It doesn’t matter how pretty you make Resident Evil Zero—it’s still Resident Evil Zero. It’s easily one of the weakest entries in Capcom’s survival horror series, but if you’re interested in fighting zombies on a train, you’re suddenly in luck.


It’s been a little over three years since Resident Evil 6 was released, and while 2016 seems like the year we’ll finally hear about the next game, in the meantime, Capcom has been mining nostalgia. There was good reason to mine the original game, though; last year’s tweaked remake was still worth playing!

Originally in development for the Nintendo 64, Resident Evil Zero moved to the GameCube, and marks the only major Resident Evil game I’ve never finished. While the ability to switch between two characters is novel, the lack of item boxes (have fun dumping things on the ground!) and other quirks from that era (ink ribbons!) means the rest of the game needs to be pretty compelling—it’s not. The narrow movement constraints always bugged me, there’s zero subtly (giant scorpions?), and it marked the series’ mythology going off the deep end.


All that said, when it comes to updating the game for 2016, Capcom’s done their job. I played the game on PC, and it looks excellent. As with Resident Evil last year, there’s a modernized modern control scheme that lets you walk, run, and shoot the way you’d expect—no more tank controls. Does it change the feel of the game? Absolutely. Does it mean you might be able to stand playing it? Yup.

The graphics have also been given the widescreen treatment, though it comes at an acceptable cost: you can’t see everything present in the original backgrounds.

Here’s what I mean:


Generally, I didn’t find this to interfere in my ability to play the game anymore than the limited area available in the train already did.


Even though I have little interest in playing Resident Evil Zero, I kept pushing further because the visuals were so striking. Though the animation is clearly from years ago, Capcom’s done just enough to keep it from feeling too dated.


These GIFs are tempting me to start the game over on easy and finally check Resident Evil Zero off my list!

I suspect hardcore Resident Evil fans are going to dig this. It’s not like Capcom was remaking the game, so there’s only so much they could do to change it. If you didn’t care for Resident Evil Zero, this probably won’t be enough for a second look. If you were already a fan, Capcom’s given the game a slick coat of paint.

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