Resident Evil 3 Remake review

The Resident Evil 3 remake is, by all means, very high-quality, and it will make the hearts of fans skip a bit as they submerge in the well-known environment. The game has shed a lot of quite useless details moving the experience forward. And it should be said, that the experience is indeed rather engaging. Cherished by many players, back in 1999 Resident Evil 3: Nemesis stepped away from its predecessor and moved closer to the gameplay saturated with action. Jill became faster and swifter, as well as all the zombies. And even though RE 3 had a lot in common with Resident Evil 2, players could feel the difference as they had to make decisions and move faster. Considering that this title still had quite enough puzzles, the game was rather challenging and, therefore, fascinating.

Characters became deeper and more realistic

Jill Valentine, a member of the Racoon City PD’s S.T.A.R.S., was a memorable character in the 1999 version of RE 3. The rework makes her feel even more real. Of course, the technologies became more advanced over the last two decades. So we all were expecting to see Jill moving smoother and looking better. In this Resident Evil 3 remake you almost forget that she is a digital character – her every movement and facial expressions appear rather realistic. Especially, if you still remember well the 1999 version of Jill.

But we’re used to good graphics and realistically-looking characters already. The way characters interact with each other is what makes RE 3 remake players feel like everything is actually happening. The dialogues are excellently written and the voice acting is executed brilliantly. When Jill and Carlos are talking, it doesn’t feel like a conversation between two game characters. It feels like a real dialogue two living human beings would have. And all the small thoughts and reactions Jill tells the player off-dialogue to make her even more realistic. 

Gameplay and mechanics

RE 3 remake used the experience of the RE 2 remake quite well taking all the good stuff from it, including the 3rd person perspective. Also, the characters gained new abilities. Jill now can avoid enemies with her Perfect Dodge, and Carlos has a cool Counter Punch. If you perform these special moves perfectly, the game rewards you with a pretty slow motion that, however, lasts only a second. Players can use this slow motion to shoot the enemy. 

Sub-weapons are gone, and that’s a good thing considering new skills Jill and Carlos have. If Capcom decided to leave sub-weapons while adding new mechanics, the game would’ve become too simple. Moreover, you will find red explosive barrels and generators around the Raccoon City – fans of the series know what to do with them. You can use them for AOE stuns when you have to deal with a horde of enemies. 

There is also no hassle with the inventory and items. In this remake, all the items seem to follow the gameplay as they appear exactly when you need them. So no more struggle for players trying to fit in everything in the limited inventory and trying to understand whether they need an item or not. 

In general, Resident Evil 3 Remake reminds a lot about the 2019 remake of RE2. But with some details more polished.

However, there are downsides. The game lacks puzzles, and its quick-time events are somewhat mundane. Sure, Resident Evil 3 was supposed to be a more action game, but QTEs seemed unnecessary here. A good cutscene would’ve been better than some boring quick-time event that makes you simply hold a certain key for several seconds. More complex puzzles could make RE 3 remake almost perfect, but it seems that Capcom decided that they weren’t a priority.

Another thing that leaves fans disappointed is how short the game is. You can complete it within just five hours if you’re playing it for the first time. Replays are even shorter. Sure, there is a multiplayer mode for those who want more, but that’s definitely not the same. The only thing we’re left with is to hope that in the future we will get some add-ons to make the game last for longer.

There are, though, different difficulty levels – Nightmare and Inferno – that can prolong the experience. But still, you will be simply going through the same gameplay again and again.

It’s very well-optimized

The graphics are very good. Based on the Capcom’s RE Engine, Resident Evil 3 remake looks rather pretty. However, every player is a bit worried today when it comes to good graphics – game developers learned now to make everything look good, but not all of them know how to make all this beauty not kill the player’s PC. There is no such issue with RE 3 rework. Even if your graphics card is mediocre, you will have a stable 60 FPS. Sure, if your graphic card is envy-worthy, the game will look absolutely stunning. 

Although there are downsides here. There is no “gore” system anymore because in RE3 rework you will have more zombies on the screen than in RE2 remake. Also, the large number of monsters results in the poor rendering of enemies that are further away from the player. 

Audio and music

As we’ve already mentioned, the voice acting is very good. Voices sound realistic, and emotions feel genuine. The sound design is ok – you can hear the character moving, zombies, and fights sound good. You can notice some looped sounds like the sound of water. But that’s not a big deal. 

The music is decent. It creates an immersive atmosphere making you strain yourself when needed. Overall, the audio of Resident Evil 3 remake is good. There is nothing to pay some special attention to. It’s just good.

The bottom line

Resident Evil 3 remake is definitely the game that will have a special place in our hearts. It has its flaws, but in general, it gives players the experience they’re hoping for. Hopefully, the issues will be fixed with some future DLCs. At least, that’s what we’re looking forward to because if not for these small downsides, the rework of RE 3 could’ve been perfect.