Early 2020 was an amazing time for video games—Call of Duty: Warzone, Nioh 2, Animal Crossing: New Horizons, Doom Eternal, Persona 5 Royal, and the Final Fantasy VII Remake all released within a few weeks of each other. It’s almost as if the video game industry knew we were going to need a slew of great games to tide us over while we all quarantined inside. Even though this pandemic is seemingly never ending, these last eight months have felt like both an eternity and no time at all. I thought Halloween would be a perfect time to go back and take a look at another game that released in the beforetime that was spring 2020, a little game that unfortunately didn’t make the impact that I was hoping it would when it was announced—the remake of Resident Evil 3.
In January 2019, Capcom blew the doors off when it released the remake to Resident Evil 2 and redefined what a video game remake could do. With all the critical and commercial success that greeted that remake, it’s no surprise that Capcom decided to keep the gravy train running, officially announcing Resident Evil 3 in December 2019 with a scheduled April 2020 release date. Needless to say, hype levels were very high, as not only was that a relatively quick turnaround from reveal to release, but with the excellent blueprint RE2 had already created, R3Make was bound to blow our minds all over again. Or at least that’s what I was hoping. Sadly, by the time R3Make had come and gone, it had barely left a blip on 2020’s gaming landscape, and while that isn’t entirely R3Make’s fault what with the quarantine and all, it didn’t do itself any favors.
First and foremost, my biggest issue with R3Make is its length, as even on my first methodical playthrough I was able to finish the game in just under three hours. Now historically I know that Capcom has made a point to reward players for beating its games, specifically Resident Evil games, as quickly as possible, whether those rewards be weapons, ammo, or other unlockables. But usually these feats are accomplished on multiple playthroughs after you are accustomed to things like enemy placement, puzzles, and scripted events. While I fell short of the game’s Sprinter Trophy, which rewards you for finishing the game in under two hours, it still feels like it should have taken longer, especially considering I was taking my time to take in everything the game had to offer.
The argument can be made that Resident Evil 2’s campaign can be beaten relatively quickly as well, but with all the changes that were made between the original and the remake I would like to know how many people breezed through it on their first go, not to mention that RE2 comes with two campaigns that you need to finish in order to see the whole story. So, even if you manage to make short work of the Leon side of the game, you still have Claire’s story as well. This is essentially giving you another whole game to play, whereas R3Make is only Jill’s story. Once you kill the final boss and the credits roll, that’s it—half the game for the same price.
That might be the part about R3Make that stings the most: $60 for a game that essentially feels like could have been an add-on or DLC to RE2, yet it’s the same price as other games that came out in 2020 that I have invested well over 100 hours in (Persona 5 Royal and Nioh 2). It is understandable that there are some people who might not have been as one-and-done with R3Make as I was, thereby feeling like they got more than a quick three-hour trip out of a $60 game, but sadly R3Make didn’t do very much to entice me into multiple playthroughs the same way that RE2 did, and a big part of that comes down to the game’s former namesake, Nemesis.
To put it in simple terms, the RE2 remake’s version of Mr. X is everything R3Make’s Nemesis should have been. No matter how many times I played RE2, I always made sure to trigger Mr. X as late as humanly possible so I could ensure I had done as much as possible without him stalking me throughout the police station. His mere presence was enough to change your entire playthrough to avoid him as much as possible to conserve ammo and health; hearing his thundering footsteps and knowing he was out there somewhere looking for me always put me on edge.
Conversely, Nemesis never felt as much like an omnipresent threat as I was expecting, or as I remembered him being. Rather than constantly looking over my shoulder or worrying about what was around every corner, I felt like I was free to explore the streets of Raccoon City unimpeded. This carefree attitude was often rewarded; Nemesis only made his sporadic appearances in scripted sections, usually preceded by a cutscene, eventually giving up his chase once I exited the area where he appeared. It also seems much easier than it used to be to down Nemesis, making an escape even easier. In RE2, downing Mr. X was only a temporary solution, as he was back on his feet stalking you in mere moments. While this can be true for Nemesis, by the time he is back on his feet, you are well on your way out of his area, effectively ending his chase. He also seemed to transform into his second and third forms much sooner than expected, meaning his appearances from there on out were relegated only to boss fights.
One thing that definitely seems to exacerbate the issues with both Nemesis and R3Make’s length is how linear the game is. The majority of RE2 takes place over three sections (the station, the sewer, and the lab), which means there is a lot of time for exploring and backtracking; it really gives you a chance to get acquainted with your surroundings, which is even more important when Mr. X arrives and blocks certain paths. While the opening segment in R3Make in the streets of Raccoon City starts the game with enough promise, it never feels like you spend enough time in any single area to fully appreciate it before you are moving on.
Seemingly most of R3Make’s issues are that it simply can’t live up to its predecessor. RE2 not only did so many things right, but it was fresh and new, which helped it stand out, especially for a franchise that a lot of people still regarded very highly based on its first few entries alone. While R3Make doesn’t necessarily do anything wrong, it just doesn’t do enough to stand out in the same way Resident Evil 2 did less than a year prior. Resident Evil 3 will make a great purchase after it has been out for a while and comes with a heavy discount, or as a free PlayStation Plus or Xbox Games with Gold download. It’s not a bad game by any stretch; it’s just disappointing when compared to what came before it.
Resident Evil 3 released on April 3, 2020, for Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One.
*Originally posted on Twin Cities Geek on November 10th 2020*