Resident Evil

About Resident Evil

Resident Evil is Capcom's high-definition remaster of its 2002 remake of the original 1996 game, released on PC and consoles in January 2015 and on Nintendo Switch in May 2019. In 1998 a special forces team, S.T.A.R.S., is sent to investigate bizarre murders on the outskirts of Raccoon City. Attacked by a pack of blood-thirsty dogs, the survivors run into a nearby mansion for cover, and supplies there are scarce.

You choose between Jill Valentine and Chris Redfield. Chris can take and deal more damage; Jill can carry more items and opens some locked doors with a lockpick. The mansion is a maze of locked doors, keys and mechanisms, and progress means combining the items you find to solve puzzles, carrying the right ones and coming back to rooms you have already cleared. Inventory space is small, so spare items go in storage boxes, and saving needs an ink ribbon at a typewriter. An automap helps you find your way.

The camera is fixed, with each room shown from a set angle over detailed pre-rendered backgrounds, so you often hear an enemy before you see it. Ammunition is limited enough that avoiding enemies often matters more than fighting them. Herbs heal and can be mixed, and a serum cures poison. Zombies you put down without burning them or destroying the head can rise again later in a faster, more dangerous form, so the mansion grows more threatening as you go. When a zombie grabs you, a defensive item can get you free: a dagger for either character, a taser for Jill or a stun grenade for Chris.

The remaster has higher resolution backgrounds that mix static images with animated 3D models, a 16:9 widescreen view that scrolls to show the parts of the original 4:3 frame it would cut off, and the option to switch back to the original display. The sound is remastered with 5.1 surround. Next to the original controls there is an alternate scheme where you push the stick in the direction you want to go, and you can switch between them during play.

Critics found the inventory and backtracking dated, but the remaster sold well: Capcom had sold 3.7 million copies by September 2022. It suits players who want slow, puzzle-driven survival horror and anyone curious about where Resident Evil began.

How to play Resident Evil

1. Pick Jill or Chris; Jill carries more and has a lockpick, Chris takes and deals more damage.
2. Explore the mansion room by room, picking up keys, items and documents, and check the automap.
3. Fight or avoid zombies, using your limited ammunition on the ones you cannot get past.
4. Store spare items in the storage boxes and save at typewriters with ink ribbons.
5. Combine items and solve the mansion's puzzles to open new areas and find a way out.

Tips

• Burn or behead the zombies you put down in rooms you will pass again; otherwise they can rise in a faster, deadlier form.
• Keep a defensive item equipped so you can break free when a zombie grabs you.
• Mix herbs before healing to get more out of each one, and carry a serum in case of poison.
• Plan your route before leaving a safe room so you carry only what you need.
• Read the files you find; many hint at puzzle solutions.
• Try the alternate controls if the original scheme feels awkward; you can switch during play.

Questions