Playing the Resident Evil 3 remake a second time and beyond shows just how good some of its design decisions are, but multiple playthoughs also bring to light its pacing flaws. Certain sections of Resident Evil 3 feel great to master on subsequent playthroughs, while others quickly become a repetitive slog.
Resident Evil 3 is much more action-focused than the changes and cut content make it a poor remake, even if it's a solid game on its own.
But even that much is debatable. Resident Evil 3 reviews from critics were mostly positive, but less so than Resident Evil 2 reviews. Part of what makes Resident Evil 3 disappointing is its relative lack of replay value compared to other games in the series. While Resident Evil 2 had two campaigns, each with A and B scenarios, and the original Resident Evil 3: Nemesis had "live selection" story choices to shake things up, Resident Evil 3's story is the same every single time. There's still fun to be had each time it's played, but certain elements of that unchangeable set of events eventually become grating.
Replaying Resident Evil 3 Reveals Its Strengths - And Its Linearity
When starting up a second Resident Evil 3 playthrough, players are set loose in the small but winding Raccoon City area after the brief linear opening section. What was initially an intimidating, measured crawl through the game's first open area gives way to a feeling of mastery. Players know when the scares are coming, where the keys are hidden, and what's behind every door. This becomes somewhat boring on the third and fourth playthrough (except on RE3's hidden Nightmare and Inferno difficulties, which switch up item placement and change enemy encounters), but it's just plain satisfying on the second, as players are able to get through the area at a much quicker pace, this time with a better grip on RE3's great combat and with the knowledge to correct their mistakes from the first run.
Resident Evil 3's open-ended sections are even more satisfying to take on with the bonus items from RE3's most frustrating Nemesis boss fight, there's a few cutscenes, and then it's back another Carlos section.
The first time through the game, all these moments feel like cool set pieces that tell an engaging story. But after that story has been experienced already, they lose much of their appeal, and the game's middle section becomes an exercise of skipping cutscenes and making it through many small chunks of gameplay as quickly as possible. Resident Evil 3 is at its best when it gives players the freedom to explore and master its twisting environments, and that's no more clear than when experiencing the fun of traversing its open locations a second time. But doing so also means trudging through a bunch of samey, challenge-less chases and boss battles, over and over again.
Resident Evil 3 released for PC, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One on April 3, 2020.
