Resident Evil 2(2019) changed the game considerably when it comes to the franchise. Headshots and body shots were not only no longer reliable, the tone was now far harsher, with the series embracing its survival horror roots more than ever before. WithResident Evil 3(2020) seemingly taking a step back, it can be seen as something of a disappointment.
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All the same, whileResident Evil 3isn’t as scary asRE1orRE2’s remakes, Capcom’s latest entry in the survival horror series sees up the ante when it comes to action– without losing the spirit of the franchise in the process.
10Complete Challenges
Just likeResident Evil 2(2019) before it,Resident Evil 3(2020) features a number of challenges to incentivize replaying through the game again and again.RE3already has some decent replay value, but challenges keep the game engaging from start to finish. More importantly, they offer a better reward thanRE2did.
By completing challenges, players will earn points that can then be redeemed at the shop (unlocked after completing the campaign once.) The more challenges the player does, the more points they have to purchase some of the most overpowered goodies in the game. Though it’s best to save those points.
9Purchase The Expensive Unlocks First
Players can earn exactly enough points from challenges to purchase every single unlockable in the shop, but it’s important to keep something in mind: that requires completing every challenge.Resident Evil 3(2020) isn’t too difficult on Standard, but doing every challenge can be quite the demanding process.
With this in mind, it’s suggested that players go for the expensive items first. If not the most expensive ones outright, then the ones they know they’ll need for higher difficulties: notably the defense coins, the field combat manual, and at least one infinite ammo gun for good measure. Still, the shop items will only take players so far beyond Hardcore.
8Carlos Has Access To Shop Items
The shop makes it very clear that any purchasable items will be found in the campaign’s Item Box, but it doesn’t specify whether or not this extends to Carlos. On one hand, Jill and Carlos don’t share an Item Box, so there’s reason to believe he wouldn’t have access to any of her goodies. Thankfully, this does not end up being the case.
While Jill’s campaign items cannot be used by Carlos in any capacity, all shop unlockables will be tucked away in the Item Boxes for both Jill and Carlos to use– save for the Hip Pouches which will be placednextto the first Item Box upon starting the game.
7The Higher Difficulties Remix The Game Considerably
Resident Evil 3(2020) is getting a lot of flak for its short campaign, and while that’s justified, it seems many are suspiciously quiet on the remake’s inherent replay value. While the removal of Live Scenarios, Operation: Mad Jackal, and epilogues might make the remake pale in comparison to the original,RE3(2020) has incredible difficulty scaling.
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Nightmare and Inferno not only make enemies more aggressive (muchmore aggressive,) zombie placement has been shaken up and Nemesis actually had new moves. Players are expected to dodge often, make the most out of their weapons, and have a keen understanding of the level design.
6Learn To Dodge ASAP
On Assisted and Standard, players don’t need to dodge at all to comfortably beat the game. Not so for Hardocre and above. By the time players are tackling Inferno and Nightmare,Resident Evil 3(2020) demands a mastery of the dodge and punch mechanic. If Jill and Carlos can’t avoid or counter zombies, they won’t be getting out alive.
This is more important for bosses, however, as Nemesis only gets stronger and stronger with each difficulty tier. His strongest variant can easily kill Jill in a single hit, requiring back to back dodging almost non-stop. The sooner players learn how to dodge properly, the better.
5Be Prepared For Brad
Upon taking control of Carlos for the first time, players will find themselves at the now iconic RPD fromResident Evil 2(2019.) Upon reaching the front gates, Tyrell will try to unlock the RPD while Carlos has to fend off Brad Vickers, S.T.A.R.S.’s resident chicken. Should Carlos finish off Brad, he can pick up his ID and use it to open briefcases in the station.
That said, this is hardly the end for Brad. On higher difficulties, Brad will actually stalk Carlos through the RPD windows. Regardless if he was killed or not, Brad will eventually break into the RPD itself, offering Carlos another fight. It’s just one of the many scares exclusive to the higher difficulties.
4Nemesis’ Stalker Phase Can Be Easily Routed Around
Nemesis really isn’t that daunting of a figure to deal with when it comes down to it, but he can still be an extremely intimidating presence, especially for those struggling to adapt toResident Evil 3’s more action oriented controls. Fortunately, it’s more than possible to route around Nemesis’ stalker phase basically in full.
Since Nemesis is only triggered after turning on the generators, players can use the Lockpick and Bolt Cutters to get every single item in the Raccoon City Streets before Nemesis starts chasing them around. Should players do so, they’ll only need to deal with Nemesis for a few minutes, tops.
3Jill & Carlos Have A LOT Of Hidden Dialogue
One of the best aspects of the classicResident Evilgames is finding documents littered throughout each game– slowly revealing the events of the plot or just shining a light on the morbidity of the situation. Both modernResident Evilremakes feature a fair bit of documents, but to offset their decreased presence, characters now speak during gameplay.
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In the case of Jill and Carlos, both characters havea lotof hidden dialogue, ranging from combat specific scenarios (like Jill psyching herself up to get headshots) and environmental storytelling (Carlos pointing out the doors in the RPD and Leon’s welcome banner.) It helps flesh out not only the world of the game, but the cast.
2The Hospital Features Light Zapping
As far asResident Evilis concerned, Zapping refers to the process inResident Evil 2where Leon and Claire’s playthroughs influence one another. The original’s A and B scenarios allowed for player actions in the former to shake-up gameplay in the latter. It was an important part ofRE2’s identity, albeit one the remake removed.
Interestingly,Resident Evil 3(2020) features light Zapping in the Hospital. When playing as Carlos, players can actually leave behind certain items for Jill (mainly just ammo and health,) wheres any enemies Carlos kills stay dead and any shortcuts he finds remain unlocked. If players neglect to explore the Hospital fully with Carlos, Jill is free to do so herself.
1Don’t Bother Taking Out The Knees
Resident Evil 2(2019) was a return to form for the franchise as far as survival horror is concerned, but the way the remake was able to tap into the series’ inherent horor is rooted more in its gameplay than its actual tone. Since zombies were far more durable this time around, going for headshots almost always results in wasting bullets.
Smart players adapted to take out the knees instead, downing zombies and making it safe to traverse around them. Anyone coming from remake best get this out of mind immediately, as zombies not only go down reliably with head & body shots, there’s more than enough ammo to go around, and knee shots seem to dolessdamage.
