Resident Evil 8: 10 Things It MUST Learn From RE2 Remake

4. Metroidvania Levels Are Still Essential

In its attempt to return to what people originally loved about the series, Resident Evil 7 made a concerted effort to shift from the linear, level-based story progression of Resident Evil 5 and 6 in favour of a more self-contained area that would act more as a hub. Evoking the design of the Spencer Mansion, the Baker family home revealed new rooms and wings as you discovered keys and other items, but it wasn't a totally self-contained space, and was mostly discarded in the final third.

Resident Evil 2 proves, once again, that the previous instalment should have fully embraced this feature. Between the police station, the sewers and later the laboratory, the sense that you're occupying a real space is always felt. Oddly, the pacing of the experience benefits the level design the most: you always feel like you're making progress, putting the pieces together of how to unlock new areas.

Looping from the sewers back into the police station awards you with the same triumphant feeling you get the first time you return to Undead Burg in Dark Souls, and means you aren't only becoming more powerful as a result of new weapons or through a better understanding of enemies, but also through a mastery over the space you're occupying.