Undead King

RESIDENT EVIL 2, a remake of the PlayStation classic, is a masterclass in making an old game feel fresh again.

- Andy Kelly

One of the most remarkable things about this Resident Evil 2 remake is that it makes zombies—the slow, shambling, groaning kind—exciting again. The undead in this game are incredible, horrible things: Shuffling lumps of bloody meat who batter down doors, tumble through broken windows, and lunge hungrily from the shadows. They’re physical, clumsy, and an absolute joy to kill—if you have the ammo to spare.

Shoot a leg off and they keep coming, dragging themselves along the floor, reaching at you with pale, clawing hands. Turn a corner, and as the beam of your flashlight catches their glassy white eyes they screech and trudge towards you, arms outstretched, jaws slung with glistening blood. They don’t sprint or explode or sprout thrashing parasites like they do in newer Resident Evil games: They just moan and lurch and grab, and there’s something enjoyably back-to basics about that: a feeling that echoes through every dark, claustrophobic hallway of this confident remake.

After the subversive Resident Evil 7, with its grimy Southern Gothic aesthetic and intimate first-person horror, Resident Evil 2 is a return to a more familiar style of game. It’s a remake, but it’s never a slave to the source material, adding or cleverly remixing enough elements to make it feel brand new. You can still play as

two characters—Leon S. Kennedy and Claire Redfield—and a few fan favorite bosses and locations have been recreated. But even moments of fan service are given some kind of twist or fresh angle, which is, honestly, not what I expected from this remake at all.