Resident Evil 2

About Resident Evil 2

Resident Evil 2 is Capcom's 2019 remake of its 1998 PlayStation game, rebuilt in the RE Engine with an over-the-shoulder camera and free movement in place of the old fixed angles and tank controls. It came out in January 2019 for PC, PlayStation 4 and Xbox One, reached PS5 and Xbox Series X|S in June 2022, Switch as a cloud version in November 2022, and iPhone, iPad and Mac in December 2024. A Deluxe Edition for Nintendo Switch 2 followed in October 2026.

You choose Leon, a police officer on his first day, or Claire, a college student looking for her brother. Each has a separate campaign, and the choice changes the weapons, areas, supporting characters and final boss. Finishing one opens a 2nd Run with the other character that moves items around and completes the story. Most of the game is spent in the Raccoon City Police Department, a converted museum full of locked doors, keys, statues and puzzles, before it moves down into the sewers and a secret laboratory.

The zombies are slow but tough: they take several bullets, get back up after being knocked down unless their head is gone, lose limbs and keep crawling, and follow you into other rooms. Many rooms are dark, and you see only what your flashlight reaches. Your inventory starts with eight slots, so a big part of play is deciding what to fight, what to run past, and what to leave in the item box. Then the Tyrant, known as Mr. X, arrives: a towering figure in a coat who walks the halls after you and can only be knocked down for a moment, turning a building you thought you had mapped into one you have to sneak through again.

There are three difficulties. Assisted and Standard let you save at typewriters as often as you like, while Hardcore needs ink ribbons for each save and gives you fewer items. Finishing the campaigns unlocks The 4th Survivor and The Tofu Survivor, and The Ghost Survivors, a free set of side scenarios, is open from the start. On the App Store the download is free and a limited part of the game can be played before you buy the rest.

It is a good place to start with classic survival horror: tension from scarcity and backtracking more than constant action. Anyone who likes it can go on to the Resident Evil 3 and 4 remakes, which use the same engine.

How to play Resident Evil 2

1. Choose Leon or Claire and a difficulty: Assisted, Standard or Hardcore, which set how many items you find, how strong the enemies are and whether saving needs ink ribbons.
2. Explore the police station, picking up keys, items and ammunition, and read the map to see which rooms still hold something.
3. Examine key items in the inventory and combine items, such as gunpowder into ammunition or herbs into stronger mixes.
4. Save at typewriters and store spare items in the item boxes of the safe rooms to keep your inventory free.
5. Shoot zombies in the legs or head only when you must; often it is better to walk around them.
6. When Mr. X appears, keep moving, break line of sight and use a different route back to where you need to go.
7. Play the 2nd Run with the other character to see the rest of the story.

Tips

• Use wooden boards on windows to stop zombies climbing back in along your usual routes.
• Combine green and red herbs before healing; mixed herbs heal far more.
• Knock zombies down and walk past rather than emptying a magazine into each.
• Mr. X cannot enter safe rooms; use them to let him wander off.
• Keep a knife or grenade in your sub-weapon slot: when a zombie grabs you, it pushes the zombie off, at a cost to the item.
• Look for hip pouches; each one adds inventory slots.

Questions