Resident Evil 3 (Steam) Review

BOMBASTIC ACTION MEETS ASTRONOMICAL EXPECTATION

For the remake of Resident Evil 3, henceforth referred to as Resident Evil 3 2020, I put myself in a different state of mind in comparison to how I approached Resident Evil 2 2019. I had played Resident Evil 2 on the PS1 all the way through not long before that remake launched and when I finally got to the remake well after it launched the package was complete with extra scenarios and goodies. This time around, I avoided playing the original RE3 to experience things with no prior expectation and I picked it up as soon as it was available. Resident Evil 3 2020 was one of my most anticipated releases of this year, following only Final Fantasy VII Remake. Unfortunately, the bar set by RE2 2019 was so high that I walked away from RE3 2020 mostly disappointed. 

Out of all the numbered titles, I am most unfamiliar with Resident Evil 3. I hadn’t seen a playthrough online or launched the copy I owned. I knew what happened in the story through context given by the other games and the parallels drawn by the films but gameplay-wise I was ignorant. Now, I love the concept of a remake and the stellar ones through the ages is why I get so excited when they pop up. However, Resident Evil 3 2020 feels in many ways like a step back from the previous remake, stripping some mechanics in favor of a new dodge and making the main antagonist more of an event rather than a creature. 

Resident Evil 3’s plot hinges on the release of Nemesis into the chaotic Racoon City following the events of Resident Evil 2. Zombies roam the streets while various groups are doing their best to get a hold of valuable Umbrella assets. RE3 takes place partly before and after RE2, so we get to see the initial outbreak climax and the explosive end of the city. Even at the start of the game, Nemesis takes center stage, blasting through a wall after a brief first-person moment as Jill in her rundown apartment. She was set to move away in just a few days but was tossed back into the nightmare by the beast with an insatiable hunger for STARS members. 

This early encounter with Nemesis is surprising, chaotic, and cinematic. While there’s not much of a fail state for the player, this sort of action drives up the tension and keeps one’s heart pounding. After ripping apart walls and jump-starting Jill’s latest adventure, Nemesis maintains constant pressure by dropping into various moments of the campaign, usually just when things are starting to calm down. Even though I consider this remake a weaker entry when compared to the previous, the use of Nemesis as a way to drive the player forward and keep the stakes high is masterful and puts me in mind of the Uncharted series. Levels have a way of flowing, always subtly coaxing the player’s actions through clever lighting, signposting, and of course enemy placement.  

Some Nemesis moments are better than others and I think he works best when dropped into a more open-ended scenario. For example, the first major area of Racoon City has players darting through streets piled with broken-down vehicles and rummaging through busted shops. About halfway through this, Nemesis appears and creates a new type of zombie by horrifically wrapping tendrils around a victim. From here, Jill has to deal with the new monster and Nemesis’ massive fists. This is where the most interesting interactions with the tyrant can occur as Nemesis can fiercely pursue the player through various areas. Almost assuredly, Jill is forced to fight which can lead to various weapon upgrade parts. 

Making the decision to face Nemesis and dealing enough damage for the cartoonish crate to drop out of his coat feels awesome. Anytime I saw Nemesis (I played on standard difficulty) I would roll a frag grenade at his feet and most of the time just one of those would be enough to score me a new part. By the time I moved on to the next area, I was sporting a pistol with three new parts and a shotgun with one new part. I was rewarded for spending more time in those areas and I wish that more sections of the game were designed as well as this one. 

From there, Jill catches a ride on the subway with a few UBCS (Umbrella Biohazard Countermeasure Service) members including the headstrong Carlos Oliveira, the grizzled Cpt. Mikhail Victor and B Squad member Sgt. Nikolai Zinoviev, who can immediately be pegged as a betrayer and villain of the story. Interactions like this show just how incredible the game’s animation and acting can be. Facial movements can be subtle, giving more weight to the meager script. The narrative doesn’t offer much overall but it makes for an exciting action ride that does a fine job explaining this moment in the Resident Evil timeline. In fact, all of the character models look fantastic and the RE Engine continues to impress with stellar lighting and object rendering. I don’t remember running into many performance issues, although I set my graphics to performance mode to ensure I got a good framerate. I have also been enjoying playing this and the previous remake with keyboard and mouse far more than I thought I would. Having that extra bit of precision really helps place shots but unfortunately, accuracy is less important in this and RE2 than it was in RE4 and RE5. 

