Cognition Dissemination: Cool Things I Noticed in the Resident Evil 3 Remake Previews

Capcom is moving quickly with the promotion and release of the Resident Evil 3 remake. It was a slight surprise when they announced the title in December, not even a year after the superlative Resident Evil 2 remake released; it was a big surprise when they confirmed that it would arrive a mere 14 months after RE2. No wonder the promotion is moving so fast.

Capcom has provided previews through screenshots, info, trailers, and a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it glimpse at gameplay, uninterrupted gameplay since the announcement. But with the lifting of the press preview embargo, a sizable chunk of it has now been shown in action. Several aspects of the gameplay stuck out more to my eyes compared to others in the video previews, especially the extended commentary-deprived b-roll footage that apparently only the Japanese press was able to upload. I want to highlight them.

There are big differences with dodging

The original Resident Evil 3 added the ability for protagonist Jill Valentine to dodge, which fit the game’s faster and more action-packed pacing compared to its predecessors. But it only activated when it wanted to, which made it unreliable in a pinch. It will be thankfully mapped to a button this time, and looks reminiscent of Resident Evil Revelations 2’s in action.

The normal dodge was shown in previous trailers; these new videos introduced the perfect dodge, which triggers if Jill dodges an enemy attack just before it can land. If done correctly, she’ll not only perform a special roll, but it will also trigger a bullet time-like scenario to give Jill an opportunity to counterattack. Videos show how this will work against enemies and bosses. The description of it makes this sound too useful, but it’s reportedly difficult to trigger. It will take practice and timing to do reliably considering it requires knowing the timing of several enemy attacks, and it will be tough to use to take out crowds of enemies. Don’t worry about this alone potentially breaking the game.

The environmental damage options

The RE3 remake will inherit the environmental damage options from the original game, which became a far more useful staple in its progeny. But it’s a notable change from the RE2 remake, which had few of them. It’s tough to tell just how frequent they’ll be right now, but they’ll be very helpful in a game with plenty more outdoor environments. The larger spaces mean more enemies will attack Jill simultaneously, and it will be good for taking down a bunch of them within one space — especially with a certain behemoth in particular always chasing her.

There’s actual environmental ambience now

The RE2 remake was a good-looking and good-sounding game, but one standout presentation blemishe involved how the outdoor environments contained very little ambience. You could hear a pin drop outside if it wasn’t for the constant rain in certain sections, despite Raccoon City being under a state of emergency. This wasn’t a big complaint thanks to how few of them there were (the game largely takes place indoors, the environments for which have plenty of ambience), but they had to address this in a game that, like the original, will feature more of the city. It’s evident they did, as the commentary-less footage linked above shows.

Spiders!

Another notable complaint about the RE2 remake: The lack of giant spiders. The original game had them, but they were cut from the redone version for creative reasons. But they’re kind of back this time. The spiders seen in the gameplay video are still smaller than Jill herself, but they’re hardly small per se; there’s still a chance the final game will have larger variants.

Nemesis is a bigger threat in some ways, but not others

One of the biggest hallmarks of the RE2 remake is Mr. X, a mostly unstoppable Tyrant who enters about midway through the game and chases the characters around the Raccoon City Police Department. In RE3, Nemesis is the Tyrant variant that will do the chasing, but he can follow Jill anywhere around the city; not to mention that he’s more mobile. Intimidating stuff! In exchange, though, he won’t be quite as unstoppable.

Similar to the original RE3: While fighting Nemesis will be tough, he can be temporarily beaten. It’s another similarity to the original when he drops a bonus item or piece of equipment after being defeated. The question will be whether the drop and peace of mind will be worth it, depending on how much ammo will have to be pumped into him.

The gameplay videos show how the RE3 remake will indeed be more action-packed than its predecessor, but it will still firmly fit within the “survival horror” genre. I’ve read comments from fans concerned this could be closer to Resident Evil 4 or its progeny, but that’s a bit much. It’s not like Jill will be capable of using over-the-top melee attacks against zombies here. It’s still keeping in line with how the original RE3 was actionized compared to RE2.

Capcom plans to release the Resident Evil 3 remake on April 3rd, just a little over a month from now. There will be more trailers and previews between now and then, including better glimpses at the new areas the game will have. This version of Raccoon City is being designed to resemble an actual American city instead of a Japanese one with American aesthetics like the original, so there will be plenty of new areas. Be mindful of spoilers, despite this being a remake.