Skip to main content
  1. Home
  2. Gaming
  3. News

Resident Evil 3’s demo is a sublime slice of survival horror

By

After a rough couple years that saw Deep Down enter development hell and the half-baked Street Fighter V get released, Capcom has once again hit its stride. Last year, the Japanese publisher released two game of the year contenders in Devil May Cry 5 and an excellent remake of Resident Evil 2. Now, the company opens its 2020 release schedule with a much-anticipated new version of Resident Evil 3.

The newly released demo opens with Jill Valentine agreeing to work with members of the Umbrella Biohazard Countermeasure Service as they’re attempting to escape Raccoon City. After a brief yet entertaining back-and-forth between her and Carlos Oliveira that continues over walkie-talkie, players are free to explore the zombie-infested city with the goal of getting the subway infrastructure back online. That’s it for story. This is a brief demo, and it launches players right into the thick of it.

Recommended Videos

It didn’t take long before I found myself face-to-face with the undead. Aiming is a mixture of patience and precision, as the crosshairs close in when Valentine stands still. That makes fending off zombies a tactical affair, as I had to regularly stand still to get a headshot, then move out of the way to avoid getting bitten. These combat exchanges are as tense as they were in the PlayStation original, although they have more depth and flexibility to them.

Impressive scale

After spraying zombie guts all over, I noticed the remake’s impressive scale. Instead of the hallway-like streets of the original, players have a lot more room to maneuver, and the surrounding shops are brimming with detail. Similar to Resident Evil 2, the city feels like it once lived, and isn’t just a tailor-made disaster zone for zombies to roam.

Related

Similar to Capcom’s other Resident Evil remakes, the controls are revamped to improve responsiveness. This is a welcome change, as the new control scheme feels great. Anyone who played the RE2 remake will feel right at home. The biggest difference is that Valentine has an advanced evade move, executed by pressing R1. Mastering this ability takes a few tries, and I ended up a zombie snack while I practiced. However, it’s an essential skill to learn, as there’s no better way to evade encounters.

The new control scheme feels great

Like previous Resident Evil games, thoroughly searching areas will result in rewards for the player. Aside from useful consumable items, the demo is loaded with 20 hidden Mr. Charlie bobbleheads. Despite playing quite carefully and checking every corner I saw, I only found a handful of the collectibles.

Raccoon City is dense with puzzles. I encountered a few objects, such as locked boxes and safes, that I couldn’t immediately open. One highlight was a shotgun locked in an office. While I couldn’t get it at first, I eventually found some bolt cutters in a nearby store. Grabbing the weapon was immensely satisfying. The puzzles aren’t complex, but the constant threat of zombies makes them tense.

Encountering Nemesis

The most intense moment in the demo was encountering Nemesis, the hulking bioweapon that chases Valentine throughout the game. I blasted him with my shotgun, which I had saved specifically for this encounter. It stunned him temporarily, but he still managed to use his long arms to grab me. After struggling out of his grasp, I ran away until he leaped in front of me. A well-timed dodge let me slip into a fenced alleyway and make my getaway.

It looks like Capcom has continued its streak of fantastic games.

Resident Evil 3‘s demo ends on a high note. I used the fire hose I found on the other side of town to extinguish a fire that blocked my path earlier. The camera then followed Valentine as she travels along the newly opened path until Nemesis breaks down a wall and stares her down. It’s a cheap jump scare, but an effective one. Then, the game rewards you with a new trailer that teases a returning character from RE2 who wasn’t in the original.

The demo takes about 30 minutes to complete, although your time will vary depending on how thorough you are and how many side objectives you try to solve (such as if you want to open a locked safe, or not). Just like RE2, there’s a lot of potential for speedrunners, as some talented players have finished it in just under 3 minutes. No matter how you play it, the demo does an excellent job of demonstrating this remake is living up to fan expectations.

