Resident Evil 2 Deluxe Edition review for Nintendo Switch 2

Capcom released probably one of the most recognized survival horror game experience, Resident Evil in 1996. While it wasn’t the first survival horror title to come out, it was a revolutionary game, and countless other releases followed, including 11 main entry Resident Evil games as well as several remakes. Arguably my favorite of the main games, Resident Evil 2, came out in 1998 and has been re-released on pretty much every console since. Now, Capcom has released a full remake, and it has landed on the Nintendo Switch 2. Is it still my favorite entry?

The game starts with choosing who you are going to play as, either Leon Kennedy or Claire Redfield. It doesn’t matter who you choose, the main campaign is very similar between the two characters and most of the items are in the same places. Both characters start at a gas station outside of town, coming across an empty police car and noises coming from inside the store. Upon investigating, players will come across someone who is holding a bloody wound in his neck pointing at a door as if saying, go that way.

Eventually Leon or Claire will come across a police officer who is trying to fend off a zombie and gets overwhelmed. At this point the officer dies, and the zombie comes after the player. Be careful here as any ammo spent and any damage taken carries over to the main campaign. The gas station plays as more of a very basic tutorial on how to play the game. After the intro our heroes make their way to the police station and a car crash prevents them from arriving together. Whichever character was picked ends up at the police station going through the main campaign.

Resident Evil 2 remake plays like a third person shooter. Gone are the days of tank controls of the original three games, as now you can strafe and aim as you fight hordes of zombies and other monsters. Aiming actually allows players to aim for the head this time, which is supposed to drop zombies faster.

As players move around the police station, they solve puzzles. For example, there is a shower location where the hot water pipe is leaking steam. To get by it, you must find a valve wheel to turn the valve and turn off the steam. Once an item is fully used and cannot be used anymore, it will show a red checkmark, at which point it can be discarded. This is very important as at the start of the game, you only have eight inventory slots, and each item that you pick up takes up a slot. There are some items (ammo for example) that can be stacked in the same slot. You can get more slots by finding hip bags, each hip bag found gains you two more spots.

Resident Evil 2 remake on the Nintendo Switch 2 looks great. On the Switch 2 I expected a lot of slowdown, especially when the action ramps up. I played for the first few hours in handheld mode and had zero slowdowns — let me say that again, ZERO slowdowns. The cutscenes are rendered well, the opening scene with the truck driver, could have looked a little cleaner, but it is a very light complaint. The whole game is rendered in 3d, unlike the original game which had pre-rendered backgrounds and stationary cameras. These improvements are fantastic.

The audio is done very well. The sound effects from the zombies when running through dark corridors do a fantastic job of getting your blood pumping. When you meet a licker for the first time and you know you have to be silent to get by it, his growls and snarls when getting close will make you jump and if you aren’t careful, push your thumb stick just enough to cause you to run and make noise. The music knows when to pick up and when to stay eerie.

Resident Evil 2 Deluxe Edition remake is a fun time, and Capcom did an amazing job bringing Resident Evil 2 into the modern gaming arena. I don’t remember all the story moments from the 1998 release, and I do feel that the big story moments take longer to get to in the remake adding on to an already great game. The original Resident Evil 2 was amazing, and Capcom improved on the game in pretty much every way. If you are a fan of survival horror, and are a Nintendo Switch 2 owner, do not pass this game up.

Note: Capcom provided us with a Resident Evil 2 Deluxe Edition Nintendo Switch 2 code for review purposes.

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