The Verdict
You took the RE Engine, pointed it at 1999, and made Raccoon City burn beautifully. The graphics, the sound, the pacing: all sharp, all confident. The redesigned Nemesis chase sequences are the best in the series, a hulking nightmare that turns a sprint down a back alley into a heart attack you actually want to relive. For the few hours you let it run, this is some of the most thrilling survival horror you ever shipped.
And there is the sneer: you let it run for a few hours. The most common complaint, and it is a fair one, is that you cut content from the original. The Clock Tower is gone, the Nemesis encounters are trimmed, and the campaign is over before it earns its goosebumps. You sold me a marathon through a dying city and handed me a very pretty 100 meter dash. I wanted to stay scared longer, and you kept opening exit doors.
Then there is Resident Evil: Resistance, the asymmetric multiplayer mode you bundled in to pad the box. It divided everyone, which is the polite way of saying half the room shrugged. The bright side stays bright though: this is still a gorgeous, kinetic, terrifying ride, and the least essential RE Engine remake is still better than most studios' best work. You did not make a bad game. You made a great one that respects my time a little too much.
What it nails
- ▲Redesigned Nemesis chase sequences are the most thrilling pursuit set-pieces the series has ever staged.
- ▲Graphics and sound design carry the RE Engine to a gorgeous, dread-soaked Raccoon City.
- ▲Pacing within each scene is razor sharp: tense, kinetic, never a wasted beat while it lasts.
- ▲It still launched strong and proves the remake machine can do action-horror as well as slow dread.
What it botches
- ▼Too short: the campaign ends well before it earns the goodwill it builds.
- ▼Cut content versus the 1999 original, most painfully the missing Clock Tower.
- ▼Fewer Nemesis encounters than the original, wasting your own best monster.
- ▼Resident Evil: Resistance was a divisive bundle that padded the package more than it pleased anyone.
Who it's for
Players who want the most kinetic, white knuckle chase horror in the RE remake catalog and do not mind a short ride.
Who should skip
Anyone who measures a survival horror game by hours in the dark and resents paying full price for the shortest RE remake.
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