Horror Films are not my jam; by extension, neither are horror games. Some of my earliest experiences with the genre stem back to PlayStation Demo Discs. For those of a younger ilk, Demo Discs were the primary way for players to try out video games before they were officially released. In some cases, you could play a portion of the story (often a mid-game snapshot, or the opening tutorial). In contrast, sometimes you were provided with only a trailer. These trailers often contained pre-rendered footage, mixed with some gameplay to provide players with an idea of what to expect.

Two such trailers very much succeeded in their goal. For a frame of reference, I was 4 in 1997. On a pair of Demo Discs, I was exposed to some games that were certainly far too scary for my young mind. Silent Hill, and Resident Evil 2. Both of these games fall into a genre that has grown over the years and has become very popular amongst streamers, and other gaming influencers. In these games, players are put into situations that do two primary things: Provide a scarce amount of resources, and scare the literal effing bejeezus out of you. It was the latter that stuck with me as a child… and yes even into adulthood.

Silent Hill provides plenty of existential dread, and a story of a man coming to terms with his own inner demons, as well as those external to himself. I’ve yet to play it myself, but the other game, (Resident Evil 2), is our focus for today.

My first (and longest) impressions of Resident Evil 2, came from the trailer I saw as a kid.

So imagine being an impressionable young 4 year old, watching such a demo. Yeah absolutely nightmare fuel! In some ways I feel this low quality footage almost adds to the entire horrific feel of the trailer. My fear and associations with this particular game still persisted until not very long ago.

Years later I would be exposed to the (wildly inaccurate) film adaptations of the series. I’ve seen the first two films and had my fair share of content. It should be noted I watched these on broadcast TV so obviously they had been edited for airing.

So, that is how my conceptions of the franchise continued for a very long time. Eventually, I watched Graham Stark of LoadingReadyRun play through RE6 (a.k.a. Man Fellating Giraffe) *see below*. This at least piqued my interest, eventually watching some gameplay of 4. After the release of the Remake of 2 and based on a few reviews I chose to pick up Resident Evil 2 Remake.

As I stated before, Horror Games are not my jam… they freak me out. So it may come as a surprise that I do actually enjoy games that include many tangential aspects to the Survival Horror Genre.

I am a HUGE fan of the Metal Gear Series by Hideo Kojima (And only ever him… We don’t talk about MGS: Survive no no no…) In that series there are regular moments of dread and running and hiding, often with threats all around. In those situations, I feel energized.

I wouldn’t call myself an Adrenaline junkie by any means, but I do enjoy the thrill of sneaking around and hiding. This is certainly evident to anyone who knew my growing up, especially my many times running and hiding in my Church. That same kick underlies that love of stealth games such as the aforementioned MGS, Splinter Cell, and Deus Ex (to a degree).

You might ask yourself at this point… What does this have to do with RE2 and fear? Well, as I learned more about RE2, it would come into play in a BIG, and clomp clomp clompy way.

If you’re familiar with RE2 Remake, you may have seen some memes about the above giant in a trench and fedora. This is Mr. X, a Tyrant class B.O.W. (Bio-Organic Weapon), sent to Raccoon City with one primary directive: Kill all Witnesses!

For some context, here’s a brief snippet of the plot to explain why and how, and what is going on.

Umbrella is a Biotech company responsible for using a number of viral agents to promote genetic mutations that create Bioweapons for the highest bidder. Their headquarters is in a Midwest City, called Raccoon City. Due to a number of conflicting motives, a Virus known as the T-Virus has spread to the population, resulting in a “Zombie Outbreak.”

The first game takes place a few months prior to the sequel, involving the S.T.A.R.S. (Special Tactics And Rescue Squad) discovering Umbrella’s secrets. A few members survive and attempt to take them down, to no avail. With the outbreak occurring, Umbrella decides to do a bit of cleanup and sends in their Tyrants to clean up the mess.

The protagonists of RE2 are Leon S. Kennedy a Rookie Cop on his way to his first day, and Claire Redfield the sister of Chris Redfield a survivor from the first game. The pair find themselves suddenly in the midst of the outbreak, eventually being separated, with both finding their way into the Raccoon City Police Department at different times.

In each of their stories, they will eventually run into the Tyrant referred to by fans as “Mr. X.” His appearance changes the gameplay significantly, which now brings me to mechanics, and why/how this big ole sonofagun factors into my enjoyment.

For a survival horror game, the goal is pretty clear: survive. How you go about this is pretty straightforward as well, kill or be killed… or so I thought.