Resident Evil 3 will offer plenty of scares once it releases for PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC on April 3. This small slice is extremely promising, and it looks like Capcom has continued its streak of fantastic games.

Editors' Recommendations

Topics
Tyler Treese
Tyler Treese
When not playing or writing about games, Tyler Treese serves as the Senior Editor at Wrestlezone. An experienced writer that…
Resident Evil 4: All Yellow Herb locations
Yellow herb in Resident Evil 4.

Despite being sent all the way to Europe to rescue the president's daughter, Leon arrives vastly underpowered for the job presented to him in the Resident Evil 4 remake. Not only was he sent in alone, but with just a single handgun (with 10 bullets) and a knife. If you want any hope of completing this mission, you will need to get every advantage you can. Aside from expanding and upgrading your arsenal, collecting as many of the game's Yellow Herbs will be your top priority. Of the three types of Herbs -- Green, Red, and Yellow -- these are the rarest of them all. In total, you can only grab 17 of them in a single playthrough. You will want as many of them as possible to give Leon a much-needed buff, so here's what Yellow Herbs do and where you can collect them all in the Resident Evil 4 remake.
What Yellow Herbs do

Each of the three Herb types in Resident Evil 4 serves a different function. Green Herbs are for healing, Red Herbs enhance the effect of whatever Herb they're combined with, and Yellow Herbs actually increase Leon's maximum health. That makes them by far the most valuable of the three since, with enough of them, you can essentially double the amount of damage you can take once you max out his health.

Read more
Resident Evil 4 locked drawers guide: all Small Key locations
Infected villager from Resident Evil 4 remake.

Keys and Resident Evil games are like peanut butter and jelly. If you're not fighting zombies, you're looking for a key to get you to the next room -- where you will fight more zombies. While there are plenty of mandatory keys in the Resident Evil 4 remake, there are also a set of extra keys that you can completely miss. These Small Keys are used to unlock locked drawers you come across, as opposed to doors, and hold some very valuable treasures. Considering how precious money is in this game, the more treasures you can find and sell to your Merchant friend, the better off you'll be. Small keys aren't in your direct path often, and once you leave an area, you can't go back to collect them later in most cases. We'll help you become the master of unlocking by showing you where to snag all the Small Keys in Resident Evil 4, as well as where to use them.
Where to find all Small Keys
Before getting into the locations of Small Keys, note that these keys are not exclusive to a single drawer. Any Small Key can be used to open any drawer, so feel free to spend them as soon as you find a drawer with a key in hand. However, once you leave an area in Resident Evil 4, there's no going back. That means if you left any keys or drawers behind, you won't be able to open them unless you start another playthrough or wait until you begin a new game. There are eight Small Keys to get, and they are all found within the first two zones of the game, but won't show up on your map. Locked drawers won't either by default, but if you buy the Treasure Map from the Merchant, the drawers will be put on your map. Here's how to track all the keys down, and where the nearest locked drawer is in the order you can first encounter them.

The first key you can get is in Chapter 2 in the Valley. After meeting the Merchant, you will be sent into the Valley to find a key to open the gate opposite the Merchant. After clearing out the enemies, drop down to the lowest level on the south end and enter the shack. Inside, take a right and look for a case on the shelf. Loot it, and pick up the first Small Key. The nearest locked drawer is back in the Factory past the Merchant. Go into the room where you retrieved Leon's equipment after it was taken from him and use the key on the desk drawer.

Read more
The best weapons in Resident Evil 4
Leon holding a gun in Resident Evil 4.

