Resident Evil 2 Remake Guide#
Resident Evil 2 (Biohazard RE:2) is a full remake of the 1998 original, developed and published by Capcom on the RE Engine and released worldwide on January 25, 2019 for PS4, Xbox One and PC (Steam). It is a single-player, third-person survival horror game in which every asset was rebuilt from scratch — only the story and gameplay concepts carry over (per interviews with producers Yoshiaki Hirabayashi and Tsuyoshi Kanda).
Game Overview#
| Item | Detail |
|---|---|
| Official Title | Resident Evil 2 |
| Developer / Publisher | Capcom (both) |
| Directors | Yasuhiro Anpo, Kazunori Kadoi |
| Producers | Yoshiaki Hirabayashi, Tsuyoshi Kanda |
| Engine | RE Engine |
| Release Date | January 25, 2019 |
| Launch Platforms | PS4 / Xbox One / PC (Steam) |
| Genre | Survival horror / third-person shooter |
| Modes | Single-player |
| Language Support | Simplified and Traditional Chinese subtitles and Chinese voice acting |
Release and Platform Timeline#
| Date | Event |
|---|---|
| January 11, 2019 | “1-Shot Demo” released — a 30-minute demo playable only once |
| January 25, 2019 | Worldwide launch on PS4 / Xbox One / PC (Steam) |
| June 14, 2022 | PS5 / Xbox Series X|S versions arrive with the Capcom Showcase as a free upgrade, adding ray tracing, high frame rate modes, 3D audio and shorter load times; PC updated at the same time |
| November 11, 2022 | Nintendo Switch cloud version released |
| December 10, 2024 | iOS / iPadOS / macOS versions released |
| October 16, 2026 | Nintendo Switch 2 cloud version released |
Two Protagonists, Four Scenarios#
The game splits across two protagonists, Leon and Claire, each with a first run (1st Run, A route) and a second run (2nd Run, B route) — four scenarios in total. The B route solves the same spaces differently: puzzles and some mechanics change, so the same police station meets you with a different puzzle layout. The approach closest to the intended design is to finish one protagonist’s A route, then pick up the B route with the other.
Three Difficulty Levels#
| Difficulty | Key Differences |
|---|---|
| Assisted | Health regenerates automatically; suited to players who only want the story |
| Standard | The baseline difficulty, with no auto-regeneration |
| Hardcore | Saving requires ink ribbons, no autosaves, any damage drops you into the Danger state, and hip pouches and ammo are scarcer |
Extra Modes at a Glance#
The extra modes are The 4th Survivor, The Tofu Survivor, and the free DLC The Ghost Survivors.
Worth stressing: there is no Mercenaries mode in this game, and the original Resident Evil 2’s “Extreme Battle” is not included either. Plenty of online material confuses this entry with the Mercenaries modes of other games in the series — treat the dedicated extra modes section as the authority.
Collectibles at a Glance#
| Collectible | Count | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Files | 58 | Tied to the Lore Explorer achievement |
| Mr. Raccoon figurines | 15 | Shoot all of them to unlock the infinite-durability combat knife |
| Hip pouches (Assisted / Standard) | 6 | Each adds 2 inventory slots |
| Hip pouches (Hardcore) | 3 | Same effect, but halved in Hardcore |
| Safes + dial locks | 3 + 5 | Tied to the Master of Unlocking achievement |
| Films | 5 | Developed in the darkroom into treasure photos |
| Treasure photos | 2 | Point the way to hidden items once developed |
Character-Exclusive Weapons Compared#
| Leon | Claire |
|---|---|
| Matilda handgun (starting weapon) | SLS 60 revolver (starting weapon, can be upgraded with high-powered rounds) |
| W-870 shotgun (weapon locker in the Safe Room) | GM 79 grenade launcher (Safe Room) |
| Lightning Hawk magnum (S.T.A.R.S. Office armory, requires the USB dongle) | JMB Hp3 laser-sight handgun (trunk of the parking garage police car) |
| Chemical flamethrower (sewer supply room) | MQ 11 submachine gun (S.T.A.R.S. Office) |
| M19 handgun (guard room at the start of the 2nd Run) | Spark Shot (sewer supply room) |
| Endgame rocket launcher | Quickdraw Army revolver (guard room at the start of the 2nd Run), endgame Minigun |
Exact acquisition methods and magazine capacities are covered in the dedicated weapons section.
