Resident Evil 2 Remake Campaign

Lore & Background

Capcom considered remaking Resident Evil 2 following the release of the remake of the first Resident Evil in 2002, but the producer, Shinji Mikami, did not want to divert development from Resident Evil 4 (2005). Capcom announced the Resident Evil 2 remake in 2015 and released the first trailer and gameplay footage at E3 2018. It was built on the RE Engine, which was also used for Resident Evil 7: Biohazard. The game is set in Raccoon City, a fictional mountain city in the Midwest, during a zombie apocalypse. Players choose from one of two characters, Leon S. Kennedy or Claire Redfield. Their choice affects the weapons, areas, items, subplot, supporting characters (Leon has Ada Wong, a mysterious federal agent investigating the Umbrella Corporation, and Claire has Sherry Birkin, the young daughter of an Umbrella executive being pursued by a monster) and the final boss.

In Their Own Story

Sirens wail through the rain-slicked streets. Leon steps out of his patrol car, flashlight cutting through the fog. A groan echoes from the alleyway, followed by the shuffling of wet feet. He grips his service pistol, knuckles white. The city is dead, but he isn't ready to join it.

Reader's Guide

Resident Evil 2 is a survival horror third person shooter game – unlike the remake of the first game, which sought to update and improve the original experience, this remake reimagines the gameplay and story for modern audiences. The player is able to freely explore the environment around them while scavenging for resources such as healing items, ammunition, and key items used to solve puzzles and advance the story. Due to the technical and graphical upgrades offered by the RE Engine, the environment is rendered in full 3D using photorealism, improving its appearance and allowing for the tank controls of the original version to be replaced with a more flexible control scheme similar to Resident Evil 7: Biohazard. The player can move in any direction, rotate the camera around their character, alternate between walking and sprinting, and move around while shooting (however, standing still while aiming will tighten the crosshair, improving the accuracy and power of gunshots). Many areas are dark, requiring use of a flashlight to see in and adding an element of horror. As the player explores, they encounter zombies and other hostile creatures that attack and attempt to kill them. The player is armed with various weapons – both Leon and Claire have their own handguns, their other weapons differ (Leon has a shotgun, magnum, and flamethrower, while Claire has a grenade launcher, submachine gun, and the 'Spark Shot' stun gun). Knives and grenades, both regular and stun grenades can be found and used as sub-weapons – if an enemy pins the player, they can use a sub-weapon to push them off and save themselves from taking damage, albeit at the cost of decreased effectiveness. Zombies are much stronger than in the original, able to take more bullets before going down, get back up after being knocked down unless their head was blown off, and chase the player into different rooms. The damage model has been greatly improved, with enemies reacting to damage from gunshots in real-time and capable of having limbs blown off. Taking damage decreases the player's health, shown by a heart rate monitor in the inventory menu. If the player takes too much damage, they will die, forcing the player to restart from their last save point. Health items such as herbs and first aid spray cans can be used to heal. The player has an inventory with eight slots which they can use to store their

Did You Know?

• Resident Evil 2 is the highest-selling Resident Evil game, having sold more than 19 million copies as of July 2026.
• It won the Golden Joystick Award for Game of the Year and was nominated for the Game Award for Game of the Year.
• The game was built on the RE Engine, which was also used for Resident Evil 7: Biohazard.
• The remake adds difficulty modes - Assisted, Standard, and Hardcore.
• The Ghost Survivors mode includes scenarios featuring Robert Kendo, Katherine Warren, Ghost, and Sheriff Daniel Cortini.