The Resident Evil 2 remake certainly set the standard for how a remake should be done, and players can’t get enough of how stunning a treasured favorite has translated into this generation. Speaking of its success, one wouldn’t usually say it “betrayed” the original, though that’s exactly what the audio director is saying about the remake – but in a good way.
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“It was a challenge that I gladly accepted,” said audio director Kentaro Nakashima when he sat down with Digital Trends to talk about the horror title. “For the reboot of Resident Evil 2, we approached the sound direction from a number of different angles in a way that would ‘betray’ the sound of the original, but in a good way. Sound is very important when it comes to fear, and with modern technology we were able to produce sounds that weren’t possible at the time of the original. This challenge greatly motivated the entire sound team and influenced every aspect of the design, helping us to uncompromisingly produce sounds of horror that I believe no one’s heard before.”
From the sounds, to the visuals themselves, bringing the remake to life had its fair share of challenges and the audio director admitted that it seemed really daunting at times. “We did encounter some trouble in having to rethink how to make the audio work, now that the camera isn’t fixed in place. An over-the-shoulder camera stays much closer to the player than a fixed camera, so we developed audio that more closely matches the mindset and feelings an OTS camera evokes. Our use of the real-time binaural system was also specifically because of the OTS camera. By adapting our approach to the new camera angle, we were able to better utilize sound to instil fear into the player.”
He added when speaking about how Resident Evil 7 was handled, “A larger field of vision brings with it a greater sense of security. By extension, this makes it harder to manufacture fear in comparison to a first-person point of view. Unseen terror gives way for some great audio opportunities, but with a third-person perspective’s field of view being so wide, sounds for anything unseen end up being far away. The player wanders around a lot of buildings in the Resident Evil 2. In addition to the impactful frightening sounds, we recorded and used a great deal of environmental sounds, like sudden loud noises that break the silence. Together with the high-quality visuals, we were able to produce some great sounds that really make you afraid of being alone in a room.”
Looking at how visually stunning it is, it’s kind of easy to overlook the audio talent – which is a shame. Still, it worked out wonderfully and truly was worth the wait when looking at how similar – yet different – the remake is from the original.
Resident Evil 2 is officially available for Xbox One, PlayStation 4, and PC players.
“For anyone not familiar, the story of Resident Evil 2 begins with a young rookie of a cop, Leon Kennedy, as he is thrust into a chaotic world littered with the walking dead alongside a hopeful college student named Claire Redfield,” reads a small snippet from our full review. “Tossed into the midst of the dying area of Racoon City, both Leon and Claire must figure out how to survive while uncovering what caused this hell on Earth.”
“Resident Evil 2 is a survival horror experience in its truest sense. From a constantly teased false sense of security, to horrifying instances that go far beyond a simple jump scare, this remake is one that every fan of the original needs to play. For those that aren’t familiar with the Resident Evil franchise in its humble beginnings, it’s still a treat, albeit imperfect, and one that requires no previous knowledge of the other games.”
Thoughts on the remake and the audio challenges? Sound off in the comment section below, or hit me up over on Twitter @DirtyEffinHippy!
