We’re still waiting for confirmation on what’s next for Resident Evil, be it a fully fledged RE9, a Code Veronica remake, or maybe a fresh version of the hard-to-love Resident Evil Zero. Nevertheless, the Capcom survival horror is ticking over thanks to a vital re-release of one of the greatest games in the entire series, Resident Evil 2. RE2 Remake is a superlative reimagining of the fixed-camera classic, but the 1998 original is scarier, more atmospheric, and a vital part of videogame history. It also brought us Leon Kennedy and Claire Redfield for the first time, as well as the iconic Raccoon City police station. Hard to access on PC in the modern era, finally, as of today, buying and playing RE2 is extremely simple.
I have a personal fascination – almost obsession, I suppose – with Resident Evil 2. It’s one of the only games I ever learned to speedrun – by completing it four or five times a day, for about a month, I managed to get my time down to an admirable one hour, 16 minutes, and six seconds – nowhere near world record, but not bad for the US version, which has a larger amount of zombies and is therefore harder to sprint through.
A survival horror game in the classic vein (2D backgrounds, fixed camera angles, fussy inventory management, limited saves), though I enjoy RE2 Remake very much, the original Resident Evil 2 will always be superior because it did it all first. The RPD, William Birkin, Hunk, that wonderful enhanced shotgun – Resident Evil 2 is parent to them all.
Until now, though, if you wanted to play it on PC you needed a disc drive and a (generally ludicrously expensive) physical copy. But those days are over. As of right now, Tuesday August 27, Resident Evil 2 is easily available via a digital re-release on GOG.
Complete with improved visuals, some bug fixes, better subtitling, new rendering options, and all the additional modes and scenarios unlocked from the start, this is the definitive way to play Resident Evil 2, and it’s only $11.37 / £8.99. If you’ve always loved it and want to give it another go, or if you’re lucky enough to have never played it before, you can RE2 on GOG right here.
Unfortunately, however, Resident Evil’s original creator Shinji Mikami recently told us directly that survival horror isn’t really his thing at the moment…
Indulge in some more nostalgia via the best old games, or maybe try something a bit more brutal with the best survival games on PC.
You can also follow us on Google News for daily PC games news, reviews, and guides, or grab our PCGN deals tracker to net yourself some bargains.