Resident Evil 3

A re-release of the legendary fixed-camera action horror game Resident Evil 3: Nemesis. Get ready to dive back into the chaos of a dying Raccoon City as Jill Valentine, a former member of the S.T.A.R.S. special forces team. As you make your way through the game, you’ll face all the horrors of the zombie apocalypse and fight numerous mutants as you try to escape the ill-fated city. A perfect, ruthless monster called Nemesis has been sent to stop Jill at any cost.

Resident Evil 3 is noticeably different from the original and Resident Evil 2. There’s little horror, but plenty of action, gunfights with various weapons, and close-combat QTEs. The action is still shown from a third-person perspective, but the camera is farther back, over the protagonist’s shoulder. Almost all of the original content has been replaced with new material in a different style. The game pushes players forward at a brisk pace, so RE3 has few puzzles and no hidden levels.

The game uses the updated RE Engine, which delivers excellent overall graphics, spectacular explosions, realistic rain and fire effects, flowing hair, and smooth animations for the characters and zombies. All cutscenes are rendered in-engine and are just as good as CGI.

Resident Evil 3 takes place across several districts of Raccoon City. Instead of an open world, however, the city is made up of small, corridor-like areas mixed with arenas for boss fights. The game sacrifices size and backtracking for pace: throughout the game, players are deliberately kept in tight spaces and forced to fight their way forward. But there are still secrets.

Each location is carefully designed and detailed, and filled with interior features. Scripted destruction also plays an important role in creating the atmosphere of a zombie apocalypse. The artists make active use of lighting. Raccoon City is only beginning to descend into chaos, but it already has plenty of pitch-dark places where eerie sounds break the silence, and bright lights and flashes are nowhere to be found.

However, the remake has its own visual style, very different from the original and borrowing little from it. This will be obvious to anyone who has played the original inside out. The locations have also been redesigned: only a few were reworked, including the faithfully recreated police station from RE2, while most levels were made from scratch.

The main storyline from Nemesis remains unchanged: Jill encounters Nemesis, meets Carlos, Mikhail, and Nikolai—mercenaries abandoned by Umbrella—and tries to escape the city with them. The remake’s story takes place the day before and two days after the events of RE2, and it retains references that foreshadow and build on the events of the second game.

But the remake does a much better job with both the overall storytelling, which has been brought in line with the previous remakes, and the finer details. Created and fully developed characters for every member of the mercenary group, with special attention to Carlos, who is a fully fledged main character and takes up a quarter of the story. Confusing moments and inconsistencies have been cleared up. Jill also gets plenty of attention and openly shares her feelings.

The game draws players into the events with cinematic scenes, lots of dialogue, files, and notes. The story will appeal to both new players and longtime fans, who will find plenty to enjoy.

However, to tell a coherent, well-rounded story, Capcom’s writers made the game linear from beginning to end, removed player choices, and offered just one ending.

Resident Evil 3 features familiar zombies and mutants from RE2, but there are more of them now, they react faster, and you need to aim for the head to take them down effectively. The characters have changed too — they act and move faster and have learned new moves, such as a dodge with an instant counterattack or a powerful punch to the body.

The conflict between Jill and Nemesis remains the game’s main theme, mostly through scripted sequences. For an entire level, Jill runs from her pursuer as he throws her around, leaps at her, or blasts her with a flamethrower. But there are also boss fights. They take place in wide-open arenas, where Jill tries to kill Nemesis with her entire arsenal while he runs away. And he always comes back — with new upgrades from Umbrella.

Conveniently placed fuel barrels and electric generators can be used to kill zombies or slow Nemesis down. The knife can’t be broken again and is handy for attacking, but you still can’t use it to defend yourself. Otherwise, the combat system hasn’t changed. The systems for upgrading weapons, using the inventory , and crafting items have all been kept.

Overall, the gameplay is built around the idea that “movement is life.” Jill constantly has to run ahead, shooting zombies that slow her down, while Nemesis breathes down her neck and pushes her onward: he can kill her in a single hit. That’s how you get through RE3 in five hours.

In addition to the story campaign, RE3 offers a cooperative, asymmetrical competitive mode, Resident Evil: Resistance , as a standalone game. However, it hasn’t been a big hit with fans. Capcom plans to support it with new characters, weapons, and other content throughout the year.