Reflecting on my gaming journey, I’ve ventured into various genres that have opened doors to unimaginable worlds. I can vividly recall my first Tactical Espionage game, Metal Gear Solid 2, and my first action role-playing title, Kingdom Hearts. However, one genre I initially shied away from was horror, a realm I was too timid to explore in my youth. That is until I became a (not-so) fearless adult.

My collection of scary games has grown since those days. I’ve conquered my initial fears, now that I’ve discovered the true horror lies whenever rent’s due. So, when my good friend Tony suggested Resident Evil 2, I was more than ready to embrace a new form of terror. And once I finally did, I had an epiphany that I should’ve played it a long time ago. This should’ve been the game that jump-started my horror awakening.

Everything about Resident Evil 2 screams a classic horror game. You’ve got your typical premise of being trapped in some formidable place riddled with every monster in the book. Then, there are the two heroic protagonists, Leon S. Kennedy and Claire Redfield, who somehow need to survive through the night. I like having that choice between the characters, provided that it gives you two relatively different experiences. I had to go with my boy Leon with my first playthrough, given that this was the first time I had seen him as a rookie and not the back-flipping master I saw in Resident Evil 4 Remake. 

My younger self would’ve dug something like this, especially since it’s not as overwhelming as some of the others I’ve played. To give you a better picture, Dead Space ended up being the first horror title in my collection. But as much as I loved it, it was a lot to handle for someone who was just getting started in the genre. I don’t think I played many scary games after that since my initial beginnings were a tad bit too intense for me. However, if I had instead started with Resident Evil 2, it would’ve probably been a different story.

The enemies in the great Raccoon City are, for the most part, pretty slow in their movements. Although it takes more than a bullet or two to bring ’em down, they don’t run at me at an overwhelming rate (except for those meanie Lickers). I also liked that you have a home base in some way, which you could run away to any time things get too heated. Head into the main area of the police station, and viola, you are now almost untouchable. Guess it’s a good thing that most of the undead can’t open doors.

Now, I’m not saying that Resident Evil 2 is a walk in the park, far from it. It just at least gives you ample time to think of a plan. You’ll definitely need a lot of that with the game’s many puzzles. The Resident Evil series could’ve simply stuck to being a point-and-shoot game, but it’s much more than that with its never-ending brain teasers. I’ve always been a sucker for puzzles to see if my mind can handle such challenges. Plus, it sometimes distracted me from all the chaos going around Raccoon City. 

Apart from the riddles and easy-to-handle mechanics, its horror-filled side is Resident Evil 2’s most shining quality (if that wasn’t obvious enough). I’ll admit that I am a wimp when it comes to these games, so it doesn’t take much to scare me. In fact, I got scared by my reflection in the mirror more than a few embarrassing times. 

But the one thing that truly terrified me was the man, the myth, the legend, Mr. X. I have a general knowledge about Resident Evil villains like him, including the series’ most iconic antagonist, Albert Wesker. Despite knowing about them, it’s a completely different ball game when you actually have to go toe-to-toe with them. And Mr. X definitely raised the bar by popping up like a daisy, even when I thought I was safe. 

My heart rate was going off any time I heard his footsteps getting closer and closer. It’s such a simple sound, but it was enough to make my eyes widen every single time. 

What makes it worse is the fact that I had no idea why Mr. X was inclined to chase me. I suppose the mystery of it made it that much more terrifying. It was so fear-inducing that I couldn’t help but scream when he barged into the room. I haven’t done something like that in quite a while, but honestly, I kind of liked it. Those moments made me feel like a scaredy-cat kid again watching a scary movie. Though, I will have to say sorry to my neighbors for my uncontrollable screams in the night.

Even if my mind was racing the entire time, I did get a much better understanding of Resident Evil’s expansive lore. I never really had a complete grasp of what happened in Raccoon City, nor did I know too much about the Umbrella Corporation. Now that I’ve played Resident Evil 2, I finally don’t feel out of the loop with this knowledge. It also helped that Claire and Leon were just as in the dark as me, differing from what I saw in Resident Evil 4 Remake. There’s still some mystery left, of course, but that just means I need to play the rest of the series to uncover it all.

I only wish that I could have jumped on this Resident Evil boat sooner so I could have experienced its frightful wonders much earlier. I know it would have made for the perfect segue to other horror titles, especially within the franchise.

Regardless of my late start, I’ll continue to play catch-up to knock out those horror titles I missed. Sure, I still have my cowardly tendencies, but maybe one day, I won’t screech at my reflection in a video game. You got to face your fears at some point, right?