In the Resident Evil 2 remake, you'll play as either Leon Kennedy or Claire Redfield and experience their unique perspectives on the viral outbreak that's hit Raccoon City. Their different stories are further enhanced by the game's differing scenarios, which swaps their roles in the overall story and results in a total of 4 unique campaigns between the two protagonists (Leon A/B and Claire A/B).

In my review, I mentioned that it took me about 15 hours to complete both of Leon and Claire's first stories--which each character's scenarios running at 6-7 hours each. Keep in mind, this was the initial attempt and the ensuing runs after that were shorter due to having familiarity with the game. While many events and puzzles are similar to the original game, allowing you to get a better handle on what to do, the overall structure and pace is quite different. In order to get the elusive S rank, you'll need to finish a particular character's story in less than 4 hours.

As stated earlier, Resident Evil 2's campaigns are structured out through isolated scenarios. After finishing the story for the first character, a new option in the main menu called New Game (2nd Run) will open up. Carrying over from the original game--formerly called the Zapping system--the first character you pick will essentially be the lead of the story, with the other protagonist experiencing their own encounters as they tie up the overall plot's loose ends. Depending on who you played as before, you'll start the second scenario with the other character.

While both characters will experience similar events and explore the same locations, the choices and impact of each scenario are totally isolated from one another. With the original game, there were key moments where you could decide which character should take certain items over the other--that has since been removed in this game. In another big change from the first game, completing the first two campaigns will open up all 4 campaigns. So if you want to jump straight into the other second scenario, without having to play the other scenario that precedes it, then you can do that.

I greatly enjoyed my time with Resident Evil 2. Seeing how much the original game's plot and structure had evolved with the remake was a pleasure to see play out, despite how nerve-wracking it could get. If you want to learn more about the game, go ahead and check out my review in which I state:

"Resident Evil 2 is not only a stellar remake of the original, but it's also simply a strong horror game that delivers anxiety-inducing and grotesque situations, topping some of the series' finest entries. But above all, the remake is an impressive game for the fact that it goes all-in on the pure survival horror experience, confidently embracing its horrifying tone and rarely letting up until the story's conclusion. Though Resident Evil 2 has its roots firmly in the past, it reworks the familiar horrors into something that feels brand new and all its own."

For more info on Resident Evil 2, be sure to check out our helpful Beginner's Guide on how to survive in Raccoon City, and along with our recap on the story so far with the survival horror series.