With a few notable exceptions, remakes and remasters of games are rarely a good thing. Sure, we get to benefit from some incredible updates to graphics, but it is unlikely to have any game changing results, often just recycling the game play and ultimately feeling like the game wasn’t as good as we remember. Well, that is usually the case for me.

A few months back, I was given the opportunity to try out the remaster of Resident Evil 2, and unlike most remakes, it was a whole new game. Capcom did an amazing job making it feel like something new and fresh, subtly reminding me of my childhood while giving me a whole new experience. With Resident Evil 3, they’ve done it again.

Recycling the storyline from 1999’s Resident Evil 3: Nemesis, Capcom have once again created something new and exciting. Just like the RE2 remaster, players will control Jill Valentine and Carlos Oliviera as they attempt to make an escape from zombie infested Racoon City. While fighting off hordes of zombies, navigating dark streets or combining materials into useful resources, players will need to avoid Nemesis, an intelligent bioweapon sent by Umbrella to eliminate the remaining Special Tactics and Rescue Service (S.T.A.R.) operatives.

True to its original form, Resident Evil 3 focuses heavily on problem solving. Containing a number of puzzles and collectibles, players will have to explore their surroundings while conserving as much ammunition as possible. The biggest challenge many players will face is that the game doesn’t really give you any directions. Players are forced to use their own initiative as there are no objective markers directing you where to go, there is no minimap or compass. You find things the same way people did before the arrival of smartphones and GPS navigation – go out and actively look for the thing you want. Only when you are within stabbing distance of something you can interact with will you have any hints as to what you’re looking for.

Once again, Capcom have meticulously recreated the world of Racoon City, changing from pre-rendered backgrounds with 3D models pasted over the top, to an environment you can openly explore. Players are able, and more importantly encouraged to search every little crevasse the city has to offer, offering further hints for survival or hidden stashes that will help you live just that little bit longer. Character models are beautifully reimagined, boasting significant levels of detail lavished on them.

Jill breaks the mould but not being overly sexualized, while Carlos feels like a regular guy – not the usual over-muscled meat head male characters so often are. Even the Zombies stand out – rarely will you see two of the same model together, and even then there will be subtle differences. Police officers, for example, have an array of different characters, ranging from the obese donut-munchers so commonly stereotyped in society, to Asians and African-American individuals, or even a mix of the aforementioned.

Audio remains just as haunted as the remaster of RE2, generally drowning the player in silence, with the only sound your footsteps on the cold, wet asphalt. Occasional bursts from a nearby radio will break the silence, or a perfectly timed jumpscare will be accompanied by the usual haunting sounds of a Theremin, slowly fading away as the danger subsides. You genuinely feel alone and on edge as you fumble about Racoon City, avoiding the gurgled moans of the dead as you sneak past them and slip silently through a door.

Controls will feel familiar, if not a little simpler for people who are used to playing third person perspective games. Approaching ladders or obstructions you’ll have to clamber under will result in Jill or Carlos performing the action without needing to tell them to do so, while the player will need to press the usual activation button on objectives and items you can collect. As well as the usual actions, players will need to execute timed events, preventing zombies from chowing down on your ever-so important limbs or dodging items hurled at you by Nemesis.

There are so many unnerving aspects to Resident Evil 3 that any fan of horror survival games has come to expect. Zombies hunched over corpses. Blood and viscera dripping from ceilings. The walking dead shambling towards you, arms outstretched as they lunge in your direction, clumsily falling over or walking into a wall as they stare hungrily at you. Everything about this game is designed to make you uncomfortable and it does a fantastic job of this. I said it for RE2, and I’ll say it for RE3 – If you even remotely enjoyed the Resident Evil series, this is a must have!

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Written by: Mathew Lindner