Rumor: After No Announcement, Resident Evil 2 Remake Details Leak Via 4Chan

Hoo boy. Not what any of us wanted, really, but good enough I guess.

So the 20th anniversary of Resident Evil 2 came and went with… nothing at all shown for the upcoming Resident Evil 2 Remake. Sucks, but worth remembering that it was never something promised to us; it was hype built up by fans based on pictures and actions that were interpreted to be teasing. The Capcom R&D Twitter account even apologized for getting people’s hopes up, saying that they never intended to tease us, but that they were just showing off fun photos. But thanks to some maybe-insider info from 4chan, we might at least have an idea of what to expect.

Of course, take this with a massive grain of salt – but I would like to throw in that part of why we’re posting this (and not just disregarding it because it’s… you know, 4chan) is we’ve actually heard some of this information from one of our own sources (who has proven to reliably update us on past games, most notably Resident Evil 7). That doesn’t mean that this post is 100% legit, but it gives it enough credence we’ll at least talk about it. Thanks to Jawmuncher‏ on Twitter, we’ve got a nice ‘ol screenshot of the post as well. It’s a lot to unpack, but we’ll take it a piece at a time.

RE2make is OTS, mix of Rev 2 and RE4, can aim and move while shooting Yeah, I’m absolutely not surprised by this. It’s 2018. Expecting this remake to be Fixed Camera was simply setting yourself up for disappointment. Remember, this remake isn’t just for fans – it has to sell to everyone, and that includes the RE fans who simply can’t work around the older game design… hence the need for a remake. I’ve heard people try to combat this with the sales numbers of REmake HD and Resident Evil 0 HD, but come on. Yes, they sold well. They also cost almost nothing to make and cost almost nothing to buy (both are $20 apiece). Resident Evil 2 Remake is being made from scratch, and there’s simply no chance that they aren’t going to try and sell it for full price. Feel free to comment about how you’re boycotting it now or whatever, but know all you’re doing is damaging a game people have been asking for since 2002 and got mad when it wasn’t exactly like a game you already own three copies of. The post also mentions that they did try to work with fixed cameras and first person, but it simply didn’t work. My best guess is that they designed the game with OTS in mind, and wanted fixed and first person to be options (like the new controls in REmake HD and Zero), but simply couldn’t get it to work right, as those three camera styles would require vastly different programming and balancing. That’s not even to mention the tons of extra work to get the world to look right in three different perspectives. Fixed cameras (when they’re done well) require a certain level of artistry and finesse to get them looking as nice as they do. It’s why the fully 3D versions of RE0 and REmake areas from The Umbrella Chronicles simply don’t look anywhere near as good as the fixed camera versions in the original RE0 and REmake, despite the 3D versions actually being pretty accurate recreations. I also want to remind everyone of just how damn good the fan remake was looking before Capcom brought the ax down on it, and that game played with an OTS perspective. Honestly, if the remake plays anything like the footage that got released of that project I’m absolutely down. RPD, Raccoon City are vastly redesigned Again, this seems like a pretty obvious no-brainer. While I’m sure the gist of certain aspects will be the same, the overall game probably won’t look like just a “prettier” version of the original 1998 game. It’s why this is a remake, not a remaster. If anything I’m hoping this separation from the original design can help improve certain aspects. More city exploration before visiting the police station, with a greater emphasis on the “zombie apocalypse” vibes of poor Raccoon. A reenvisioned police station with more to do and more places to explore, rather than simply trudging through the same damn building for the (checks shelf) seventh time. We’ve been in the original version of this building a lot. I welcome an update with open arms, and I can’t wait to be surprised by what stays and what changes. It’s also worth mentioning that there’s already tons of precedent for this, considering how vastly different the 1996 Resident Evil and the 2002 REmake are. Sure, the layout is basically the same gist (although there’s a ton of new stuff, including entirely new outdoor areas, a new balcony, an entirely new series of hallways and even a floor on the West wing of the mansion, etc.), but visually and gameplay-wise if there was something that could be changed, it was. The REmake version of the mansion wasn’t just a “prettier” version of the original (that can arguably be seen in Code: Veronica X, although even that has some pretty major changes), it was an entirely new vision of the idea. Only two campaigns, no Zapping system, but Claire and Leon interact more Another thing I’m not especially surprised by. If you’re confused what this means, the original 1998 Resident Evil 2 had four different campaigns, Leon A/Claire B, and Claire A/Leon B. The neat this about this was that depending on who you picked to play first, you’d get a different version of events for both characters. This lead to some neat moments where some (very minor) decisions made as who you picked first (let’s say Leon) would impact your playthrough as the second character (in this case, Claire). For instance, in the RPD weapons locker, you had a choice to take everything in the locker (an add-on that expanded your inventory space, or an automatic weapon), or leave one (or both) items for the second (B) scenario. It was a cool and creative feature for 1998, and I’m not at all surprised it’s gone. It’s important to remember how difficult it is to make a game from the ground up. Sure, Capcom has the gist of the story and characters to work with – but doing something like this would still require 4 separate versions of the game to be designed. It does suck that this element of the original will (presumably, grain of salt and all that) be missing, but… I’d also like to get to play the game this decade. Resident Evil 2 only took 2 years when it came out in 1998 (and one of those years was literally almost wasted time), but this remake has already taken more time than the original ever did. Game design is simply more complicated now. Again, sucks, but sacrifices are part of why certain things work. Resident Evil 2 (as previously mentioned) is a prime example of a game where sometimes sacrifices have to be made for the sake of a better game. Crocodile was cut