PC System Requirements#
Launch specifications (as recorded by dsogaming.com and sohu.com):
| Tier | OS | CPU | RAM | GPU | Storage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Minimum | Windows 7/8/8.1/10 (64-bit) | Core i5-4460 or FX-6300 | 8 GB | GTX 760 or R7 260x (2 GB), DX11 | 26 GB |
| Recommended | Windows 7/8/8.1/10 (64-bit) | Core i7-3770 or FX-9590 | 8 GB | GTX 1060 (3 GB) or RX 480 | 26 GB |
After the 2022 ray tracing patch, minimum requirements rose to Windows 10/11, DirectX 12, and a GTX 960 or RX 460 (as recorded by pcgamesn.com and pcgamebenchmark.com).
Sales and Reception#
- 3 million units shipped in the first week (as announced by Capcom).
- Passed 5 million units sold by December 4, 2019, overtaking the original Resident Evil 2’s 4.96 million.
- 12.6 million units as of June 30, 2023; 13.6 million as of December 31, 2023.
- Capcom’s Platinum Title figures: 16.3 million cumulative units as of September 30, 2025, making it the best-selling game in the series.
- A September 2026 financial report put the game past 20 million units across all platforms, second only to the top seller in both series and Capcom history.
- Metacritic: 91 on PS4 (85 reviews), 93 on Xbox One, 89 on PC; PS4 user score 8.9.
- Individual outlet scores: IGN 88, GameSpot 90, Game Informer 95.
- Steam reception sits in “Overwhelmingly Positive” territory: roughly 224,000 reviews at about a 97% positive rate (observed September 2026).
Section Index#
| No. | Page | Content |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Beginner Basics | Difficulty choice and resource management principles |
| 2 | Story Analysis | The Raccoon City outbreak and the dual storylines |
| 3 | Characters | The main cast |
| 4 | Combat System | Aiming, leg shots, knife counters |
| 5 | Weapon Compendium | Character-exclusive weapons and upgrades |
| 6 | Items | Herbs, gunpowder and ammo crafting |
| 7 | Puzzle Walkthroughs | Medals, safes and dial locks |
| 8 | Leon’s Route | Key points of Leon’s campaign |
| 9 | Claire’s Route | Key points of Claire’s campaign |
| 10 | Boss Strategies | G1–G5 and Super Tyrant |
| 11 | Area Exploration | From the police station to NEST |
| 12 | Enemy Compendium | Dealing with zombies through Tyrants |
| 13 | Collectibles | Files, Mr. Raccoon and hip pouches |
| 14 | Achievements and Trophies | Xbox / PlayStation criteria and S rank thresholds |
| 15 | Secrets | Infinite weapons and easter eggs |
| 16 | DLC Content | Deluxe edition, Ghost Survivors and the next-gen update |
| 17 | Extra Modes | The 4th Survivor and The Tofu Survivor |
| 18 | The Ghost Survivors | The four “what if” scenarios in detail |
| 19 | Hardcore Difficulty | Hardcore mechanics differences and the S+ bar |
| 20 | Endgame | S / S+ rewards and the speedrunning scene |
Recommended Play Order#
The timings below are experience-based estimates rather than official data, and are for reference only: finish Leon’s A route on Standard to learn the map, then Claire’s A route; after that, take the 2nd Run (B route) to unlock The 4th Survivor. If you are chasing an S rank, check the exact thresholds — on Standard, the A route must be cleared within 3 hours 30 minutes and the B route within 3 hours; on Hardcore, 2 hours 30 minutes for the A route and 2 hours for the B route. Time is the only factor: deaths, kills and save count do not affect the rank.
Related Games#
- Resident Evil Village — Capcom’s next mainline entry, continuing the series on the same RE Engine
- Resident Evil 4 Remake — the follow-up RE Engine remake, rebuilt from the 2005 original
- Silent Hill 2 Remake — another from-scratch remake of a late-’90s survival horror classic
- Dead by Daylight — asymmetric horror that has hosted official Resident Evil chapters
Related Rankings#
Best Shooter Games · Hardest Bosses in Gaming
Full Guides#
In-depth sub-guides — beginner basics, story analysis, the combat system, the weapon compendium, item crafting, puzzle solutions, Leon’s and Claire’s routes, boss strategies, area exploration, the enemy compendium, achievements and trophies, secrets, extra modes, The Ghost Survivors, Hardcore difficulty, and the endgame — are available in Chinese on NTGame’s Resident Evil 2 section.