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Early AccessAttract Mode
Resident Evil 3
It’s fair to say Resident Evil 3 was originally a bit
of a sideshow project to the Resi 2 main event- and history seems to be repeating itself with
Capcom’s 2020 remake of the 1999 original.
Considering Resident Evil 2’s remake was one
of the best games of last year, though, this
isn’t in any way a criticism – more of that fine
mix of gorgeousness, terror, and an absolute
git endlessly chasing you around is a welcome
thing, definitely. Given Resident Evil 3’s core
concept centres on said pursuit – the genetic
experiment gone wrong (or right, actually),
Nemesis, who pursues Jill Valentine from the
game’s start to its finish – we’re already onto
a winner.
So what is this remake doing beyond the
prettification? Well, the Nemesis is more dogged
than Resi 2’s Mr X, with plenty more abilities and
ways to make you soil yourself unexpectedly,
and there’s a multiplayer game bolted on in
the shape of Resident Evil: Resistance. Beyond
that? Not much. History is repeating itself,
and Resident Evil 3 is once again a sideshow
attraction. But just like in 1999, it’s looking like
the 2020 version will be a great game in its own
right anyway.
Bright Bird
A leisurely paced side-scrolling puzzle game,
Bright Bird sees players controlling Yao or Xuan
as they try to ‘find the bright bird to solve the
smog crisis’. A straightforward affair, the game is
backed up by some lovely visuals and a general
cultural flair that gives it a real sense of heritage.
We don’t know a huge amount beyond that, but
we’re keeping half an eye on this one.Streets of Rage 4
Age attack: Streets of Rage 3 came out 26
years ago. Ah, let that settle in. Anyway, Streets
of Rage 4 will be out at some point in 2020, and
besides the nostalgia blast, there are reasons to
be excited: it looks stunning, it’s being made with
the due care and attention you’d hope for by a
triumvirate of devs (Lizardcube, Guard Crush
Games, and Dotemu), and it’s introducing things
never before seen in the series, like four-player
co-op and a couple of new characters – Cherry
and Floyd – joining series stalwarts Axel, Blaze,
and Adam. No, we haven’t heard anything about
Skate or Roo yet. We’ll have more on Streets of
Rage 4 in due course, because how on earth
could we possibly resist?