Resident Evil 0

About Resident Evil 0

Resident Evil 0 first came out in 2002 and was remastered by Capcom in 2016 with new high-resolution visuals, 5.1 sound, a widescreen option and modern controls; the Switch version followed on 21 May 2019. It is set in 1998, the night before the events of the original Resident Evil.

S.T.A.R.S. Bravo Team is sent to investigate murders outside Raccoon City, and their helicopter crash-lands in the forest of the Arklay Mountains. Rookie Rebecca Chambers finds the Ecliptic Express stopped on the tracks, its passengers dead or worse, and meets Billy Coen, a former Navy lieutenant on his way to execution. The two have to work together to get out.

It plays as classic fixed-camera survival horror. Rooms are seen from set angles, ammunition and healing herbs are scarce, and saving uses ink ribbons. Its twist is partner zapping: you control both characters and switch between them at any time, splitting them up to solve puzzles, passing items between them and covering one with the other. Each has a use of their own: Rebecca can mix herbs and chemicals with her kit but takes damage less well, while Billy is tougher, moves heavy objects and carries a lighter. There are no item boxes, so you drop what you cannot carry on the floor; the map marks where each item lies, and a room holds only so many.

It suits players who liked the Resident Evil remaster and want the story that leads into it. After the main story, Wesker Mode lets you replay as the series' villain Albert Wesker.

On Steam it runs on Windows, with English voices and text in French, Italian, German, Spanish, Japanese and Chinese. A run of the main story takes about 10 hours.

How to play Resident Evil 0

1. Choose classic tank controls or the newer alternative controls in the options.
2. Explore the train room by room as Rebecca and Billy, picking up ammunition, herbs and keys.
3. Switch between the two characters to solve puzzles and fight together, or split them up where a puzzle needs it.
4. Drop items you cannot carry in a place you will remember, since there are no item boxes.
5. Save at typewriters with ink ribbons, and push on toward the facility beyond the train.

Tips

• Leave spare items near save rooms so you know where to find them later.
• Billy is tougher and can move heavy objects; Rebecca can mix herbs and chemicals. Use each for what they do best.
• Avoid fights you do not need; ammunition runs out quickly.
• Pick up every ink ribbon: saving is limited.
• Check the map before you drop items: it marks where each one lies, and a room only holds so many.

Questions