A Fine Shot of Horror Wine

Introduction

So, ladies and gentlemen, I am going to leave out the comparisons and my personal feelings between this remake and its 1997 incarnation. However, I will make an article discussing the differences between the two. I am going to say it here and now that Resident Evil 3(2020) is a fantastic game overall, but I would not consider this to be the best Resident Evil game ever made.

This review was done while using a PS4. However, if you do not own a PlayStation 4, you can still play this game on the Xbox One and on PC.

Resident Evil 3 is a 2020 remake of popular 1999 game, Resident Evil 3: Nemesis, developed by Capcom. Capcom here takes a more cinematic approach to the destruction of Raccoon City, bringing the T-virus zombie outbreak to life with the RE Engine.

Released in 1999, the original Resident Evil 3 was initially supposed to be a spin-off title of the widely praised Resident Evil 2, with most of the assets taken from the previous entry. Some don’t even consider this game to be the actual Resident Evil 3, claiming that that title belongs to the equally spectacular Code Veronica from 2001.

This version of Resident Evil 3 also takes some assets from its predecessor. These include enemies, locations, and items, so it might feel like you are treading in familiar territory. That said, I should state my biggest complaint: Resident Evil 3(2020) is relatively short; I managed to finish the game within a span of seven to nine hours on Hardcore difficulty.

Setting 

In Resident Evil 3, you follow STARS operative and master of unlocking, Jill Valentine(Nicole Tompkins) as she tries to escape Raccoon City, a city devoid of cute and fuzzy raccoons and overrun with the undead and all kinds of monstrosities.

One of those said monstrosities is the Nemesis, a 10-foot walking refrigerator armed to the teeth with every heavy weapon under the sun. This beast’s sole purpose is to crush Jill so that she can live up to her infamous nickname and become a Jill Sandwich.

Firstly, before jumping into this game it is best to know that Capcom took a lot of liberties with the narrative of this one, so don’t expect a one-to-one remake. Their changes mainly revolve around several locations and plot elements, even removing a couple subplots to refine the overall narrative. However, as a fan I was incredibly disappointed that they could not do more with them.

Characters 

Jill

Jill’s overall outfit has changed, ditching her classic tube top and skirt for a more protective set of clothing. She now wears a tank top, pants, and what I think are army boots. While not the most glamorous of outfits, it gets the job done in the apocalypse. While the original look is more iconic, as it even appears in the movie Resident Evil 2: Apocalypse, for the most part, it just feels like eye candy.  I find that the new look is more suitable for a character who is investigating a criminal organisation that mass produces biological weapons.

From the very beginning of the game, Jill seems to have a clearer understanding of how Umbrella works, possessing an evidence board filled with photographs and notes of some of Umbrella’s key employees and city officials under their payroll.

Unlike her first appearance, Jill’s hardened character now leans closer towards an action hero than a horror victim. She is more cynical and quicker to anger, as evident when she first meets Carlos Oliveria and the rest of the U.B.C.S.

Carlos

Carlos, on the other hand, has transformed into a smooth-talking Umbrella merc, who by far one of the most enjoyable characters to watch and play within the entire franchise. Voiced by the talented Jeff Schine, all this lovable merc wants to do is save as many survivors as humanly possible, making him one of the nobler employees under Umbrella’s payroll.

Carlos has changed a lot more than Jill has. His voice is calmer and more reassuring than in the originals, which is a spectacular improvement. Carolos’s overall look has also changed; his hair is longer, dark, and scruffier than before and he now dons a beard.

Midway through the game, you get to chance to play as Carlos. His quick wit allows him to take jabs at tropes that the franchise and the genre are known for, like everyone’s inability to take warning signs seriously or Raccoon City’s overreliance on complicated architecture and puzzles. Also, I love using his counter dodge move to make him punch zombies and mutated wildlife in the face.

Secondary Characters

Speaking of punching someone in the face, Nicholai was given an impressive character overhaul that presents him with a smug, twisted outlook on survival, ready to sacrifice anyone to save his skin and to grab an extra buck. Voice actor Neil Newbon does an excellent job bringing this lunatic to life.

Another welcomed change to the group dynamic was the addition of giving Tyrel a lot more screen time than in the original, allowing the player to listen to banter between this tech specialist and the other survivors.

Gameplay 

Resident Evil’s over-the-shoulder perspective returns in this game with a similar control scheme to the previous remake, but with the omission of secondary weapons. While one can still use these weapons, they will no longer be used as a last defense option and will no longer have their independent attack button. Resident Evil 3 makes use and improves on the classic’s dodge and counter mechanic, which can be used by both Jill and Carlos.

