Resident Evil (Remake) ~ video game review

Title - Resident Evil (2002 Remake Remaster)

Played on PlayStation 4

Have you heard the rumour that Capcom might be doing another remake to the first Resident Evil game? Remake of a remake, how crazy is that? Only time will tell if the rumour is true. If it's not, well no need to be sad about it. The remastered version of the 2002 Remake that were released still look amazing and is still great to play.

Here's a brief info of the game. Resident Evil Remake was released way back in 2002 by Capcom exclusively for GameCube. A remake of the original 1996 game of the same name, it has improved graphics, new gameplay mechanics and puzzles, new areas to explore, additional story and reworked dialogues. A high-definition remaster (this is the version that I've played and will review here) was later released in 2015 for multiple platforms (PlayStation, Xbox and PC) and later in 2019 for Nintendo Switch.

A Hauntingly Beautiful Mansion

It's hard to believe that this game is more than two decades old because looking at the graphics, the game still looks pretty amazing. The minute you enter the mansion, the main setting of the game, you will be mesmerized by the amazing details and you can look forward to more eerie settings to come. Gloomy lights from the lamp on the ceiling casting long shadows, with zombies and dogs lurking around the dark hidden corridors barely lit by the dim lights. The sound design complemented the creepiness with the sound of dogs howling, the moaning of the zombies, and the screaming of one Lisa Trevor. Both the graphics and the sound design make the game feels so atmospheric that you immediately transported into the horrific world of the living dead when you're playing the game. Sure, the human characters and the creatures that you fought didn't really look lifelike like the AAA games that you typically see nowadays, but they still look nice and fit with the game's settings and overall design.

Zombies & Monsters Everywhere!

The game still retain some of the difficulty from the original game, for example the limited amount of ammo available as well as the limited slots that each character have in their inventory. But of course now you have the improved gameplay of using the analog stick to control the characters compared to the D-pad in the original PS1 version of the game...that was quite a nightmare for me. There are a lot of puzzles to solve and they were quite fun to figure out, not too easy but not too challenging either, so I enjoyed them quite a bit. Similar with the original, you have to go back and forth in the same area quite a few times but since I like the atmospheric nature of the settings, I don't really mind doing that.

Jill Sandwich Anyone?

Is the story the same with the original game? Well, yes and no. The basic premise is still the same; you as Jill Valentine or Chris Redfield, and the rest of the Raccoon City Police Department's S.T.A.R.S. Alpha team members are trapped in a huge abandoned mansion in the middle of a forest after investigating the whereabouts of the Bravo team which was sent earlier to investigate the murders that have been happening around the area. As you find your way to escape the place, you discover the horror that have been taking place in the mansion and the history behind it. The story have been expanded to include even more detailed back story of the place and the people involved. One of the character directly involved in the story behind the mansion even appeared as a mini-boss to fight in one part of the game.

I'm sure people who've played the original remembered the dialogue like the Jill sandwich incident. If you find that cringe, then no need to worry as the game have been improved with much better dialogues for the characters. To be honest, I don't have too much of a problem with the original game's dialogues; they are quite cheesy but I think it's alright. For context though, English is my second language and I was quite young back then too, so probably that's why I'm okay with it.

While the main story with the Bravo team is enjoyable; exploring the mansion and learning about the illegal experiments, helping each other, and finding out what happened to the Alpha team members, I also really appreciate the back-story of the mansion and the people involved that are incorporated in various letters, documents and memos which were scattered throughout the mansion. Some of them contain clues to solve certain puzzles but the developer put extra effort to combine them with story-telling elements as well. It was really well done and I enjoyed the way the game is telling the story through the environment.

Conclusion

Resident Evil Remake is a fantastic game with beautiful graphics, great atmosphere and engaging gameplay that is still fun to play. It is often regarded as one of the greatest remakes ever made and after playing it, I can definitely understand why it get such a title. The remastered version of the game improved a lot from its graphic to its control scheme making it suitably updated and comparable to the other more recent games. I highly recommended it if you haven't play it yet. It's worth a shot.