Resident Evil

Overview

Resident Evil is a 2002 survival horror game developed and published by Capcom for the GameCube. It is a remake of the 1996 PlayStation game Resident Evil, the first installment in the Resident Evil video game series. The story takes place in 1998 near the fictional Midwestern town of Raccoon City where a series of bizarre murders have taken place. The player takes on the role of either Chris Redfield or Jill Valentine, S.T.A.R.S. officers sent in by the city and the R.P.D. to investigate the murders.

Resident Evil was developed over the course of fourteen months as part of an exclusivity deal between Capcom and Nintendo for the series in their Capcom Five partnership. It was directed by Shinji Mikami, who also designed and directed the original Resident Evil. Mikami decided to produce a remake because he felt that the original had not aged well enough and that the GameCube's capabilities could bring it closer to his original vision. The game retains the same graphical presentation, with 3D models superimposed over pre-rendered backgrounds. However, the quality of the graphics was vastly improved. The remake also features new gameplay mechanics, revised puzzles, additional explorable areas, a revised script, and new story details including an entire subplot cut from the original game.

Upon release, Resident Evil received acclaim from video game journalists, who praised its graphics and improved gameplay over the original game. It is often described as one of the best, scariest, and most visually impressive entries in the Resident Evil series. However, the game sold worse than expected, leading Capcom to change the direction of the series to a more action-oriented approach. In 2008, the game was ported to the Wii, featuring a new control system. In 2015, a high-definition remaster was released to critical and commercial success for PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, Windows, Xbox 360, and Xbox One, then later for Nintendo Switch in 2019. Retrospectively, critics and fans regard Resident Evil as one of the greatest game remakes ever made.

Official trailer

PC Gameplay video. Watch on YouTube

Screenshots

Game details

Genres

Shooter, Puzzle, Adventure

Developer

Capcom

Publisher

Capcom

Series

Resident Evil

Engine

MT Framework

Platforms

PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, Windows, Xbox 360, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch

Age rating

ESRB M

Modes

Single player

Yes

Local multiplayer

No

Online multiplayer

No

Co op

No

Age ratings

PEGI

18

CERO

D

ESRB

M

GRAC

19+

CLASS IND

16

USK

18

ACB

MA 15+

Release dates

Editions

Check out the store

Subscription history

Playable today

Playable offline todayYes

Single-player only, with no online features.

Online

Plays offlineYes

Credits

Publisher

Capcom

Developer

Capcom

Released

2015-01-20

Age rating

ESRB M

Region

US

Time to beat

about 17.4 hours