Evil 3 Remake: Resident
Downtown Raccoon City has never looked more apocalyptic. Capcom’s RE Engine renders every shattered storefront, every abandoned squad car, and every flickering neon sign with horrifying fidelity. The game opens with Jill Valentine watching a helicopter crash into a gas station—not in a cutscene, but in real-time, controllable gameplay. It’s a statement of intent: this is not a slow-burn mystery. This is a disaster movie you are piloting through.
He is faster. He has a flamethrower. He has a rocket launcher. He runs at you. He jumps at you. In the game’s opening hour, he breaks the rules. He shows up in scripted chase sequences that feel like a cross between Uncharted and Outlast .
It was never going to be easy to follow Resident Evil 2 (2019) . Capcom’s remake of its 1998 masterpiece wasn’t just a good game—it was a miracle. It proved that survival horror, a genre often relegated to indie pixel-art graveyards, could still command triple-A budgets, photorealistic dread, and mainstream adoration. Resident Evil 3 Remake
But here is the defense: RE3 Remake is a great game to replay. It is designed for the speedrun. The shop system, which unlocks infinite weapons, coins, and manuals based on points earned from completing challenges, turns the second playthrough into a completely different experience. The first run is survival. The fifth run is John Wick .
So, four years later, stop asking what it isn’t. It isn't RE2 . It was never supposed to be. Play it on Hardcore. Master the dodge. Let Nemesis chase you down a burning alley. You’ll realize: sometimes, short, loud, and angry is exactly what survival horror needs. Downtown Raccoon City has never looked more apocalyptic
This is where the game’s identity crystalizes. RE2 was about resource management and attrition. RE3 is about reaction time and aggression. You don’t conserve ammo for the boss; you find more ammo during the boss fight by crafting it on the fly. Jill is not Leon Kennedy, the rookie cop. She’s a veteran of the Arklay Mountains incident. She knows what these things are, and she’s pissed. And then there’s the big guy. Mr. X in RE2 was a slow, stomping force of nature—a sound-design masterpiece whose footsteps taught you patience. Nemesis in RE3 Remake is not Mr. X.
So when Resident Evil 3 Remake launched in April 2020, the internet did what the internet does. It sharpened its knives. The complaints were immediate and loud: It’s too short. They cut the Clock Tower. Where’s the live selection? Nemesis just turns into a dog? It’s a statement of intent: this is not
In the shadow of its genre-defining sibling, Resident Evil 3 Remake chose a different path: survival horror as a blockbuster action movie. Four years later, it’s time to stop comparing it to RE2 and appreciate it for what it actually is.