In a rare moment the other day, I actually had a quiet afternoon with 30 minutes to spare. Luckily, it was during the period that the Resident Evil 2 One Shot demo was active! So let’s take a quick peek a the quick peek that Capcom has offered up of this complete re-imagining of Resident Evil 2!
To begin with, this is a demo, not the final product, and it’s only 7 Gigs. That being said, the game is utterly gorgeous. It absolutely drips atmosphere, something that’s to be expected after seeing the other remasters that Capcom has released. This was something different though. Unlike the clean remaster of Resident Evil, Resident Evil 2 is completely rebuilt from the ground up and it simply looks better in every way. Sometimes more than it should, since the gore and vicera you’ll see is pretty graphic and intense overall. And this demo is bloody! There is blood everywhere, people are being ripped apart in cinema sequences, the corpses are shredded. In short, it’s, well, a zombie apocalypse. Go figure. Pretty much the only thing that I didn’t see was completely anatomically correct corpses with all the feces and such spread about. I’m okay with that.
You play Leon Kennedy and you get only one chance to spend 30 minutes playing. Play cautiously and you won’t see anything, because you don’t get a second chance (except for those willing to risk a potential Steam ban to try to play a demo). Once you’ve played 30 minutes, the demo only allows you to re-view the cinema at the end. If you’re not familiar with Leon, well, you haven’t ever played Resident Evil or seen any of the CGI animated feature films. He’s possibly the best character in the franchise, and my one gripe is that they found a new model for his facial structure. He’s just not as iconic looking as he used to be in Resident Evil 4 (ie: less sexy). He does look more realistic though, so I suppose it’s a tradeoff. And it’s also unlikely that a new rookie cop would not only be up for anything and highly skilled the way Leon is, nor be disappointed that he hadn’t shown up earlier when everyone else was getting brutally slaughtered. Aw, shucks, it’s too bad I missed all the action!
But what you really want to know is, how does it play? And the answer is simply like a dream! This is easily one of the best controlled games I’ve ever played in the genre. Every single control is intuitive, easy to use, and smooth as silk. Movement, targeting, menu options, they’re all so fluid and crisp that it’s impossible to find fault with the game design. Every single thing I tried to do was exactly where I’d expect it to be and it made the experience so much better that it’s hard to express in words. Resident Evil 2 is possibly going to be one of the best horror games ever made. That’s a pretty tall order considering the pedigree of the series and the other horror games out there, and it’s still true. This is a game made for both gamers and casuals from the ground up and the absolute definition of how a AAA title should look and feel.
Honestly, I was thinking about passing Resident Evil 2 by when I heard about it, but after playing 30 minutes of the demo, it is honestly a must-buy for me and already a strong contender for Game Of The Year consideration. I don’t like to say things like that lightly, but the playable portion of the game is simply that good! So get in there, don’t be afraid to run down corridors, find that shotgun fast if you can, and have a great time! You’ve only got 30 minutes to enjoy the game before your chance is done, and if you die, you just start over. Don’t hoard your ammo, just play for the scares! The experience is definitely worth the download! The full game will be available everywhere on January 29th, so be ready!
This review was written based on the PS4 version of Resident Evil 2 – One Shot Demo available on PSN and played with a PS4 Pro on a 1080P Sony LED TV. No viruses were contracted during the playing of this demo and this review is not sponsored by Capcom or any third parties.