Replaying the 2019 version of Resident Evil 2—even on the Hardcore difficulty setting—has only reinforced my initial feeling that it's one of the best Resident Evil games. It effortlessly combines the third-person shooter lens of Resident Evil 4 with the streamlined survival horror mechanics of Resident Evil 7: Biohazard. The return of defense weapons is executed perfectly, and the game makes slow zombies threatening again by ingeniously combining their unpredictable movements with the requirement for precision during gunplay. Despite the mixed-bag dialogue and the overly safe visuals, nothing in this series can reproduce the feeling I get in my stomach when I hear Mr. X approaching from an adjacent room.