Resident Evil 2 Remake might have won E3 2018

Let’s not waste any time here, Resident Evil 2 is my favourite game of all time. So when Capcom announced Resident Evil 2 Remake; a full remake of the game in the fashion of the phenomenal remake of the first title in the series, I couldn’t have wanted something more. But then we heard nothing, until Sony’s E3 2018 conference this morning (UK time).

While sleepily checking on Sony’s early morning conference, I found out that Capcom confirmed not only that Resident Evil 2 Remake is coming, but that it is releasing on PS4, XBox One and PC on January 25th 2019. We also now know that the game will be made in the proprietary RE Engine that was created for the incredible Resident Evil 7, and it already looks repulsively stunning. All of the environments look incredible already, especially the Police Station exterior and lobby, both of which bring out massive amounts of awe and nostalgia just from the brief looks we got of them.

The characters are instantly recognisable and look almost photo-realistic in the new engine. This is most noticeable in the younger (and far hotter) Leon S. Kennedy, a beautiful Claire Redfield, and the far more rounded character of Marvin Branagh, who I’m glad has seemingly more impact on the story. We also see in the trailer are Ada Wong and Sherry Birkin (looking decidedly less 90s), so the entire crew is present and accounted for, and I’m personally excited to see if new characters are introduced similar to the introduction of the terrifyingly tragic Lisa Trevor in the original game’s remake.

Speaking of which, the RE Engine is definitely working its magic on the zombie hordes, with all of them looking viscerally realistic. This, just from the short trailer, looks like it is bringing the horror back into survival horror on the third-person plane, as Resident Evil 7 did with the first-person viewpoint after the untimely euthanasia of P.T. Capcom have also confirmed that the zombies will take visible damage, meaning that the player has to think strategically to conserve resources. I simply cannot wait to find out what this new graphical and gameplay style is going to bring to some of the latter monsters you encounter in the game.

The over-the-shoulder camera pioneered by Resident Evil 4 returns for this title, which is a move that I’m sure will divide a lot of the fanbase. I’m personally all for it, as I enjoy both tank and modern controls, and I technically get to see more of the game world in this perspective. I’m mostly intrigued to find out what other modern mechanics make it into Resident Evil 2 Remake; will we have the quick knife of the modern games, and what about the emergency defence weapons of the original remake? Needless to say, I am very jealous of the people that are currently at E3 2018 and get to play a demo on the show floor.

I don’t think I need to say more but I am incredibly excited for this game to launch on January 25th, 2019. Keep an eye here on Rice Digital, or on my Twitter, as I’ll be personally watching this project very closely. And no, I’m not biased at all.