Resident Evil 2
Capcom Development Division 1 · Shooter, Horror, Action
Overview
A deadly virus engulfs the residents of Raccoon City in September of 1998, plunging the city into chaos as flesh eating zombies roam the streets for survivors. An unparalleled adrenaline rush, gripping storyline, and unimaginable horrors await you. Witness the return of Resident Evil 2.
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The genre-defining masterpiece Resident Evil 2 returns, completely rebuilt from the ground up for a deeper narrative experience. Using Capcom’s proprietary RE Engine, Resident Evil 2 offers a fresh take on the classic survival horror saga with breathtakingly realistic visuals, heart-pounding immersive audio, a new over-the-shoulder camera, and modernized controls on top of gameplay modes from the original game.
In Resident Evil 2, the classic action, tense exploration, and puzzle solving gameplay that defined the Resident Evil series returns. Players join rookie police officer Leon Kennedy and college student Claire Redfield, who are thrust together by a disastrous outbreak in Raccoon City that transformed its population into deadly zombies. Both Leon and Claire have their own separate playable campaigns, allowing players to see the story from both characters’ perspectives. The fate of these two fan favorite characters is in players hands as they work together to survive and get to the bottom of what is behind the terrifying attack on the city. Will they make it out alive?
- A spine-chilling reimagining of a horror classic - Based on the original release in 1998, the new game has been completely rebuilt from the ground up for a deeper narrative experience.
- A whole new perspective – New over-the-shoulder camera mode and modernized control scheme creates a more modern take on the survival horror experience and offers players a trip down memory lane with the original gameplay modes from the 1998 release.
- Terrifyingly realistic visuals – Built on Capcom’s proprietary RE Engine, Resident Evil 2 delivers breathtakingly photorealistic visuals whilst stunning lighting creates an up-close, intense and atmospheric experience as players roam the corridors of the Raccoon City Police Department (RPD).
- Face the grotesque hordes – Zombies are brought to life with a horrifyingly realistic wet gore effect as they react in real time taking instant visible damage, making every bullet count.
- Iconic series defining gameplay – Engage in frenzied combat with enemies, explore dark menacing corridors, solve puzzles to access areas and collect and use items discovered around the environment in a terrifying constant fight for survival.
- See favorite characters in a whole new light - Join rookie police officer Leon S. Kennedy on his first day in the job and college student Claire Redfield, who is searching for her brother amidst a terrifying zombie epidemic.
- Step into the rookie shoes of both heroes - Enjoy separately playable campaigns for both Leon and Claire, allowing players to see the story from both characters’ perspective.
From the game's Steam store page.
THE GAMEQ VERDICT9,997 reviews analyzed
What players are actually saying
1. Summary
Reviewers keep coming back to the same few things: the oppressive mood of the Raccoon City Police Department, a maze of locked doors that slowly opens up, scarce ammo that makes every fight a decision, and Mr. X, the stalker whose footsteps a few reviewers say they now hear in their nightmares. 13% of the longer reviews say this was their first Resident Evil or recommend it as the place to start, and some of those writers call themselves horror avoiders. The game also gets credit for looking good and running well on modest hardware and the Steam Deck.
The second run is a frequent gripe: playing the other character's scenario reuses most of the same map, puzzles and bosses, and veterans of the 1998 original miss how its two campaigns fed into each other. Some players push back on the design itself, saying zombies take too many headshots, puzzles and backtracking drag, there is no dodge, and Mr. X becomes a nuisance after the first scares. PC technical problems come up rarely. Nearly every review in the slice recommends the game, and most of the caveats are about its old-school structure.
2. What keeps coming up
What players praise
Atmosphere, sound and constant tensionHigh
Dark halls, rain, distant groans and the feeling that a quiet room is never safe: 27% of the longer reviews (511) single out the atmosphere, tension, immersion or sound design. "The RPD is almost scary by itself," one writes, and several advise playing with headphones for the 3D audio. Several describe the jump scares as earned, though a few call them cheap. On the other side, a few players say the third-person camera makes it less frightening than the 1998 original or Resident Evil 7, and a few others found it too stressful to keep playing, which they frame as a matter of taste.
Mr. X turns the police station into a huntHigh
Mr. X (the Tyrant) comes up in 28% of the longer reviews (533), much of it fear and grudging admiration: 9% of the longer reviews (173) tie him directly to terror, dread or his footsteps. "I don't think I've ever been so stressed out by the sound of footsteps in a video game," one player writes, and the "X gon' give it to ya" joke and "I hate Mr. X" lines are mostly affectionate. A minority finds the mechanic wears thin: 2% of the longer reviews (42) call him annoying, a chore or a nuisance, describe waiting in safe rooms for him to wander off, or say he gets in the way of puzzle solving. "Mr X is pretty scary the first and second time you bump into him, but after that, he just becomes a nuisance," as one put it. Among the negative reviews, 13% mention him, and a few of them stopped playing the moment he appeared.
