After repeatedly failing to finish Resident Evil 2 remake over the years — put off by its narrow corridors and zombies bursting from lockers — a reviewer now says Capcom’s Switch 2 port lets them finally reach the end. Playing on an eight-inch screen makes the horror easier to stomach than big-screen frights, they write.
According to a review for Polygon via gamer24h, the Switch 2 version runs with a smooth, stable framerate and little of the frizz seen in other recent ports. It also carries one advantage over handheld rivals such as the Steam Deck and Asus ROG Ally: HDR, which improves lighting compared with those devices where colors run slightly washed out and everything takes on a glare regardless of brightness settings.
The remake picks up as the events of the original Resident Evil draw to a close. Leon Kennedy travels to Raccoon City for his first day as a police officer while Claire Redfield searches for her brother Chris, one of the first game’s protagonists. After near-fatal zombie encounters they arrive in the city, where their car explodes and then a larger truck does too; with the city on fire and crawling with zombies, the two are separated.
Their goal is simply to find a way out, since saving Raccoon City is impossible. Through all the explosive opening, it remains classic Resident Evil through and through: little tinkering with the original’s story compared with Resident Evil 4, limited inventory in cramped spaces, an unreasonable number of puzzles for any public service building, and a single zombie capable of sending players to a gruesome game over screen. Running away is often the wisest option; zombies don’t fall to a few shots as they do in Resident Evil 4, and neither Leon nor Claire has handy melee attacks to finish staggered foes — though time brings wisdom, “and also roundhouse kicks.”
The remake constantly balances tension over which items to carry and leave, whether to heal or save restoratives, and whether it’s worth leaving a zombie alive when risking having to take them and their friends down later. It handles that balance “impeccably,” never letting players be completely safe despite the growing lethality of their arsenal — every victory hard-won, even opening a door or finding enough ammo.
The experience gets stressful when the gigantic Mr X appears and chases players around the police station. The reviewer notes the big guy “does not stop,” but considers it an appropriate escalation given its timing in Leon’s and Claire’s separate stories — even if their nerves disapprove.
The Switch 2 version looks fantastic even in handheld mode, with little of the frizz found in the Switch 2 ports of Final Fantasy 7 Remake or even the Resident Evil 4 remake. The only difference noticed between handheld and docked mode is that shadows look slightly blurrier in handheld — an effect not unique to Switch 2, as it appears on the Ally’s lower performance settings too. It’s something you notice only if looking for it.
Whether this version warrants a purchase depends on preferences: those who already own it on another handheld will find HDR’s deeper blacks and color boosts plus portable or docked play are basically the only differences. For anyone who has never played Resident Evil 2 remake but loves survival horror, though, this should be on their radar.
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