Resident Evil HD Remaster Review (PS4)

Resident Evil HD Remaster came with PlayStation Plus a few years ago but somehow, I haven’t played it before now. The game is a high definition remaster released in 2015 for PS3, PS4, Xbox360, Xbox One and Windows of the 2002 GameCube remaster of the original 1996 Resident Evil game. 

Capcom seems to be really eager to remaster and remake everything Resident Evil. And why not? They make good games and people want to play them. Resident Evil HD Remaster is not a remake in the likes of Resident Evil 2 (2019) and Resident Evil 3 (2020), so for some modern gamers, it can feel a bit dated. I have to admit, it is quite rough around the edges, but I still dig it it!

The first thing you'll notice compared to modern games, is the camera. You don’t move the camera at all, you simply move the character and the camera will switch to a different location depending on where you are. This means that the tight corridors you walk through, get even more claustrophobic since you never really have perfect 360 degree view. You get used to it and it only really bothered me in some of the boss fights.

The whole game basically takes place inside this big mansion where you have to solve puzzles to progress. In the narrow corridors and dark corners of the mansion the zombies lure and you never know when you’re going to get jumped.

Finding keys that unlock new doors at the mansion is a big part of the game. To obtain these keys you often have to solve some kind of puzzle. The puzzles themselves are not particularly hard but to find all the pieces you need for solving them can prove to be a challenge.

Ammo is also scarce, you have to carefully manage your inventory space and your saves are limited. All this makes it feel like the true survival horror experience.

I tried playing the game without any guides or walkthroughs at first. However, I found myself running around in circles. After a while I used a guide once in while to help me when I got stuck. Still it took me 18 hours to finish the game! This must include time in the pause menu because it didn't feel that long. Apparently you can finish it in under 1,5 hours ("having existential crisis")

Depending on if you choose to play as Jill Valentine or Chris Redfield the events of the game will play out a bit differently. I personally chose to play as Jill over Chris because I like her more to be honest (also bouncy boobs) Seriously, her boobs bounce every time you move #breastphysics

The game has a couple of different endings depending on a few choices you make in the game and a difficulty settings, ranging from very easy to hard. 

If it is your first time playing it, I almost recommend setting it to easy. It might seem a bit too easy at times but if you don't know what you're supposed to do or where to go, you will use up your ammo and resources quite fast even on this difficulty. Also remember that saves are limited so don't save every few minutes or you will be in trouble later on.

I still can't believe I haven't played this game before now. The atmosphere, the claustrophobic feel and the puzzles are simply amazing. Resident Evil HD Remaster is an essential game for every one who is a fan of the survival-horror genre.