Games of 2019: Resident Evil 2

The classic reborn.

I’ve talked about this game before, but it bears repeating that Resident Evil 2 rang in the new year with a bang. An excellent remake of a classic game, RE2 saw Claire and Leon’s journey through zombie-infested Raccoon City updated with near-photorealistic graphics and modern controls. A slew of added content and surprises for veterans of the game made for a fresh experience even for those of us who first experienced the thrills 20 years ago.

Zombies are a bigger threat than I expected going in.

The biggest surprise that greeted me was the change to zombies’ health. Varying health pools mean that you can rarely be sure that a zombie is down for good. This can lead to jump scares thanks to being grabbed and wasting ammo. The redone gameplay segments with Ada and Sherry are also welcome changes, especially the creepy stealth section with Chief Irons. Two gameplay episodes that were nearly identical in the original game now feature unique gameplay and locations. The redesigned ivy enemies in the Umbrella lab kept me on my toes with their instant-kill attack. Boss fights were given more variety thanks to mechanics like the crane and gas canisters when fighting William Birkin. Finally, I really enjoyed collecting Mr. Raccoon bobbleheads, a throwback to Mr. Everywhere from Resident Evil 7.

The RE Engine is capable of some truly impressive graphics.

Resident Evil 2 also provided one of my favorite characters of 2019 in the form of its revamped Mr. X. While he existed in the original, Mr. X was confined to a couple of brief encounters in the B route. Here, his role has been greatly expanded to make him a seemingly ever-present threat. Like Lisa Trevor in Resident Evil (2002), the new and improved Mr. X adds tension and scares for both new and old players alike.

Cue “X Gon’ Give It To Ya”.

Resident Evil 2 is a terrific revival of a survival horror icon. The familiar locations, characters and monsters are given new life with impressive graphics, modern controls and camera, fresh scares and twists on the original formula. Replayability in the form of returning 4th Survivor and Tofu modes, plus the all new Ghost Survivors mode, kept me playing this game all year.