Ever since the Resident Evil 2 Remake was released in February 2019, I had been looking forward to a new and improved version of the third game. I was even more elated when I learned that the Resident Evil 3 (RE3) Remake had secretly been in development at the same time as the second title and would be released on April 3rd of this year.

I tried to remain spoiler-free prior to playing the Resident Evil 3 Remake for the first time, but didn’t quite succeed at it. But I still very much enjoyed the game for its intensity and improved character development. The story is simple: ex-STARS (Special Tactics and Rescue Services) officer Jill Valentine is in a race to escape a monster-infested city before it is destroyed while also trying to evade an intelligent titan-like creature called Nemesis bent on killing her.

What differentiates the remake from the original game is that it is more fast paced, with Nemesis coming after Jill within the first two minutes of the game. And Nemesis gets deadlier with each encounter, either by equipping himself with a flame-thrower or rocket launcher or by mutating into a bigger, faster monstrosity.

In spite of this, my first playthrough took five and a half hours because I was either taking my time, trying to figure out how to navigate a sometimes confusing map, or trying to work out the solution to one of the game’s puzzles. I have since played through this year’s Resident Evil 3 two and a half more times for the achievements or to get my time down. My best run so far was 2 hours & 10 minutes, but I’m sure I can get through it faster than that.

I have also hit some oddities that made for interesting experiences. Midway through my first playthrough, I started having a problem with the sound (I couldn’t hear much of anything), so I decided to skip one of the cinematic cutscenes to exit the game. This resulted in me dying two seconds later because I didn’t realize I should be running.

During another playthrough, I was facing off, Nemesis aside, against two of the most dangerous monsters in the game—one in front of me and one to my right. I successfully gunned down the creature I was facing, but this somehow made the other keel over at the same time.

While I very much love the way the remake’s story unfolded and that the characters were more fleshed out, there were some elements present in the original that I would have liked to see here. For one, it would have been a treat to see a new and improved version of Gravedigger, a giant worm sporting two sets of teeth. I also would have preferred to see the alternative narrative brought on by branching choices sprinkled throughout the game. I have never played the original Resident Evil 3, but I may purchase a copy for the full experience.

Accompanying the release of the RE3 Remake is a multiplayer game called REsistence where 1-4 players attempt to escape a testing area overseen by another player\Mastermind. I have attempted a few practice runs to get a feel for this game, but I need some time doing solo runs before I’m ready to join an actual match. I’m sure once I get the layouts for each area memorized, I’ll do much better at it.

One other aspect that thrilled me about the RE3 remake is that there’s a post-credits scene that seems to tease that the next installment in the series, Code Veronica, will also get remade. Since I consider the latter as the one game with the best plot twists, I would love to see a modernized version of it. Especially if it’s on the same level as the remakes for parts 2 and 3.

Resident Evil’s production company, Capcom, has done such a great job reintroducing their older classics to a modern audience that I look forward to what’s in store for future entries of the franchise.