

Not to lean too much into cliches, but I literally jumped at my own in-game shadow more than once.Īt the very least, every room has useful items or a secret.Like its predecessor, and indeed, every decent Resident Evil game before it, every part of Resident Evil 3’s world feels deliberately put together. Although you can’t interact much with the world unless you are specifically instructed to (this is still a Resident Evil game and is thus inhospitably rigid with its options for touching things) the atmosphere around you is always pulling out all the stops to make you feel vulnerable and small.

Smashed cars are piled up outside of flickering neon signs, fires lick their way across kitschy storefronts, and broad industrial spaces are eerily empty. This detail and polish extend to Resident Evil 3’s broader environments, which are stunning.
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These are spaces that feel realistically inhabited and then abandoned, full of the sort of detail that had me poring every inch of a room after I’d killed everything in it.
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Once again working within the RE Engine that powered both last year’s Resident Evil ’s Resident Evil 7, Capcom has done an incredible job in the small details here from the in-universe advertising (“No Spares in This Game!” reads the tagline for a movie called “Sudden Death Bowling”) to the detritus left by citizens who had to escape in a hurry, to Resident Evil 2-related Easter eggs (“Now here’s a weird f****ing door!” Carlos says upon encountering the Spade Door, which is so significant in Resident Evil 2’s police station) and genuinely compelling in-game notes and journals that give background context to some poor guy’s tragic death and/or reveal a code to open a safe. It carries the gameplay swiftly along, in other words, and never gets bogged down in unnecessary exposition.Ĭapcom has done an incredible job in the small details here.The chaotic, ruined Raccoon City goes a long way toward bringing Resident Evil’s story and the broader universe to life. Resident Evil 3 is also, fortunately, very efficient in its storytelling the villain is perfectly villainous, the heroes are all selfless and charming, and cutscenes are lean yet efficiently deliver big dramatic moments. “How is it no one in the hospital ever noticed all this?” Jill wonders aloud after discovering a massive underground base that isn’t particularly well hidden.


The major story events from the original Resident Evil 3 are all there, albeit rearranged, and the cheesiness the early trilogy is known for is delivered in a charmingly self-knowing way. It’s a very classic Resident Evil set up, but then, this is a remake of a classic, goofily fun Resident Evil story - the original 1999 game. Of course, nothing goes to plan, and Jill finds herself in a wonderfully labyrinthine, zombie-studded playground where she – and your nerves – must also contend with the threat of an invulnerable monster called Nemesis. The endearingly practical Jill Valentine – last seen in the original Resident Evil and its Director’s Cut – is called upon by a roguish Umbrella Corp mercenary by the name of Carlos Oliviera to help save the remaining inhabitants of a demolished Raccoon City from the carnage spawned by the T-Virus outbreak. We'll follow up with a review of the multiplayer side, Resident Evil: Resistance, ASAP.Resident Evil 3 takes place nearly concurrently with the events of the equally accomplished Resident Evil 2, and follows different characters. Note: This review exclusively covers the single-player campaign of Resident Evil 3.
