Really, when you think about it, Capcom didn’t necessarily need to drop any more big surprises at The Game Awards 2018 for their upcoming remake of Resident Evil 2. Rather, you just leave it to the press. Lucky for us, the French Resident Evil fansite Biohazard France packaged all of the more notable bits and pieces that have come out recently from places like 4Gamer, Game Spark, IGN Japan, Dengeki and Game Watch into one big post for fans to salivate over.

While I’m not going to reiterate all of the points (since there’s a lot), here are a few noteworthy pieces:

Earlier in development, Capcom wanted to release the game in time for RE2’s 20th anniversary (something many of us were hoping for), but that proved to be too limited a timetable. Hence, the 21st anniversary week is the compromise.

The game focuses a lot more on Adventure-type elements instead of all-out action, such as puzzles and exploration. And, if you do try to kill everything, you’ll find yourself quickly running out of resources, and end up in a worse spot than if you were frugal.

Capcom felt that zombies being easily killable and easy to manage would undercut the fear element, and sought for the enemies enemies to be more of a hurdle, rather than an easily-overcome obstacle.

That being said, if you want to play the game closer to its original incarnation, there’s an optional “auto-aim” mode (that is off by default) which locks onto enemy weakpoints when aiming at them to make zombies take a more definite number of bullets, rather than you relying on your own ability.

Capcom tested Fixed Camera, First-Person, VR, and Behind-The-Shoulder views, but they ultimately decided that the Behind-the-Shoulder camera was the best for the game.

On remaking Leon and Claire, Capcom wanted Leon to come off as being courageous and with a sense of justice, but also being unprepared for what he finds in the game. As for Claire, she’s spunkier, but has more of a maternal side.

Capcom knew that HUNK & Tofu were needed in the remake.

Elza’s costume (the one you get for Claire when you Pre-Order the game) is there because Capcom producer Yoshiaki Hirabayashi really likes Elza.

There is a “final scene” you unlock once you’ve completed both of Leon and Claire’s campaigns.

There is mention of additional modes past Tofu and HUNK, though Capcom are still “undecided”.

There are no new enemies, per se, but the existing enemies have undergone a bit of reimagining in some cases, such as the G-Mutant. William Birkin also has a few surprises with his mutations.

The RE2 logo highlights the “R” and the “E” to stand for “REmake” or “RE: Resident Evil 2”.

On potential future remakes, Capcom is focused on Resident Evil 2 at this point, though obviously, the door is open.

In addition, as reported by Game Revolution, Resident Evil 2 has been rated Mature by the ESRB. However, one line of the ruling about “In-Game Purchases” has understandably caused some anger for some fans. No one wants a “pay to win” scenario (myself included). However, when you step back and think about what this actually means, it does make sense.

From what we know so far, Capcom really doesn’t have any plans for an in-game currency in RE2. Their other upcoming game, Devil May Cry 5, will have microtransactions. But they aren’t obtrusive, and are entirely optional. So, where does that leave Resident Evil 2?

Well, there’s a very real possibility that the “In-Game Purchases” amount to snagging the Deluxe Edition goodies from the main menu, which would make sense for those who don’t want to pay for the physical Deluxe Edition, and want the option to purchase them down the road. That’s all.

And even if Capcom wanted to introduce microtransactions into the game, why leave it until the last minute to announce it? It seems pretty dumb from a marketing standpoint to suddenly spring that on players at this point. And given that Capcom has hyped the game to the moon, why risk hurting sales by sneaking this in at the last minute?

Resident Evil 2 arrives for PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC on January 25, 2019.