Hands On with Resident Evil 2 Remake

E3 2018 has officially ended and I can say that it was one to remember. For one, it was my first ever to attend, which was an accomplishment that took many years to achieve. The press conferences were great to attend in person, despite some unusual setups that even some industry veterans were confused by. Outside all of this, was a chance to play some of games that were shown.

Over the next week or so, I will be sharing my thoughts on some of the games I was able to check out and play or see playable behind closed doors. The first I will speak about is Resident Evil 2. This is a franchise that is near and dear to my heart and I was completely floored when I was able to see the trailer reveal in the first row at the Sony Press Conference.

Capcom did a great job this year with not only reveal trailer, but to have a demo for attendees to check out. In traditional Capcom style, they went all out, and the booth was decked out to resemble the Raccoon Police Department, complete with a bloodied cop car and a little maze to walk through before playing the game. Check out the video below with some off-screen gameplay.

Resident Evil 2 Remake: E3 2018 Booth Walkthrough:

Resident Evil 2 Remake: E3 2018 Booth Walkthrough

The demo starts you off inside the RPD main hall and immediately felt like and old school Resident Evil game. The graphics were overhauled and seem to incorporate the new RE Engine with mechanics from Resident Evil 4 including the camera. You play as Leon during this demo and the experience was as smooth as I could have hoped for. The layout for items are different as the entire map has been overhauled but I still felt like some of the halls were reminiscing of the original game.

The demo is about 20 minutes long and features a good amount of traditional puzzle solving, exploring and combat. The movement is slower than you would expect but if you think about the type of game the original was, it works perfectly. Remember, we don?t have crazy running zombies in the universe yet. There are a handful of cinematics during the demo including a gory scene involving a cop that has a hand drawn map showing how to get out of the precinct.

I couldn?t finish the demo but can assure you that my heart is at ease now that I?ve seen the game play first hand. It?s everything I could?ve hoped for and more. January can?t come sooner. If you preorder the digital deluxe on the PlayStation store, it includes DLC costumes including an Elza Walker costume for Claire, which for those unaware, was the original female character in the canned version of Resident Evil now known as Resident Evil 1.5