I’m cynical when it comes to video game remasters. What’s the point of taking the time to completely overhaul Crash Bandicoot’s visuals if he still controls like a bag of rocks? After four hours with Resident Evil 2, the sort-of-but-not remake of the 1998 survival horror masterpiece, I can happily say that it is so good to play, look at, and listen to that it feels like a completely new game.
My demo starts as Leon ascends a ladder into the car park of the Raccoon City Police Department. Memories of watching, terrified, as my older brother led Leon down those familiar cramped corridors almost 20 years ago come rushing back. Even though I’m playing in a brightly lit boardroom, the oppressive darkness and grimy, dank muck of Leon’s surroundings pull me into his world. Raccoon City has never looked so good.