Resident Evil is one of the few series that has aged exceptionally well in the past twenty years, not based off of it’s gameplay, but it’s atmosphere and aesthetic. Every time I go back to the older games, I’m always frightened by that, since it compliments everything else so well. However, I’ve always felt like the series has stumbled a bit too much over the past couple of years, and I’m not just talking about Resident Evil 6 or Resident Evil: Operation Racoon City, but other things like the recent HD remaster of the first game. It was great to see it once again in all of it’s glory, but Capcom didn’t really improve or reinvent the more than present obtuse mechanics or puzzles, which was disheartening to someone who desperately wanted to see the game properly reintroduced for a whole new generation. Thankfully, Capcom has reversed this with Resident Evil 0’s remake, adding new gameplay abilities and redefining old ones. The issue still lies though. Resident Evil 0 wasn’t a spectacular Resident Evil game to begin with.

I always tend to appreciate the way setpieces are used in Resident Evil games. If done well, they can really make the difference, increasing the aesthetic, and also the scare factor. The first game’s mansion is probably the most iconic, and Resident Evil 0 tries to follow this route with two areas; a train and an abandoned building. Yet the train is too cramped, and the building is all too familiar in some spots, including the puzzles. None of this particularly works well for the presentation, or to the game’s advantage as well as the first game. Luckily, this is still a mid 2000’s Resident Evil game, so the scariness is still undeniably there, just mildly less so.

Enemies are also not used as well as previous games, and are only typically placed in terms of repetition and familiarity. They’ve got the same basic attack patterns and weaknesses of the first couple of games, and don’t have any major differentiating factors from series trademarks. The dogs are back, and so are the zombies, etc. Just like the set pieces, it’s not the most essential part of the game, but still decreases it’s value of the overall creepiness.

Puzzled Out

Another thing Capcom didn’t fix were the puzzles. Just like the enemies and setpieces, the puzzles are too familiar, repetitive, and distract from the overall minute to minute gameplay. I understand the need for them, but in this game’s setting and nature, they feel awkward and lead to senses of discouragement. It would also be helpful if the game left more save points near some of them. Resident Evil 0 has a petty and archaic save system, and while it’s implemented in some places accordingly, the parts where it’s missing feel the most needed.

Thankfully, the game redeems some of it’s low-points with the gameplay structure. Running from room to room with a worrying state of unpredictability are what make this game great, and there’s almost just enough of them to satisfy that itch. Even better, the train setpiece does work for this in particular, although I’ve previously said the full-picture is mixed in all fronts.

New gameplay additions include Wesker Mode, unique character abilities, and the ability to drop and “trade” items. This can actually come in handy, and works well for the game’s less labyrinth like setting and map structure. Unfortunately, I felt the character abilities were a shorthand for a cop out. It’s yet another thing that distracts from the gameplay, and I’ll be damned how many times I got confused or frustrated at the design choices of the traits. There are proper ways to do it, but this adds yet another flaw to the game’s already disjointed structure.

The New and the Old

Resident Evil 0 has one perfect aspect, it’s upscaled graphics and enviroments. While it doesn’t look neck-to-neck with a modern Playstation 4 or Xbox One game, Capcom has done enough so it doesn’t remind you that your Gamecube’s been dusted off once more. If anything, I’m happy that it seems like they’ve learned with the remake of the first game, and I’m hoping to see them do even better if they choose to remake yet another Resident Evil.

The game also performs beautifully, especially in cutscenes. It’s no Metal Gear Solid 5 or Grand Theft Auto 5, but Capcom did not clearly put anything to waste. Models are improved in cutscenes, and the voice acting is impeccable, and it’s even more impressive considering the game has aged this long. It’s really impressive what they’ve done, and Capcom has practically given Bluepoint a run for their money.

Lastly, the game has one more problem, it’s plot. The characters are interesting enough, but the overall structure feels very hastily designed to set up the first game. It’s yet another thing present where I can thoroughly acknowledge the idea, just not the execution.

Conclusion

Resident Evil 0 is a mixed bag, (most notably for newcomers) but there is still a lot of fun to be had. Adding this into the Origins Collection is an absolute steal, and the more modernity to some of the aspects will certainly swing people in to enjoy it’s content. It’s not simplicity and perfection, and some of the flaws are major and distracting ones, but the game keeps enough of it’s eggs in one basket that it doesn’t falter off track. Just seeing the design of a more retro horror game is really something to be sent into glee for, and Resident Evil 0 fills this niche appropriately.

Resident Evil 0 gets a 7/10. (Average)

We’d like to thank Capcom PR for sending us a code for this one!

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