If you were to ask me: “Which game does the adjective “BEST” refer to in different categories, then first of all I would remember Resident Evil 2 Remake
After all, this is the best re-release of the classic (old school) game, the best part of Resident, one of the best modern survival horror games, one of the most atmospheric games of recent years, and this is what can rightfully be called “LIVING NOSTALGIA”
Part 1: gameplay
The gaming component of this game is moderately complex, moderately enjoyable, shooting walking corpses and other mutated fauna, solving puzzles that are not a casual search for keys, which are already marked on the map (as in RE5 and RE6), but not a hard search for something I don’t know and poking at all the textures, as in the first parts Silent Hill. The puzzles here maintain a balance between the two above factors, which makes them ideal for most gamers. Well, almost all the time you will be wandering through the narrow dark corridors of a police station, sewers and the underground laboratory of the ill-fated Umbrella Corporation.
Part 2: graphics
Image in RE2 Remake is of course not a next-gen, but all the better, because this game is first and foremost a re-release of a classic, in a time when no one could even dream of something better than in detailed pixels during some rare screensaver. But you shouldn’t, based on my words, think that the graphics here are bad or old. This is not true at all. The picture here is more than modern, although a little soapy. The effect of rain, fire, the design of enemies, the pleasant faces of both macho Leon and the beautiful Eida and Claire are beautifully drawn. Slight darkness and a greenish tint gives the game even more atmosphere.
Part 3: Plot
It would seem that the topic with zombies and evil scientists, which has been well-worn since the 90s of the last century, can surprise, but it may even be the people who played the original, who played this masterpiece on one breathing and were worried about the heroes until the very end. Personally, I almost cried when cop Martin, whom I had never known until recently, breathed his last, and when Ada fell into a bottomless pit, I actually jumped out of my chair and screamed! This happens to me extremely rarely (probably 4 times as a result of strong feelings for the game characters), and RE2 was also able to awaken these emotions in me.
Here you have just slobbering dead people, and the chief of police - a flayer and the ultimate pervert, and a mysterious evil corporation, and a Japanese chick who supposedly works for the FBI, and Claire, who is looking for her brother, but in the end is looking for a way to save herself , and of course Leon, the brave cop who got it all on his first day of work...
Ambient/music:
Sound in this game is a separate type of high art. The impact of shooting, the groans and screams of the dead, the effect of sharp blows from the same lickers from the ceiling, gloomy music that hangs heavy in the air, and even the sound of enemies falling to the floor, it’s very cool and unrealistically atmospheric.
Localization: although we did not receive official voice acting in Russian (although now you can download excellent voice acting from fans), we cannot help but praise the English actors, who perfectly conveyed the emotions of all the characters in the game. Leon's youthful bass voice, Ada's glamorous voice with a hint of vulgarity, Claire's speech, even the perfectly chosen voice acting for little Cheryl. Listening to dialogues in RE2 is a blast!
(But I can’t give such an enthusiastic review of the voice acting of the recently released RE4; Ada’s drunken voice in the English version is terrible, just like the voice of 40+ year old Leon in the Russian version)
Optimization: well, it’s just nice here , I won’t say more about her.
Conclusion: as I said at the beginning, Resident Evil 2 Remake is one of the best survival horror games of our time, suitable for both oldfags and new gamers. There are many other games about zombies, but most of them are clearly not realistic and not close to the atmosphere of real horror and fear. (The same RE 3,4,5,6, Dying Light, just released Dead Island 2, The Last of Us), but it is this part of the resident, just like the first one, that fully conveys this feeling, making the player almost helpless, but and not unarmed (as in Outlast and horror films like it) in front of unprecedented undead.
This is one of the best games in the entire history of the industry as such. I hope in the future we will see new games made in the same vein of survival horror, in its original form.
Thank you, Capcom ❤️