Topic: The Resident Evil Discussion Thread

@BlAcK_SwOrDsMaN Yes, definite cinematic along with the updated graphics and movement/controls. There’s a charm to the original and the tank controls, but I prefer the remake.

When you do get to RE3 Remake you’ll find that it plays very similar to RE2 Remake. New characters, new setting, and slightly new wrinkles to the gameplay, but overall it was quite parallel.

After playing the remakes for 1-3, I played the original RE4 (well the PS4 port, actually) and just didn’t like it. The series shifts from survival focused with small combat encounters, to a combat focused with smaller survival focus. There’s hoards of zombie enemies and it becomes a third person shooter much of the time, which was frustrating with the old control schemes. I’ve picked up the RE4 Remake in the last sale and I’m going to see if I like the game in a remade format where it’s easier to play and has updated controls. I’m not sure when I’ll play it but maybe around Halloween time.

I also want to try the Alan Wake series and I have the first game, so maybe I’ll try that first, depending on my mood.

@Th3solution I’d argue yes. REmake4 is much more “modern”, I didn’t mind OGRE4 myself, but I can still see someone who didn’t like it would enjoy REmake4. It’s definitely an excellent game, smooth, great visuals, the whole shebang.

@Yousef- My main gripe wasn’t even the lack of mobility when aiming and shooting, although that was quite annoying in its own right, but it was the lack of quick change of weapons. Since the best tactic was to either shoot an enemy in the knee or head to cripple or stun them, then either do an awkward kick animation or pull out the knife to slash them until they were down permanently, it was a lot of switching weapons and moves and the controls were weird because of going into the menu every time to equip a different one. I don’t know who thought that system made sense, but it wasn’t someone who plays a lot of action games 😅 Especially in a game where ammo is scare, you need to switch back and forth a lot, use a high powered round to stagger and then switch to the pea shooter to finish them off, or switching back and forth between weapons when one of the guys’ grows one of those hydra snake creatures out of their heads. 😅

Anyway, so the Remake apparently fixed all that and also the ability to run and shoot seamlessly without the tank controlling issues. Also the presence of difficulty options will be welcome because there were many times I felt like I was just barely surviving and if I could have only dialed down the difficulty one notch then I probably could have kept going. But as it was, I eventually gave up because I wasn’t having fun.

@Th3solution uhhhhh then I don’t think I’m happy to inform that unfortunately RE4R maintains that particular aspect that doesn’t bote well with you.

In fact, I’d argue it’s even more “simplistic” than the original due to modern sensibilities making things “easier” in a specific way.

Unfortunately I’m yet again unhappy to inform you that higher difficulty modes in REmakes aren’t properly playtested. At least that’s the impression I got from REmake3 which got worse the higher I turned the difficulty and borderline felt buggy at times despite the fact it was TECHNICALLY functioning as intended, just not fun.

But that’s just my two cents, my opinion isn’t word of law or anything xD

@Yousef- Urgh… you’re killin’ me. 😜
Welp, I’ll just have to hope that I can adjust. The good news is that I paid a fairly low price for it. I think it was $20-$25.

So, the didn’t just make a radial wheel or a quick select with the D-pad or something to switch weapons? Strange.

@Th3solution hey… there’s light at the end of the tunnel! I’m confident REmake5 will actually be an improvement. I don’t belong in the mainstream crowd so I actually think all the OGREs from 1 to 4 are fun and the remakes are not really necessary, but 5 does not get that praise from me xD. If you know, you know.

Neither does 6 either but I actually literally have no clue how a remake of that would even look like. What’s there to even remake? The REmakes tried to keep as much content as possible (except RE3R….) but 6 is the only that would shockingly benefit from trimming its length. I’m not sure who at Capcom okayed 20 hours third person shooter campaign. Only GTA can pull that off because of the amount of breaks you’re given but RE6 has no downtime…. But I’m really getting ahead of myself.
Please enjoy your time with the series!

@Th3solution I played the demo for Resident Evil 4 Remake and didn't really like it. I never enjoyed the original either, but did play it a few years after if it first came out.