Leon clearly wasn't prepared for what he would encounter in the Resident Evil 4 remake or he would have come with more than a middling handgun and a knife. While those basic tools can get you through the opening stages of the game, it won't be long before you will need to call upon some much stronger firepower in order to survive the tougher -- and more grotesque -- monsters that stand in your way. The Resident Evil 4 remake offers a ton of weapons you can collect, such as pistols, SMGs, rifles, and more. However, most will cost a lot of cash -- and even more if you want to invest in their upgrades. You will have to make some tough choices about what weapons you want to stick with, and picking a dud can make your playthrough much more difficult. Instead of investing all your cash in a pea-shooter, check out the best weapons you can get in the Resident Evil 4 remake to blast your way through Ganados and Las Plagas alike.
The best weapons in Resident Evil 4

Red9
Where else could we start but with the Red9? Almost certainly the most popular handgun -- or gun in general -- from the original Resident Evil 4 has returned in the remake and is just as potent as ever. Not only can you grab this gun as early as Chapter 3, making it a great choice for investing your upgrades in, but it can be altered and has essentially no drawbacks. By default, the Red9's recoil is the primary point of criticism you could levy at it, but if you spend a few Spinels to give it the stock, you'll be able to basically snipe with this pistol. By the time you unlock the Exclusive upgrade, which multiplies the gun's power by 1.5x, you'll hardly ever find a situation where this handgun can't do the job.
Bolt Thrower
The Bolt Thrower isn't on this list for its high power, accuracy, or anything that you would traditionally look for in a gun. The reason it has to be here is due to the simple fact that you can recover the bolts it shoots into enemies after they're dead to massively cut down on your ammo expenditure. Ammo for it is also crafted using knives, but it even has a secondary firing method where it launches mines, giving it a lot more utility. The Exclusive upgrade isn't game-changing -- it doubles the ammo capacity -- but the less you have to reload, the less often you'll be caught in a sticky situation.
Stingray
In the rifle category, the Stingray is never going to let you down. This is a semiautomatic rifle, so the firing rate is mostly up to you, plus it has a great clip size by default. If you're hitting those weak points, this baby will also deal 3x damage, and can be outfitted with almost any scope. The Exclusive upgrade boosts your final firing rate by an additional 2x, which shouldn't be too necessary if you're trying to be precise, though can help in a pinch.
LE 5
The LE 5 is a weapon you can easily miss that is kind of like a good version of the Punisher in that it has amazing penetration power. Being an SMG, it also boasts a far greater firing rate and clip size, as well as more power. This is the perfect weapon to rip through any shield-wielding enemies. Again like the Punisher, the Exclusive upgrade allows the LE 5 to pierce up to five targets at once.
Broken Butterfly
Another returning favorite, the Broken Butterfly magnum is not just the best-looking hand cannon in the game, but also the most deadly. If you don't count a special weapon like the Rocket Launcher, the Broken Butterfly (after upgrades) deals the most damage of any gun in the Resident Evil 4 remake. The Exclusive upgrade plays a major part in this by boosting its final damage by 1.5x, again just like the Red9, but magnum upgrades are among the most expensive in the game, so this power won't come easy.
Striker
What's the worst part of a shotgun? The firing rate. Well, that is if you're not using the Striker. This semiautomatic shotgun spits out damage like nobody's business. It has power on par with any other shotgun, but way better firing speed, plus a massive clip size so you don't have to worry about running dry out an enemy in your face. If you get the Exclusive upgrade, you can even double the already huge clip size.
Rocket Launcher
This is a big investment both in terms of cash and space, but the Rocket Launcher is too iconic to the series not to be amazing. Yes, this has a one-hit kill on just about everything and will cost more or less depending on what difficulty level you're playing on. It has no upgrades because, well, what is there to make better? Unless you're playing with the infinite ammo for it enabled, you do only get one shot, so make it count.
Primal Knife
While technically not a gun, the knife is so good in the Resident Evil 4 remake that it has to be mentioned. This tool will save your skin more often than you think thanks to the new ability to parry and finish downed enemies, but the obvious drawback is durability. The Primal Knife has to be unlocked by finding and destroying all 16 of the Clockwork Castellans in the game. What makes it the clear frontrunner of all knives is the Exclusive upgrade that makes it completely unbreakable, no matter how much you use it.

Read more