the resources not enough? Do not engage them at all. Are they are inevitable obstacle alongside your path? Now to master movement and evade them. And then, you start focusing on the stagger capabilities of your arsenal instead of their intrinsic lethality which, arguably, should be reserved only to bosses: mix movement, guns and melee, and there you have it. It's the evolution the series has always aspired to reach since Resident Evil 5 and 6. There could've been no other way to remake the original RE2 without falling into repetitiveness.

Some minor nitpicks may be found in the enemy variety, in the length of the experience itself or even in some missing moments of the original, which are either gone, replaced with something else, or even improved. Even with those (really) little issues, the game's phenomenal in a way it can only be experienced first-hand. Better so if the original RE2 nostalgia is vivid. Just like Rebirth, this game loves making fun of your memories.

Must-Play.