Capcom released the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S versions of Resident Evil 2 Remake as a free upgrade alongside 9th gen. versions of Resident Evil VII: Biohazard and Resident Evil 3.
While free upgrades are usually a mixed bag, Capcom clearly feels there is a lot of commercial legs left in the three and have seemingly made a decent effort to spruce them up for new hardware.
As always, images were captured on both PS5 and PS4 at 4K then downscaled using the process. PlayStation 5 screenshots of Resident Evil 2 are capture with ray tracing enabled are on the left/top throughout the piece. PlayStation 4 images are on the right/bottom.
Textures, Ray Tracing, Lighting Improvements, Resolution
Simply playing the versions back-to-back allowed me to see a significant difference between the two versions of the Resident Evil 2 Remake.
That is the acid test; while pixel peeking is great for quantifying the actual difference between versions, perception is more important. If a game wows you personally, the free upgrade is obviously worthwhile.
Please continue reading, though.
The Sum of its Parts
In previous comparisons, we have seen games make a raft of small improvements and fail to move the needle enough. We’ve also seen large efforts in a few select areas of the visual presentation and been similarly disappointed.
Resident Evil 2 on PS5 runs a higher resolution, improves texture quality and filtering, adds immersive and mostly tactful ray-traced reflections amongst a long list of changes of varying magnitude.
Additionally, changes to lighting can seen in a few areas with devs adjusting the highlights or remapping luminance for a more realistic image. At times the PS4 seems starker with lights often blooming and leaving unrealistically uneven lighting.
The PS5 tay tracing enabled version offers a more nuanced lighting scheme in many areas. Though the loss of artistic license in creating a light and shadowscape to taste leaves some scenes on PS4 having more visual impact.
The improved native resolution works in tandem with the sharper textures and improved filtering to give the game a wonderfully sharp picture in 4K. The dense detail and attention to contrast of the PS4 Remake is elevated by these changes alone.
Attention to Detail
There are some areas where it would have been forgivable for Capcom to overlook when bring the title over. Puzzle elements, for instance, could have been left intact and players may never have noticed.
Yet the devs went all out with their drive to make everything that little bit sharper and more detailed, more even and more lifelike. The coin above is a fine demonstration of how much respect this take on the well-received PS4/Xbox One remake has for the gaming public.
While you may have experienced enough disappointment at free upgrades by now to have been sceptical of Capcom’s efforts here, all the fixes, little and large, are improvements.
When added together, you get a sizeable jump in visual quality. One that may convince you to whip out Leon and Claire together for one more run.
For new players, this is one of the best ways to experience one of 1998’s defining classics.
Are you as impressed as we were with Resident Evil 2 Remake for PS5? Would the new coat of paint convince you to venture again into Raccoon City? Or is it just enough incentive to buy the game for the first time?
