Savage hounds that roam abandoned streets. A hulking stranger that simply follows you, ceaselessly. An enormous reptile dwelling in the sewers. As I descend into a sprawling industrial space beneath the station, there are hints of Day of the Dead, sure, but I’m reminded more of the Silent Hill series’ transitions from everyday spaces into nightmarish realms.Įven its denizens feel more archetypal than biological. I’d thought of Resident Evil 2 as simply B-movie horror, but this reimagining feels like something altogether more surreal. Instead it’s almost dream-like, a world that at first glance seems mundane but houses no end of strange mechanisms and creatures behind the facade.
Raccoon City indeed doesn’t feel like a grounded, real place, but it doesn’t feel incoherent either. Transplanted to 2019, and invested with so much more detail and realism, how could it possibly maintain the suspension of disbelief that’s so vital to truly tense horror?Īnd yet, now that I finally come to play the game, I think that weirdness is its greatest strength. The original’s setting, though deeply atmospheric at the time, was a product of an era when we expected less logic from our videogame settings. No amount of clever streamlining and updated controls could make its Scooby Doo-esque police station, replete with elaborate statue-based puzzles, an impressively stocked library and secret underground passages make any sense. My assumption was that, despite its revered status, much of the original’s retro strangeness wouldn’t hold up in the harsh light of HD graphics and modern sensibilities. Heading into this lavish remake I had my reservations.
(Image credit: Capcom) Exploring Resident Evil 2’s nightmarish otherworld-Robin Valentine
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