Without any real warning, Capcom has dropped the classic PC versions of Resident Evil 2 (1998) and Resident Evil 3 Nemesis (1999) onto Steam, and the two survival horror icons have wasted no time climbing the platform’s bestseller charts. Better yet, these are not barebones throwaway ports, because Capcom has added a number of technical and gameplay improvements to make them more appealing on modern systems.
Fans of Capcom’s horror crown jewel are having a very good moment right now. On top of the strong reception for Resident Evil: Requiem, players had already seen the remade versions of Resident Evil 2 and Resident Evil 3 turn up at tempting prices. But for a lot of people, the real magic still lives in the original editions, the games that, together with the first Resident Evil, built Shinji Mikami’s defining horror trilogy. Capcom clearly knows that, because it has now quietly released those two ’90s classics on Steam for the first time without any prior announcement.
The move feels familiar because Capcom pulled something similar with Dino Crisis a few months ago. The difference here is that Resident Evil 2 (1998) and Resident Evil 3 Nemesis (1999) have not arrived as stripped-down relics. This time, they come with meaningful additions that make them easier to enjoy on current hardware.
The tragedy of Raccoon City, now with upgrades
You only have to open Steam and look at the featured releases to see what happened: the games immediately shot into the spotlight, and on April 2 Capcom used its Spring Sale as the perfect excuse to spring the surprise. Both titles preserve the classic style of the early Resident Evil entries, from the angular old-school versions of Leon, Claire, Ada, Jill, and Carlos to the iconic monsters and villains that defined those original nightmares, including the legendary Nemesis.
Resident Evil 2 (1998) appears to have received the more notable set of extras. Beyond fixing bugs that had apparently lingered until now, the game lets players access Survivor Mode and Tofu Mode from the start, so they no longer have to unlock them through specific completion requirements. On the technical side, Capcom has also included a healthy list of display options: resolution settings, aspect ratio support for modern monitors, different image scaling methods, V-Sync, anti-aliasing, and anisotropic filtering. In other words, players can either recreate the old feel or clean up the presentation to suit modern tastes. It even includes the option to emulate the 3D acceleration available in the old PC version or disable it for a more authentic original-style experience, along with a bonus image gallery.
Resident Evil 3 Nemesis (1999) also includes the new display features, although it does not seem to offer accelerated 3D emulation or the same kind of extra character galleries. Even so, the report suggests that some gameplay tweaks have been added. There are apparently more enemies, environmental objects can now be used against zombies, and Mercenaries mode remains available from the beginning. Both titles also include Spanish-language text and subtitles for gameplay and cutscenes.
Four Resident Evil games are dominating Steam at once
The clearest sign that players were starving for these versions is visible in Steam’s bestseller rankings, where not one, not two, but four Resident Evil games are now sitting near the top. The two newly released classics surged into second and third place, while the podium is also shared with the Resident Evil 4 remake at 15 euros, and Resident Evil 7 Biohazard is sitting just behind them in fourth at 8 euros. All of them are benefiting from the Capcom Spring Sale, which means Capcom has basically handed horror fans an absurdly good excuse to spend Easter back in Raccoon City.
The short version is simple: Capcom is not just leaning on the series’ future, it is cashing in on its past with a lot more care than usual. And that is the part that matters most here – these classics have not been dragged onto modern systems as lazy museum pieces, but as old-school survival horror games that have at least been cleaned up enough so your main concern can remain what it should be: getting away from the zombies alive.
Source: 3DJuegos