The monsters look as grotesque as usual and the various forms of Nemesis are all fascinating to look at. I loved seeing the tyrant slowly unwrap from its trash bag and caution tape covering to reveal a beast that would fit along nicely with the monsters of Bloodborne. I do feel like the generic zombies looked either identical or slightly worse than they did in RE2 2019 which is a shame because they latch onto the player pretty often so they’re frequently in one’s face. 

Surprisingly, Resident Evil 3 2020 ditches the reaction commands that were used so well in Resident Evil 2 2019. In the previous game, players could keep a knife or a grenade in their inventory and use it to get out of enemy grabs, which is the primary way that the monsters deal damage. It was a part of the planning to ensure one had enough tools but in Resident Evil 3 the mechanic is gone despite all of those items still being available. This mechanic omission is the single most baffling decision of Resident Evil 3 2020 and I can’t for the life of me figure out why it was cut. Replacing that functionality is a dodge which both Jill and Carlos can perform. Timing this right leads to a sweet flash of movement and pulling up a weapon shortly after results in time slowing down for a moment. Getting a perfectly timed dodge and landing a critical hit speeds up the close-quarters combat a bit but I did find the timing window to be a bit too precise. 

This strange change in combat, coupled with reused assets and areas, makes Resident Evil 3 2020 feel more like a remix and less like a full-blown game. It doesn’t help that the campaign is far shorter and there are more scripted moments. Those scripted moments can be really exciting and fun but ultimately they feel like the game went into autopilot and it can get old with repeated playthroughs. It’s also weird that Capcom absolutely nailed injecting more horror into Resident Evil 2 but decided to not do that with Resident Evil 3. Resident Evil 3 was always designed as more of an action title but it seems like there’s an issue with tone and gameplay consistency that makes it feel kind of disjointed upon reflection and I’m not sure how I will feel years later with this one.  

The Resident Evil series typically has some of the best replay value in the industry and there is some incentive to play this battle with Nemesis a few times over. After completion, players are awarded costumes and points that can be used to buy items that grant boosts, a couple of new weapons, infinite ammo, and more. The spread feels kind of tame compared to previous games but at least there’s a reason to play again. Those that like a challenge can also take on the Nightmare or Inferno settings which remixes enemy and item placement. I do wish there was a randomizer mode for the standard difficulty but the big hurdle to tackle is there as usual. Spread throughout the game are Charlie Dolls to shoot, which grant points and an achievement and they can be fun to look for but I had more fun spotting all of the Capcom references in the posters. Ultimately, I finished Resident Evil 3, quickly jumped back into the game to see if there was a new mode to try, and was bummed to see just extra difficulties and items. I love playing the games of this franchise over and over to get all the various superweapons and push my skills as far as I can but I don’t have nearly the drive to do that with this remake.

I do hope that Capcom continues to support Resident Evil 3 2020 through additional chapters and modes, much like they’ve done in the past but I worry that they may put that energy into Resident Evil Resistance, the asymmetrical multiplayer game that’s bundled with the remake. I haven’t spent any time with this multiplayer mode but if I find myself into it, I’ll be sure to share those thoughts. 

Criticisms aside, there are some incredible moments in this adaptation of Resident Evil 3. I could not believe how over-the-top the ending was and it’s a moment that is animated so perfectly with just the right amount of punch that it had me cheering. As far as horror is concerned, there are a few great instances but they are few and fleeting. The scariest bit is one involving a nest of mutated flea-spider-things that have the most gut-wrenching attack I’ve ever seen in this franchise. That whole section had me so anxious but that was really the height of the horror. Every other moment of tension was driven by Nemesis and I knew that I would either have to run or battle him in a specific way. The boss fights are bombastic and clever but they didn’t make Nemesis feel like the dangerous foe that he’s made out to be. 

Personally, I find Resident Evil 3 2020 to be a harder recommendation than its predecessor. Maybe I’ll feel different as the game expands with more content or if I find Resistance to be compelling but for now it feels like an amazing weekend rental rather than a must-buy title. Judging by the three most recent Resident Evil titles though, I cannot wait to see what lies in store for this franchise. I love these remakes but I’m ready to see Capcom really strike out for something new. 

Although, I would be extremely excited to see a remake of Dino Crisis. 

Find more information about Resident Evil 3 on the official website. A digital Steam copy was purchased by the reviewer. Screenshots were captured through Steam. 

For more reviews of horror games, check out my take on the last remake from Capcom Resident Evil 2 or the definitive Xenomorph experience Alien Isolation.

SCORES

GAMEPLAY - 7/10

VISUALS - 8/10

SOUND - 8/10

CONTROLS - 7/10

REPLAY VALUE - 5/10

OVERALL - 7/10