Jill gets the ability to evade enemy attacks along with a slow-motion free shot when timed properly and Carlos gets a knockout punch counterattack that knocks enemies prone.

While playing the game, I found that the standard difficulty was a cakewalk, and only really played this mode for speedruns. I found that none of the monsters proved to be much of a satisfying challenge, including the menacing Nemesis. Only after ramping up the difficulty level to Hardcore did I feel like I was working up a sweat.

The more brutal difficulty settings can be unlocked, but only once the player has completed the game. These new difficulties apply new variables to generate a more significant challenge, as enemies become a lot more aggressive and are harder to take down. Health and ammunition also become scarcer, which makes combat more hectic when everything around you is a cannibalistic bullet sponge.

Resident Evil 3 is essentially a game for speedrunners. When you finish the game, you unlock a shop where you can purchase items to make the next run bit easier. While the enemies can still pack a punch on the harder difficulty settings, if you equip yourself with the right items, they won’t necessarily instakill you with a single attack.

Nemesis

We can’t talk about Resident Evil 3 without mentioning the game’s infamous terminator wannabe, Nemesis. Nemesis functions as both the pursuer and boss-type enemy. Unlike his trench coat wearing predecessor, he is a lot more relentless and will dash madly after his prey, rarely giving them a chance to recover. I once thought that I could hide in a safe room, only for him to walk in and pummel the living daylights out of me.

Nemesis tries to perform both the roles as an arena-based boss and a pursuer to decent effect. However, for only the first half of the game, he takes his pursuer role seriously. He even busts out a new flamethrower and his trademark rocket launcher for me, good times. Once reaching the halfway point of the game, he stops showing up outside of his arena boss fights. I’ve heard of social distancing, but come on!

As an arena boss, he may be one of the best in the franchise, but I was still expecting more from him. The thing is, as a pursuer, he can fall with a single grenade, even on harder difficulties, and this game is very generous with said grenades (perhaps too generous).

I can see why Capcom decided to lessen his pursuer appearances, as his aggressive moveset can make him walk a fine line between being more of a nuisance than a threat.

Music

Resident Evil 3 makes an extra effort to rectify their mistakes regarding musical scores and soundtracks from the previous remake. While the Capcom does take a lot of liberties with other aspects of the original game, they pay a lot of respect when remixing the themes composed by Masami Ueada and Saori Maeda.

Of the various scores, I was deeply fond of City of Ruin, which is an updated version of City Streets, and Nemesis’ personal theme from the original game. I especially love the cheesy original Resident Evil 2 ending theme easter egg when walking into the restaurant at the start of the game. My favourite theme has to be Nemesis Final Metamorphosis, which transforms the original work into an orchestral masterpiece.

Graphics

Recently with Capcom’s new line of games, RE Engine has produced some of the most stellar looking graphics that I have ever seen. While Resident Evil 3 does not feel as intimidating as Resident Evil 7’s Baker mansion, the RE Engine proves itself again with this new iteration of the franchise.

Character designs like those of Jill, Carlos, and the zombies are all well textualized. At the beginning of the game, Jill gets a PTSD induced nightmare and checks the mirror for any mutations. I swear it was Capcom’s way of saying check out our skin and fabric textures.

Battle scarring to zombies also remains from the previous remake, but sadly their limbs do not slide off whenever you inflict significant damage to them.

That said, I did find some framerate issues when watching zombies from a distance. Thankfully, this only happens once in a specific street in the game and does not ruin the game’s overall immersion.

Conclusion

While Resident Evil 3 does have a few problems surrounding its pacing, it is overall a good game. I mentioned before, it does have some minor framerate issues in a certain area in the game, but hopefully, the developers will remedy that with a patch.

I love the gameplay and the realistic approach that Capcom decided to incorporate. Though one has to keep an open mind regarding the plot, as I mentioned before, this is not a one-to-one remake of the original game. If you are expecting to play a one-to-one remake, you may be disappointed.

As of this moment, Resident Evil 3(2020) costs around €60. As of this review, the game comes with Project Resistance. If you want to play Resident Evil 3 specifically, you may want to wait for a sale or until it reaches around €40 before making any attempt to buy it. That said, it is an excellent game, and I don’t want to discourage anyone from purchasing it.

If you are a fan of horror games such as the Dead Space or Evil Within franchises, I do suggest you give this jump into survival horror a shot.