It took me a while to get into horror media in general. It took me a while to discover that I actually really like the genre, I just don't like jumpscares or anything gross. Upon discovering that, I started trying out some of the earlier PS1-PS2-era survival horror games, and they're pretty fun. However, nothing really managed to top my very first one, the phenomenal 2002 remake of Resident Evil 1.
Just for context, the remake of Resident Evil (which I'll call Resident Evil REmake from here on out) is considered one of the great video game remakes of all time, right up there with the likes of Metroid Zero Mission and Kirby Super Star Ultra. It's in this weird sweet spot where it both feels like a true reinvention of the original game, that also improves on the original in nearly every aspect. Because the original version of Resident Evil 1... has not aged the best. It only takes comparing it to its direct sequel to realize just how rudimentary the prerendered visuals were in that first title, and while the cheesy voice acting can lead to a lot of laughs, it all adds up to a game that just isn't all that scary anymore. Resident Evil REmake changes that dramatically.
REmake mostly plays like any other early entry in the series. You're trapped in a mansion, there are monsters everywhere, so you have to escape, uncover the Umbrella plot of the week, and stop them. You do have tank controls here which can be tough for a player to get used to nowadays, but the addition of quality of life improvements from RE3 like the quick turn and ability to walk up stairs freely lead to this game having quite possibly the snappiest and most fluid tank controls in the series. I'm glad there are tank controls too because it allows REmake to implement a bunch of weird, off-kilter fixed camera angles that do a lot to put the player on edge. From a control standpoint, REmake is already a massive improvement over the original, and running around the mansion solving puzzles and shooting zombies feels better.
From a level design standpoint, Resident Evil REmake also really shines. The Spencer Mansion is still probably my favorite out of all the central hubs in a Resident Evil game, it's so intricate and satisfying to solve, and running around all the different and varied rooms has pretty much etched its map into my brain. It's quite nonlinear too, keeping its hands off for most of the game and leaving you to solve everything. Dare I say, it almost feels like a Zelda dungeon. This mostly applied to the original too, but in that game, the last few areas like the underground and lab were super underwhelming and short. REmake does a lot to extend those later areas which helps the game feel more satisfying and complete, and it in turn also expands the length of the game as well. Even more, Spencer Mansion itself also got a lot of tweaks intended to throw off players who already experienced the original, which helps REmake stand on its own as well. It makes for a game where all the locations coalesce and click with each other super naturally, forming this cohesive puzzle box that's a joy to unravel.
Survival horror is at its core about resource management, and Resident Evil REmake arguably pulls this off the best out of any game in the series. REmake is a very tough game with an intricate arrangement of enemies that will force you to think a dozen steps ahead to stay alive, but the true stroke of genius was the introduction of the Crimson Head system. Unlike other games where zombies die permanently, REmake added a mechanic where after shooting a zombie dead and leaving them alone for a bit, they'll return as a faster, more powerful Crimson Head. The only way to prevent this from happening is to either not kill a given zombie, or burn it with the few drops of kerosene you have remaining. This adds so much strategy to REmake that it's almost hard to go back to a game without Crimson Heads. The amount of spatial reasoning in play here with every single encounter is super compelling, as you need to juggle how easy a zombie would be to avoid, how often you think you'll have to pass through a given room, and how much resources you have left. It's incredibly good stuff, and it makes for a game that's super scary not because of any jumpscares but because of how much danger you're constantly in. Entering a room only to stumble into a Crimson Head that I completely forgot about is more effectively scary to me than any jumpscare in the world.
Resident Evil REmake also dramatically improves the story. The original game has some interesting ideas at play, but the cheesy voice acting means all of it falls flat. REmake tries its hardest to actually take its story seriously with better voice acting, less goofiness, and a more oppressive atmosphere, and it really shows how much potential the original's story truly had. Regardless of if you play as Chris or Jill, both Barry and Rebecca are really fleshed-out and interesting partners in this game, and Wesker's big betrayal feels like it has way more impact compared to the original game where he was kind of just there. REmake was also made with the knowledge of future entries in mind, so Wesker in particular is far more well-realized of a character and playing REmake can almost feel like watching his rise into villainy. With two campaigns, a number of alternate endings, and multiple difficulties, REmake is also super content rich and stuffed with replayability. There's also a bunch of alternate costumes and modes you can unlock, as is tradition for the franchise.
But on top of all the gameplay and story improvements, Resident Evil REmake is frankly one of the prettiest games of its time. As prerendered graphics were dying out and even Resident Evil itself had shifted to 3D environments with Code Veronica, REmake made the bold design of sticking with prerendered visuals touched up with modern lighting, reflection, and water effects and it looks flat-out stunning. The environments are incredibly detailed and realistic, and they interact with the characters and rendered objects in a way that feels incredibly smooth and believable. It makes for a game that genuinely looks like it could've come out today, it feels entirely timeless. The audio design is also top-notch and deserves special mention for how well they aid the integration between the models and backgrounds, like how your characters' footsteps sound different depending on which floor type you walk on. Capcom didn't have to go this hard, but I'm so glad they did, and it ranks among some of the best sound design in any game, frankly. As far as the music goes... Well, I mean, it's a survival horror game. Naturally it's mostly going to be pretty ambient and atmospheric. That being said, the theme for the save room is phenomenal and does an amazing job at giving the player a brief sense of comfort knowing nothing could harm you in there.
Resident Evil REmake is a damn near perfect survival horror, and I kind of hate that I played it first because nothing else has really been able to top it. The tank controls have been refined to perfection, the world design is immaculate and a ton of fun to unravel, the resource management is at its most compellingly strategic and disturbingly tense, the story is a ton of fun and does a great job at getting a newcomer invested in the series, and the audiovisual presentation is the stuff of legends. Resident Evil REmake is the ideal remake both in terms of development and execution. It's a remake made almost entirely because a team at Capcom wanted to challenge themselves to transform the original game into something better in every conceivable way, and they succeeded. There really is no going around it, this is the greatest video game remake ever made to this day.
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