Video game publisher Capcom has (finally!) brought the original Resident Evil trilogy to its Steam catalog. The studio added the unremastered hit survival-horror trilogy — Resident Evil (1996), Resident Evil 2 (1998), and Resident Evil 3 Nemesis (1999) — alongside classic JRPG Breath of Fire IV in a spontaneous PlayStation revival. At the time of writing, all four games are available on the Valve-owned digital storefront for $5 apiece, marked down from $10. What’s more, all re-releases show “Very Positive” Steam user scores. Combine these stats with Resident Evil Requiem‘s 44,000 positive English-language reviews, and it’s safe to say RE fans are eatin’ good.
The first Resident Evil game, released on the original Sony PlayStation home console 30 years ago, introduced a burgeoning generation of thrill-seekers to Chris Redfield and Jill Valentine, Raccoon City Police Department S.T.A.R.S. members tasked with escaping a mysterious Arklay mountain-set mansion. “Your squad has been choppered to a remote mansion to investigate a bio-experiment gone wrong. You’re plunged straight into a deathtrap. Arm yourself, solve puzzles, and unearth mysteries. But beware: every move you make draws you deeper into the deadly embrace of Resident Evil.” Side-part-donning rookie cop Leon Kennedy, dashing figurehead of Raccoon City’s Special Tactics and Rescue Squad, makes his first appearance in Resident Evil 2 alongside Redfield’s sister, Claire.
Until now, GOG was the only digital retailer to offer the original PC ports. The new Steam arrivals, all co-developed by Good Old Games (GOG), include the latter’s technical refinements. Some of these include:
- English, German, French, and Japanese localizations;
- an improved DirectX game renderer;
- additional rendering options, including gamma correction and anti-aliasing, among others;
- improved cutscene timing;
- improved game video player;
- improved game registry settings;
- and “issue-free” game exit and task switching.
Despite that last assurance, some players are reporting gameplay issues via negative Steam reviews. One Steam Deck user played Resident Evil for just 0.1 hours before bailing, with strange settings menu occurrences to blame. “I bought it with the intention to play it on my Steam Deck LCD and right now, it will launch into a settings menu followed by a registry check that has unhandled exceptions which won’t let me proceed further. Hopefully this is fixed soon for Steam Deck compatibility!” Another reviewer expounds upon this issue, alleging the title “does not launch on Linux past the launcher.”
Several negative reviews name Enigma DRM specifically, an issue that comes as no shock following Capcom’s similarly game-breaking DRM implementation into Resident Evil 4 just last month. For what it’s worth, the trio of classics is available without DRM on GOG through its Preservation Program. “The GOG Preservation Program ensures classic games remain playable on modern systems, even after their developers stopped supporting them. By maintaining these iconic titles, GOG helps you protect and relive the memories that shaped you, DRM-free and with dedicated tech support.”