If you’ve played other “Zombie” genre titles, you likely have experienced situations in which you mow down enemies and place a few headshots with little trouble… These are not your average enemies. The T-Virus adds a level of durability to the enemies that are certainly abnormal in terms of most games in the genre. You’re not likely to blow off a zombie’s head unless you’re point-blank with a shotgun. Most of the time, you’ll be firing on an enemy simply to stun/ distract it enough for you to pass unscathed.

My first few sessions saw me effectively attempt to terminate all the enemies I saw. This led me to seriously lack resources, to the point where I thought the game may end up “unwinnable”. This was my first lesson, choose carefully, and dodge unless fighting is necessary.

The other portion of gameplay came down to the fact that the Police HQ is actually a former museum, that for some reason has a system of Card Suit keys, and a secret passage with hidden medallions. As such, you have to complete a series of puzzles that require you to run from one end of the building to another, while simultaneously dodging the many Zombies that are strewn about. (They made it in because it was an evacuation shelter, and then subsequently Zombies broke in.) This loop of gameplay became pretty smooth, even when having to walk painfully slow to avoid triggering the blind but dangerous Licker enemies.

And then Mr. X Shows up (Exactly as the above gif portrays). At this point, the slow-paced puzzle solving and careful progression are then replaced with pulse-pounding cat-and-mouse gameplay as you now have to toe the line between dodging enemies and hiding from the indestructible Tyrant.

Thanks to clever programmers, Mr. X functions as follows: He is always searching the entire map for the player, he will always hear gunshots, and running, he will always be 1-2 rooms away from the player, and if you “lose” him he speeds through the map until he is with those 1-2 rooms away. This leads to situations where he seems to teleport, sometimes cutting you off from your destination. At other times, he is scripted to appear when certain actions are taken (or if you dawdle for too long) as a means of heightening the intensity.

This part of the game was a fantastic addition. On its head, it took my anxiety about Horror games and supplanted it with my love of running and hiding. I found myself planning out my routes, trying to solve certain puzzles while dodging Mr. X as he tried to hunt me down.

After finishing up in the Police HQ, Leon continues down into the Sewer Systems below the city where he fights a Mutated Scientist several times, and even a Giant Crocodile. Eventually making his way to Umbrella’s secret underground lair.

For a very long time, Mr. X was out of commission due to a few spoiler-heavy events, but clearly, you cannot keep a big grey man down. Not long before the end, I found myself once again face-to-face with him, but now in the midst of a secret lab full of mutated plant monsters. I was completely caught off-guard and immediately ran for my life.

Eventually, I came to beat my first scenario (Leon A) which would then unlock the scenario I played after (Claire B). RE 2 has a system where you can choose whom you play as first, then you unlock a follow-up with the other character, witnessing the same events but from a different perspective. Canonically, Claire should be the first you play as followed by Leon…

In Claire B, the puzzles are the same, however there are certain areas of R.P.D. that are blocked off, or simply inaccessible due to lack of materials. In many ways, this playthrough mirrors that of the first character, but adds more tension. Suddenly, you know where you want to go, but you have different weapons, cannot take some routes you intend to, and, as a kicker, Mr. X arrives FAR earlier than in the initial scenario. I was able to take my experience and apply it to this story and had already reached the first boss in record time. It was close to 5 hours before I reached the second area of the game, whereas I made it to the same point in just under 2 hours as Claire.

The remainder went equally as fast, finishing the entire story under 5 hours. I have now begun my second playthrough starting with Claire A… and I must say, things are already different. Alternative puzzle solutions, and even new dialogue and cutscenes. I guess you could say this was all…

Resident Evil as a franchise should be better served with its Japanese title “Biohazard”. You’re not just dealing with Zombies, you’re dealing with all manner of genetically engineered freaks. It is the discovery of this truth that really endeared me to the story, and combined with my newfound enjoyment of the mechanics, I can consider myself a real fan.

Combine some Horror, and stealth mechanics, with what is effectively a Metroid Vania with puzzles, and you get a formula that works with it’s constituent parts to create a massively enjoyable experience.

Does that mean I’m bold enough for Silent Hill? I still hesitate to go THAT far, but as for RE/Biohazard, I think I’m more than open to playing more of the series (Particularly RE4 Remake).

I will give a much more comprehensive review once I finish the remaining scenarios, as I primarily wanted to discuss how I went from being completely terrified, to actually overcoming that fear and beating the game.