Resident Evil HD Remaster is Still a Nearly-Perfect REmake on Nintendo Switch

Ryan Meitzler May 28, 2019 1:00 PM EST

Despite some signs of its age, Resident Evil is still as scary as ever with the remake's recent release on Nintendo Switch.

I’ve experienced Resident Evil in many different forms over the last two decades or so. The first time I remember heading into Spencer Mansion was with the original game on SEGA Saturn, though I could probably only tell you a few moments I remember from it because I (mostly) watched a friend play it with my hands covering my eyes, too scared to take in the horrors that were on screen. Then when the remake of Resident Evil first arrived on the GameCube in 2002, I attempted once again to try and play through the game and overcome my terrors of it. Of course, that would only lead me to rent it from Blockbuster and immediately return it the next day after encountering the first zombie in the game, rendered in even more gruesome detail than I last remembered it.

When I look back now at Resident Evil, I can’t help but laugh at how I was too afraid to even play it when I was younger, only to later (finally) revisit the remake and finish it once and for all. But for all the elements of Resident Evil that nowadays seem antiquated, from the infamous tank controls to the cheesy “Jill Sandwich” one-liners, I’ve still always had a spot for the classic original in my heart, making a return trip to Spencer Mansion after so many years all the more enticing.

“Having the ability to embrace the terror of Spencer Mansion on-the-go is still a terrifying delight on its own.”

That, of course, leads us to release of Resident Evil on Nintendo Switch, marking the latest iteration of the so-called “REmake” for a new audience to experience its terrors. This port for the Nintendo Switch is the 2015 HD remaster–or remake, if you will–of the 2002 Resident Evil remake, and while it doesn’t come with anything else in the way of “new” features or additions for Switch owners since then, having the ability to embrace the terror of Spencer Mansion on-the-go is still a terrifying delight on its own.

Like the excellent Resident Evil 2 remake that arrived earlier this year, the remake of Resident Evil is a nostalgic reminder of the simpler times in the series before boulder-punching and massive worldwide zombie outbreaks got involved. Even with the GameCube release, the “REmake” manages to both hold on to the elements that made the original Resident Evil such a classic in the survival horror genre, while also giving enough modern refinements to make it a little more tolerable to play by today’s standards, even though now more than ever, some of Resident Evil‘s quirkier elements are starting to show their age.

“The ‘REmake’ manages to hold on to the elements that made the original such a classic, while also giving enough modern refinements to make it a little more tolerable by today’s standards.”

What hasn’t shown its age, however, is the fact that Resident Evil–the remake, especially–is still atmospheric, tense, and terrifying. Even though I knew where certain events would take place or where enemies would pop out from just from being so familiar with the game at this point, playing through Resident Evil once again still gave me the shocks and thrills that I remember from playing so long ago. And yes, I can confirm that even after all this time, the dogs jumping through the windows are still terrifying.

Going into playing the Switch version of Resident Evil for the first time, my biggest concern was seeing how the experience of the remake would translate to playing in handheld mode on a smaller screen, which is largely how I tend to play with my Switch the most. I had my doubts that the slower pace and more atmospheric, exploratory nature of the original Resident Evil might not have been a great fit for playing in smaller doses while commuting or on-the-go, but I was pleasantly surprised by how well Resident Evil played in a portable setting.

What especially helped this time around while playing the Switch version of Resident Evil was the fact that the updated control scheme makes traversing through the Spencer Mansion far less of a hassle compared to the infamous “tank controls” of the original. While the original control option is there for purists, the updated control scheme feels far more accessible. It’s especially ideal when playing on the Switch’s Joy-Con controllers, as the “REmake” is far less reliant on precision and accuracy as it is in Resident Evil 4, which also happens to be hitting Switch alongside Resident Evil 0.

“The few problems that arise with Resident Evil are mostly due to the game’s age rather than the port itself.”

Likewise, exploring the mansion feels surprisingly enjoyable in smaller doses thanks to the updated map system that highlights what rooms you have (or haven’t) completely explored yet, making it far easier in Resident Evil to feel like you’re making progress and not wandering through the mansion aimlessly. The “REmake” does a far better job at guiding players to where they might have to go next, and with these small touches it helps cut down on some of the backtracking and time spent wandering from room-to-room, though a few of the game’s more obtuse puzzle solutions might lead to a few of those moments from time-to-time.

That said, the few problems that arise with Resident Evil are mostly due to the game’s age rather than the port itself being under-developed or lacking in any way. Loading times especially can sometimes make the process of backtracking feel a bit longer than it should take, and if there’s anything that I’ve learned from Resident Evil, it’s that there is a lot of it. While the load times here don’t seem to be as egregious as they have been reported on the Switch version of Resident Evil 0, it can still take at least a good 10-15 seconds to load in each time you enter a room, which adds up quickly. And despite having played Resident Evil so many times now, the sudden shifts from the game’s fixed camera angles still feels disorienting and requires a bit of adjustment, especially when you’re scrambling to run away from an enemy.

“Playing through the ‘REmake’ once again managed to remind me why the original is still held up as one of the survival horror genre’s all-time greats.”

Despite those elements of Resident Evil that are a little worse for wear, the Switch version of the “REmake” shows that Spencer Mansion has lost none of his haunting luster. The tense atmosphere and sense of survival are preserved almost perfectly, and while I had fears that the fixed cameras and pre-rendered environments would transition poorly to a smaller screen, Resident Evil plays surprisingly smoothly on the Switch and maintains crisp, creepy visuals and a tense atmosphere the whole way through.

Though now I might look back at Resident Evil and laugh at its cheesier moments, playing through the “REmake” once again managed to remind me why the original is still held up as one of the survival horror genre’s all-time greats. Spencer Mansion is still as terrifying as I remember it over 20 years ago, and its translation to Switch doesn’t just work surprisingly better than I expected it to, but now offers a more intimate level of fear. So my recommendation: turn off the lights, play in handheld mode, put on some headphones, and get ready for a scary night ahead.