When you hear the term ‘survival horror’, you can’t help but think of Resident Evil. Back in 1996, Resident Evil blew everyone’s minds, combining traditional point and click adventure puzzles with tense and strategic zombie combat. Six years later, in 2002, the game received a remake for the GameCube that many consider to be one of the best ever. The pre-rendered visuals of the Spencer Mansion elevated the atmosphere to a truly horrifying place, even as you collected gems for jewellery boxes.
But for all that it changed, in terms of level layout, item distribution and graphical fidelity, this is one remake that kept the essential gameplay the same. It kept the fixed camera angles, the tank controls and even the absurdly limited inventory. It doubled down on the essential design choices of the original, instead of making it more convenient to control and play. Did this decision lead to the best way to experience Resident Evil 1, or does its design seem clunky and outdated, a relic of another age?
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On this episode, we discuss:
Is there any merit to having fixed camera angles and tank controls in any video game, or is it just unnecessarily frustrating and annoying?
In what ways does Resident Evil put pressure on the player? Do restricted saves, safe rooms and limited inventory slots create a tense and immersive experience, or simply annoy the player with tedious micromanagement?
How believable in the story and sense of place in the Spencer Mansion (and surrounding areas)? How scary is it compared to other survival horror games like Silent Hill 2?
We answer these questions and many more on the 62nd episode of the Retro Spectives Podcast!
Intro Music: KieLoBot - Tanzen K
Outro Music: Rockit Maxx - One point to another
REmake OST: Shusaku Uchiyama
Is the REmake the best version of Resident Evil 1, or should we have played a different one? If we play another Resi game, which one should we play? Does the story get cheesier or more grounded as the series progresses? Let us know what you think on our community discord server!
Pat’s map was off to a good start until he began to encroach on his precious Legend