The police station's level designHigh
The police station, the level design or the interconnected map get praise in 21% of the longer reviews (403). Players like learning the RPD's shortcuts until they can move through it confidently; one says "I feel I could navigate the RPD blindfolded at this point". The map that marks rooms as cleared and items as no longer needed gets specific credit for keeping the backtracking manageable. Those who dislike the structure call the same building a maze of locked doors, which is covered under puzzles and backtracking below.
Scarce ammo and tight inventory make every shot countHigh
Ammo, resources or inventory come up in 24% of the longer reviews (456). For most players this is the point of the game: deciding which zombie is worth the bullets, when to run, and what to leave in the item box. "Every bullet is a financial investment," one review lists among its lessons. Unhappy players bring up the same system just as often: resources come up in 26% of the negative reviews, which describe reaching a boss or a crowded corridor with nothing left, small pockets forcing trips back to storage, and a few softlocks. See the frustrations section for the bullet-sponge zombies that make the scarcity sting.
Visuals that still hold up, and a game that runs wellHigh
22% of the longer reviews (427) praise the graphics or say they still hold up years after release, often pointing to the zombie damage and gore. Another 6% (108) specifically praise performance: smooth frame rates on older GPUs and laptops, good results on the Steam Deck and handhelds, and solid ray tracing on stronger cards. One player notes it "still looks awesome in 2026 as in 2019". A small number disagree on the image quality itself, which is covered under PC technical problems.
A first Resident Evil for many newcomersMedium
"If you're new to Resident Evil, start with this game," one review says, and 13% of the longer reviews (241) either say this was their first Resident Evil or recommend it as the place to start the series. Requiem comes up in 5% of the longer reviews, often from players who came back to the series after it, and some newcomers say the new Resident Evil movie sent them here. A smaller group are self-described horror avoiders ("I'm a HUGE scaredy cat when it comes to horror games") who say the Assisted mode and the pacing let them push through. Several newcomers also mention getting lost early, leaning on guides for puzzles, or dropping the difficulty.
Replay value, ranks and extra modesMedium
14% of the longer reviews (259) mention replay value, and 12% (231) talk about Hardcore, S ranks, unlockable weapons or 100% completion. Players who went back for second and third runs say knowing the routes turns the game into a speedrun puzzle. The bonus modes split opinion: "the ghost survivor and the 4th survivor alone are worth it," says one, while others call No Way Out and the hardest achievements a grind they would warn people away from.
Rookie Leon, Claire and AdaMedium
Short reviews are full of affection for rookie Leon, Claire and Ada, and longer ones praise the voice acting and call the B-movie tone charming. On the critical side, 2% of the longer reviews (42) call the story thin, the dialogue corny, or point to plot holes, and a few dislike changes to how Ada and Claire are written compared with 1998.
Where players are split
Puzzles and backtrackingHigh
Puzzles come up in 27% of the longer reviews (513). Fans describe the medallions, lockers and key items as a puzzle box that rewards exploration, while 3% of the longer reviews (54) call the puzzles tedious, confusing or too many, and 7% (139) complain about backtracking, running back and forth, or a "walking simulator" feel. Among the negative reviews, puzzles come up in 21% and backtracking in 12%. "I needed a key, so I started exploring the whole damn police station," one negative review jokes. Several positive reviews give a milder version of the same caveat and recommend a guide for the plugs, the chess pieces and the lab chemicals.
The second run and the A/B scenariosHigh
The two campaigns come up in 23% of the longer reviews (429). Plenty of players say you should play both, since the true ending requires it and the second run plays faster once you know the map. Against that, 7% of the longer reviews (126) complain that the second scenario repeats the same areas, puzzles and boss fights, or that the two runs contradict each other. "Instead of B (NG+) being used to complement the A scenarios, it overlaps a LOT with it," one writes, and another says it "just felt like playing the Exact Same Game again". The complaint turns up in positive reviews about as often as in negative ones.
How it measures up to the 1998 originalMedium
When veterans weigh the remake against the original, more of them side with the remake: 5% of the longer reviews (88) call it better than the original or a model of how to remake a game, while 2% (29) say the original is better, and 2% (39) point to cut content: the zapping system, cut enemies like the giant spider, and areas that were trimmed. "The only thing I miss is the original's cross-progression between Leon and Claire," one says. A few also wish for an optional fixed-camera mode.
BossesMedium
Fans enjoy the Birkin encounters as set pieces, and 12% of the longer reviews (233) talk about the boss fights. 2% of the longer reviews (41) call them bad, gimmicky or ammo sinks, and bosses come up in 15% of the negative reviews. The usual targets are the crane and container fight with G2, the final chase with Mr. X, and eye weak points that some say register hits inconsistently. One reviewer calls them "the boss fights that I found were incompatible with the game's mechanics", since the game has no dodge.
Coming from Resident Evil 4 Remake, Resident Evil 3 or RequiemMedium
Comparisons with the newer entries are common: Resident Evil 4 comes up in 9% of the longer reviews (166), Resident Evil 3 in 8% (143) and Requiem in 5% (99). Some prefer this one for its horror focus, and some call it the better remake of the pair with RE3. Others warn that coming straight from the action-heavy RE4 Remake makes this feel slow and stiff: "I made the mistake of playing RE 4 Remake before this." Resident Evil 4 is named in 9% of the negative reviews, often as the game the reviewer enjoyed more.
