This game almost broke me

Resident Evil 2 is a perfect example of how to do a video game remake, taking an outdated yet beloved ‘90s game and rebuilding it into a modern horror masterpiece.

Every inch of the Resident Evil 2 remake is engrossing. It’s a masterclass in environmental design and atmosphere. It blends action, puzzles, and story into a well-balanced and fun concoction. All of that together makes RE2 an early game of the year contender for 2019. 

There’s just one thing I can’t get out of my head.

The Resident Evil 2 remake almost broke me.

Reimagining Resident Evil 2

Following the story of Racoon City Police Department’s newest recruit, Leon S. Kennedy, Resident Evil 2 details the demise of a city torn asunder by an evil corporation and the zombifying virus it created. After a run-in with some zombie and meeting the secondary protagonist Claire Redfield at a gas station, Leon heads to the city police department where he finds things to be in dire straits.

It’s classic Resident Evil

The police department is a beautiful gothic building that used to be a museum, which accounts for its dramatic main hall and grandiose statues. It oozes with personality, from the “Welcome Leon” banner hanging in the office to the various notes left scattered about.

But the whole zombie situation flips the building’s beauty on its head with bodies strewn about pools of blood, oppressively dark and sinister hallways where terrible things could lurch from any direction at any moment, and an overwhelming sense of dread.

It’s classic Resident Evil with its multitude of puzzles, dozens of momentary off-limits areas to entice the imagination, and, of course, healthy dose of horrifying enemies, rooms, and set pieces to keep the adrenaline pumping.

Each new room is a terrible mystery, only mitigated by the fact that once you clear it you can put it out of your mind, allowing you to build out certain safe spaces in the police department, including the massive and well-lit main hall.

That is, until Resident Evil 2 takes those safe spaces a introduces an unkillable stalker with heavy footsteps and a penchant for slamming open doors. That’s where the game really got to me.

Anxiety-inducing horror

I don’t generally do horror except when it’s a video game — especially Resident Evil. Something about being in control of the situation and being able to take my time lets me enjoy the genre better, and the Resident Evil series’ expression of horror is one of my favorites.

I became too invested in the game

Unfortunately, this unkillable monster, known as the Tyrant, wormed its way into my brain and caused an unhealthy amount of anxiety to completely grip me. 

It didn’t ease up when I turned the game off.

Once it catches Leon’s trail, the Tyrant follows him relentlessly, able to enter almost all rooms in the police department. I was at an impasse, unfortunately, because I wasn’t exactly sure where to go next, and I knew I missed something somewhere. 

I became too invested in the game and was having a hard time separating myself from Leon (which is a huge compliment to game’s immersive qualities).

I spent probably a half hour looking at my map and trying to figure out where to go and which route to take. I knew I needed to just run for it, but I couldn’t bring myself to do it. I was too scared.

It was close to the end of the work day so I turned the game off, went home, and ignored it for the evening. I was able to get it out of my mind. But then I went to bed.

I took almost 48 off from playing Resident Evil 2

I closed my eyes and all I could picture was the police department map and the horrifying rooms I had to run through. My half-asleep brain couldn’t let go fo the feeling of being followed. I tossed and turned and tried to get these images and feelings out of my head but I couldn’t. 

I barely slept.

At work I was anxious, and I couldn’t bring myself to start the game up. At the same time, I was getting sick, which may have made the anxiety and stress around Resident Evil 2 worse. One of those illnesses where your whole body aches and absolutely everything is miserable.

For a while I didn’t think I’d be able to finish the game at all based on my anxiety. I’m no stranger to debilitating anxiety, and I figured it would be best for my mental health to just walk away. But after enough time I felt decent enough to push through.

I took almost 48 off from playing Resident Evil 2 before jumping back in and trying to push through. It took about five minutes to get through the rest of the anxiety-inducing Tyrant section, a section that probably totaled 20 minutes. For a game that took me almost nine hours to finish, that was really just a drop in the bucket.

After leaving the police station (and the Tyrant) I felt so much relief. I was elated and no problem pressing on. Which is good, because Resident Evil 2 is a fantastic game.

Worth the struggle

Resident Evil 2 progresses with a stellar pace, changing up environments and introducing new challenges (and solutions) at perfect intervals.

One of my favorite moments was when Leon followed the FBI agent Ada into the sewers and I caught a glimpse of a massive monster moving in the depths of Racoon City. It’s a giant alligator, and I was so excited to see it.

Part of what makes Resident Evil 2 so fun is its love of dramatic moments. There’s the mysterious FBI agent who shows up to save the day, the giant alligator chase, the huge statue that opens up to a secret underground passageway, the unreasonably grandiose underground lab where the Umbrella Corporation developed its zombifying virus.

The main areas of the game — the police station, sewers, and laboratory — are varied enough to keep things interesting but never let go of that morose Resident Evil feeling. Meaning, there’s lots of zombies, bodies, gross stuff, and blood all over the place.

Resident Evil 2 manages to set the mood perfectly for every moment of the game, from its foreboding opening at the gas station to the tense, explosive ending.

Due to taking a large break from the game, I didn’t have much time to dig into the second story mode where you play as Claire, but I am excited to see where her story goes (which apparently includes an orphanage and that doesn’t sound pleasant).

Resident Evil 2 the kind of game that, when I finished it, I wanted to dive back in for more.

Resident Evil 2 comes out on PlayStation 4, PC, and Xbox One on Jan. 25. You can try a 30-minute demo of the game for free until Jan. 31.