Sigh. Remember what I said about “changes for the better”? This is one of those things I’m betting a lot of fans will miss, but I’m not that broken up about it. While the jumpscare was pretty damn great (essentially being RE2‘s version of the dog jumping through the window in the original RE), but… the actual fight was pretty lame if we’re being honest. You run away from him, press a button, shoot a gas can. That was it. Sure, they could have tried to create a more complex boss fight, but I’d much rather them come up with something more interesting. We also just got a bunch of crocs in the End of Zoe DLC for RE7. Sherry is playable, can defend herself (like Natalia in Revelations 2)

Cool. Sherry’s section was a nice pace-breaker in the original RE2, as you had no means whatsoever of defending yourself, but I don’t mind changing it up. If the balancing is done right, having extremely limited and weak defense capabilities might even be scarier, considering that the original section consisted of just running past some puking zombies and pushing some boxes. Ada section(s) expanded, gets unique weapons



Again, cool. The original Ada sections where largely just sections Claire and Sherry did… but with Ada. In fact, the second time we control Ada is so similar to a section from Claire’s they actually recycled a cutscene to save space in the N64 version. It’d be really great to see her do some more… spy style shit, especially given there’s no real reason to pretend literally anyone won’t know the twist at this point. Might be a nice chance to squeeze some Wesker connections in there as well, especially considering she turns out to have been working for him the whole time anyway.

No 4th Survivor, Maybe no Tofu

Okay, this one I can see being a little mad about. The 4th Survivor was an integral part of the original RE2, especially considering the amount of work it takes to unlock. The poster speculates that maybe it’s being held off on for DLC, and honestly, the only way I’m cool with that is if it’s free, like Not a Hero was for RE7. It reaks of modern game greed when something that was originally a free unlockable in a game becomes a 15$ add-on you buy after the fact. Tofu I’m a little less surprised by, as that mode was just a harder version of 4th Survivor with a big white rectangle. It was only ever in there because the devs thought it was fun, so if 4th Survivor is gone I can only assume so would Tofu.

Focus on Horror

Too right it is. One of the general fears I’ve heard from people worrying about a switch to OTS gameplay is that it would inherently end up an action game. Capcom would be making an actual, quantifiable mistake trying to transform a game as dear to horror fans as RE2 is into anything but a slow, grueling horror experience. There’s a difference between “change for the better” and simply ripping something’s heart out.

Difficulty works like RE7: No Autosave on Hard

Another not surprise. If they’re making the effort to make it more accessible through game design, it only makes sense one of RE classic’s most ruthless elements would be changed up a bit too. It was simply a joy to return to the “ink ribbon” style (albeit with cassette tapes) in Resident Evil 7‘s Madhouse difficulty, and (grain of salt) knowing that RE2 will follow suit is great. I personally know plenty of people who just can’t handle the old-school style of managing your saves, so I’m not too beat up about the game being accessible to those people. It’s honestly not even that different from Resident Evil 3‘s Easy/Light mode, where the ink ribbons where just infinite.

Costumes are back, RE 1.5 Costumes planned, focus on DLC

OH, MY GOD, WE MIGHT BE ABLE TO DRESS CLAIRE UP AS ELZA WALKER. Sorry, but this is an RE nerdgasm come true. Elza Walker was the original female character planned for Resident Evil 2, a Motocross racer who was planning to attend Raccoon City College. When Resident Evil 2 was scrapped (resulting in the unfinished RE 1.5), Elza was reworked into Claire Redfield to give RE2 a stronger connection to the first game (being the sister of Chris). To be fair, outside the redesign and new backstory, the two characters are almost identical (love of motorcycles, teams up with Sherry, etc). So the idea of finally having some recognition of this super nerdy, trivia level character in a game is awesome. The OP mentions a focus on DLC costumes like what Resident Evil 0 did, and that’s actually perfect. RE0 had some insanely awesome costumes for Rebecca, including her original RE0 costume from the N64 version of the game (which was canceled) and her infamous basketball jersey costume from the secret photo found in Resident Evil 2. Speaking of which…

We can still develop that Rebecca photo… and something else?

More RE2 trivia that you probably already knew. In Resident Evil 2, you can examine Albert Wesker’s desk in the S.T.A.R.S. office about 50 times to get some secret undeveloped film, which can then be taken to the photo lab and developed into a photo of Rebecca Chambers (from RE0 and 1) in a basketball uniform. It’s one of those weird little easter eggs that die-hard fans like to bring up to friends not in the know but was well known enough to be worth basing one of her costumes in RE0 HD on. So it’s neat that this not only is returning but presumably the side-quest thing that involved developing film in RE2 (there’s quite a few, and offer small pieces of backstory). The thing that’s intriguing though is the “something else”. What in the world does that mean? There’s just no way to know for now.

Late 2018 is the target release date

I had assumed this, honestly. Especially considering how soon after announcement almost every Resident Evil release has been for the past few years (Resident Evil 7 came out 7 months after the reveal, and Umbrella Corps. was only about a year after a delay). This is, of course, assuming we get to see the damn thing’s trailer this year.

So that’s everything. Who knows how much of it is true or not (while we have a source for some of it, we can’t vouch for all of it). We have our fingers crossed we get to see something soon. Like, really soon. It’s maddening. Of course, we’ll keep you updated, and we’ll also be the first to call bullshit on this whole piece if it turns out to have been so when we finally get to see something.