@Yousef- Despite my playing OG RE2 back on the PS1 and even some of RE1 back in the day, I have really only recently become invested into the series. It started with playing REmake 1 as a part of Game Club a couple years ago and I was hooked. But just like the Souls series and others, I can’t binge too many in a row and I play about 1 entry a year, or so. I did however play the RE5 demo back on the PS3 and thought it was okay, but that was back when there was just an avalanche of zombie games over a few years, every game had zombies or a zombie mode (remember around that time - RDR’s Undead Nightmare, CoD World at War Zombie mode, on top of The Walking Dead, Plants vs Zombies, Dead Island, Dead Rising, Dead Space…?) and so I just didn’t really feel like actually playing it. And when RE6 dropped I was still not interested and I felt like I needed the context of the earlier games and at the time there wasn’t an easy way to play all of them like there is now.

So I’m actually not opposed to trying RE5 and RE6 now, as well as Code Veronica and RE0, but I need to get past RE4 first. It’s the most beloved of the games, and yet it’s become my barrier to continue with the series. I had planned to probably skip 5&6 and go to 7 though, but I’ll have to see how I feel.

@JohnnyShoulder I’m optimistic. I also think part of my issue with RE4 was that I wasn’t mentally prepared for the shift in gameplay focus. I came out of RE2 and RE3 feeling high on the series characters, gameplay, story and setting, and RE4 just turns all that upside down. After each hoard encounter I thought “wow, that was tough but I’m glad that’s over, now I will get to do some exploring and puzzle solving for a couple hours” but it is always just immediately followed by another huge enemy onslaught. At least that’s how I felt. So when I finally realized “Oh, this is the game — It’s not a tactically paced survival horror, it’s a third person action zombie shooter”, then I tapped out. Going in this time I know what to expect.

@Th3solution fair enough friend. I do look forward to what opinions you’ll form based on those games. They’re definitely interesting conversation pieces! …. For better or for worse xD

@Th3Solution Have you come to the Resident Evil 4 remake yet? I have acutually not come to this game yet.

I was never a big fan of RE1Remake on GameCube. Sure, i was absolutely hyped for it once the trailer was unveiled in 2000/2001(was it?) like everybody else was. But once i got my hands on it, I quickly realized that it stripped away the charm, campyness, B-movie tier character personalities, more colourful/varied environments and just went drab, muted, DARK and almost gothic. Reminiscent of an old Hammer horror film but with an ugly puke green, dirty brown & grey colour palette. Plus the character voice over delivery sounded monotone and almost emotionless, void of any personality. It's still a good game obviously, and I can see why RE fans consider it one of the best, but it just didn't jive with me at the time unfortunately.

The original however was revolutionary, and mind blowing back in 1996, there was nothing else like it aside from maybe Alone in the dark which was carrying less than a quarter of it's DNA. Capcom gave birth to survival horror in 96 and it was incredible. I couldn't believe what I was playing at the time, and it retained that mid 90's flavour to boot. Remake however in 2001 wasn't breaking any new grounds(Aside from looking incredible)and it was when the series started to feel a bit stale, at least for me personally. Zero was basically the mega nail in the coffin...Which I actually still kind of like at times, in ways. Brooding atmosphere, the train section was neat and then you've got the Leach creatures etc.

For RE1(PS1), you can tell the devs over at Capcom were influenced by movies like the original Dawn of the dead, with characters boasting stand out vibrant/colourful vests & Attire. This never carried through with either Remake & 0. It remained exclusive to to the PS1 trilogy and that was it really, and it made them look all the more unique, charming and fun, and they screamed mid to late 90's. 1Remake & Zero were bleak by comparison, but a lot of people loved that. It's all personal preference at the end of the day.

@Th3solution
I had an absolute blast with the Separate Ways DLC, on hardcore difficulty, which to me felt more like the original RE4 than anything else. I also beat the main campaign on PSVR2 before tackling the pancake version. Having that 1:1 realistic motion based aiming put the console's analog stick wiggling cross hair aiming to complete shame. in VR, you feel like you're John Wick, on Console, you feel like you're constantly fighting with the controls, as if you're operating a tank nozzle with the bottom of your thumb. Both versions have their strengths and weaknesses mind you, but in the end, the level of immersion you gain in VR is unmatched along with the amazing precision you get from combat, but the Pancake version looks better, is rocking that near pristine near-4K resolution at a locked 60fps, Much higher HDR brightness, no environmental hail/fog(etc) downgrades, and you don't have to deal with mura or motion duplication.

Still, In VR, it feels like you're on one big adventure. The entirety of the Village section was when it peaked for me. Strategically taking down hoards of ganando's has never been this fun, and scouring the village for every last bit of treasure was ridicuously satisfying, far more so than playing it on a 65" OLED TV. Even the motion based curser interactive inventory menu & Map felt more enjoyable and intuitive to use too.