The later sections and the sewersMedium
The sewers come up in 5% of the longer reviews (102), usually as the low point of an otherwise loved game, alongside the plant zombies and parts of the lab. A smaller 2% (41) say the game falls off after the police station: "the moment you get to the sewer it just falls off a cliff". Others enjoy the lab and the late weapons.
Length and priceLow
A few players find the campaign short, and a few say the length is right because it never overstays its welcome; neither view is common. On price, 10% of the longer reviews (183) mention buying it on sale, at a discount or in a remake bundle, usually alongside saying it was worth the money. A handful call full price steep, and a few dislike that infinite-ammo weapons are sold as DLC.
What frustrates players
Zombies that soak up bullets and keep getting upMedium
5% of the longer reviews (87) complain that zombies take too many headshots, refuse to stay down or come back up later, and this rises to 12% of the negative reviews. "A zombie should not need 10+ headshots to kill," one writes. Some blame random critical hits that make damage inconsistent, and a smaller group (1% of the longer reviews, 4% of the negative ones) blame the hidden adaptive difficulty: "The fact i'm punished for doing well is such a frustrating mechanic." Several positive reviews accept the tanky zombies as a deliberate push to run instead of fight, and some of those still name them as their main annoyance.
No dodge and stiff movementMedium
4% of the longer reviews (81) bring up dodging, parrying or melee, and 4% (70) call the movement slow, clunky or sluggish. "You're going to get mad that you can't dodge, to say the least," one positive review warns. Movement comes up in 7% of the negative reviews, often from players used to RE3 Remake's dodge or RE4 Remake's parry. A few also dislike knives that break quickly and zombie grabs that feel hard to escape.
PC technical problemsLow
A small number of reviews describe crashes or freezes, including D3D fatal errors and crashes some players fixed by switching off ray tracing or using the DirectX 11 version. "I don't think at this point in it's life span that I should have to disable raytracing to not experience crashes with it," one writes. A similar handful complain about HDR or anti-aliasing: "Your options are between the most vaseline inducing TAA or the really sharp SMAA but with REALLY bad shimmering." Isolated reports mention mouse acceleration that cannot be turned off, the HDR prompt appearing on every launch, and the Enigma DRM, which a few reviewers say was added after release.
Softlocks from running dryLow
A small number of players, mostly in negative reviews, report reaching a boss or a crowded area with no ammo or healing left and only an older save to fall back on. One says it "led to me getting soft locked for over an hour". A couple of others report key items that would not combine or doors that would not open.
3. The player conversation
The tone is warm and often playful. Half the reviews are a line or two, and the short ones lean on running jokes: "residents are evil" puns, "September 30th, 1998" quotes, "X gon' give it to ya" and a steady stream of crushes on Leon, Claire and Ada. The longer reviews are more measured but land in the same place, praising the atmosphere, the police station and Mr. X and then listing the second run and tanky zombies as caveats.
Veterans of the 1998 game drive the comparisons with the original, the zapping system and cut content. Newcomers, some of them arriving from Requiem, the new movie or Resident Evil 4 Remake, are the ones describing their first survival horror, their fear of Mr. X and, when it goes badly, their frustration with ammo, puzzles and the lack of a dodge. Achievement hunters bring up S ranks, Hardcore and the bonus modes. Negative reviews bring up ammo, puzzles, backtracking and movement far more often than bugs or crashes. The mood held steady through the slice: in every week with more than 100 reviews, between 94% and 99% recommended the game.
4. What the developers could do
- Give the second scenario its own content and continuity. 7% of the longer reviews complain about the repeated map, puzzles and bosses in the second run, and veterans specifically miss the original's linked A/B campaigns.
- Make zombie damage more consistent, and let players see or switch off adaptive difficulty. Bullet-sponge zombies come up in 12% of the negative reviews, with players blaming random crits and a hidden system that "punished" good aim.
- Offer optional hints and lighter backtracking for first-time players. Puzzles come up in 21% of the negative reviews and backtracking in 12%, and some newcomers who enjoyed the game say they needed guides to find the next item.
- Rework the weakest boss fights around the game's limited movement. The G2 crane and container fight and the final Mr. X chase are the fights named in boss complaints, with players saying the fights demand dodging the game does not have.
- Add a basic evade or shove for close quarters. Players coming from RE3 Remake and RE4 Remake ask for a dodge, and stiff movement comes up in 7% of the negative reviews.
- Fix the remaining PC stability and image issues. D3D crashes, ray-tracing crashes, the repeated HDR prompt, TAA blur and SMAA shimmer, and mouse acceleration that cannot be turned off are rare complaints, but the reviews describe them in specific detail.
- Put a checkpoint or supply cache before ammo-heavy bosses. Players who reached a boss with nothing left describe softlocks that forced a restart or an earlier save.