Yet out of all the modern RE games since 7, i still feel like RE2Remake(Running at 120fps on PS5) is the grand daddy of them all. That, to me, is the modern holy grail RE experience. For me, it was S-Tier and a total nightmare gauntlet to trudge through. My only gripe was the decision to focus more on ambience, with a mostly silent score. I would of preferred something more atmospheric with literally every section having it's own piece of music. Plus, the sewer section was a nightmare to get through and was the least interesting section of the game.

Village was also outstanding in VR(Those VR cut scenes will have anybodies jaw hitting the floor), had the strongest and most interesting cast of villains, overall plot, Chris was fantastic and Lord Donna's house of horrors will destroy you in VR. Although, there were a couple of things about the VR version that rubbed me the wrong way, like having to use motion controls to reach behind Ethan's back pocket to pull out a map(This really sucks when sitting down, especially when the headset is tethered.), or having to look down to pull open your jacket, again, with motion controls or using both hands to cover your face while holding down 4 frikkin' buttons for defence. Resident Evil 4R VR rectifies all of this thankfully.

Also, RE3R is a teeny bit underrated. It felt pretty refreshing to jump into. I liked it's high energy, dodge mechanic and finally being mostly outdoors rather than being in. Still, it's nowhere near as good as it could of been, but judging it as it's own thing, it's a pretty good time, and a nice vacation from the long hellish nail biting monster maze that was RE2R.

• RE7(PSVR1) + DLC - B+
• RE2R - S
• RE3R - B
• RE8(PSVR2) - A
• RE4 + Separate Ways DLC - A

@oliverp No, I just haven’t had time and so I think I’m going to save RE4 to play around Halloween later this year. We’ll see.

@WaveBoy Thanks for that breakdown. Unfortunately I don’t have VR, but I’ve heard consistent great things about the RE games in VR.

It’s good to know RE4 still registers high on your list even in flatscreen. Agree with your assessment of RE2 and RE3 Remakes. I thought RE3 was quite good. Just not on the level of RE2.

@The3Soloution Yeah as Iam busy with a few ohter games atm I think I have to wait with the game as well for a little bit as well. That said I at least have it installed on my system now which I guess is a good thing.

Hm I like also dont feel done with Re2 and Re3 yet.. Even though I have beaten them a few times by now.

You guys have got me wanting to play an RE title so I downloaded the PS5 version of RE3 having already played it on PS4. It was my favourite of the original games so it bothers me that they dissected the remake so badly. Still a decent game, but the original is superior, technical improvements aside.

@Th3solution

The PSVR2 is worth purchasing just for RE Village VR & RE4R VR alone In my opinion. It's a flawed headset, with it's Small sweet spot, OLED Mura, cable/being tethered, it's onion ring controllers, bulky front visor, lack of a 'numbered' IPD dial, and the fact that Sony has pretty much abandoned the thing so don't expect any more first party support, but it's still capable of offering incredible VR experiences.

Upcoming VR titles like Metro Awakening, Max Mustard, Alien: Rogue Incursion, Subside, Zombie Army VR, Wanderer and Mare look pretty promising. And there's rumours that Capcom may in fact be doing RE9 in VR as well. At this point, I'd be fine selling my PSVR2, IF Meta announced Quest 3 wireless connectivity to XBOX Series X for PS5-tier power, and ported over RE Village & RE4R VR. But that isn't a reality just yet.

VR is in such a weird spot, PSVR2 feels like it's on it's last legs in ways, PC VR is a stagnant super niche ghost town full of friction points, yet Meta is doing just fine with stand alone Quest 3. They're all in. I just hate the fact that it's limited to it's stand alone tablet power unless you want to spend thousands on a PC, which i just don't want to do anymore.

@Malaise I never played the original RE3, so that probably helped with my enjoyment of the Remake.

I wish Capcom would port over the Resident Evil 1 Remaster and Zero to PS5 and get them running at 60fps, 4K and include a Door skip option, or at least make them open in real time instead of having to deal with the dreaded 6-7 second door animation. In this day and age, i can't tolerate that anymore. It was very unique and cool back in 1996, but there's no excuse to have them in 2024. The PS5 is powerful enough to by pass that, since they always were load times disguised as door animations.

Yet even with those 3 upgrades, I still don't think either game would hold up after experiencing the latest RE games. The reality is, Traditional/fixed RE games are impossibly stubborn to get with the times.