Resident Evil 2 on Switch 2 Makes Survival Horror Portable

A more manageable way to face Raccoon City

I have returned to Capcom’s Resident Evil 2 remake several times without reaching the credits. It is an excellent survival-horror game, but its confined corridors, limited resources and sudden undead encounters can make it difficult to settle into for long.

The Switch 2 version has changed that. Playing on an 8-inch handheld screen makes the scares feel less overwhelming than they do on a large television, while the port itself delivers a polished experience. I may finally finish the game this time.

A familiar nightmare, rebuilt with restraint

The story begins shortly after the events of the original Resident Evil. Leon Kennedy is travelling to Raccoon City for his first day as a police officer, while Claire Redfield is looking for her brother Chris. Both arrive after a series of dangerous encounters, only to find the city engulfed by fire, wreckage and zombies.

Leon and Claire are separated, leaving each character to search for a way out of a city that cannot be saved. The remake keeps the broad shape of the original story, rather than reworking it as extensively as Resident Evil 4.

Survival depends on difficult decisions

This remains classic Resident Evil at heart. Inventory space is tight, the environments are cramped and the police station contains an arguably excessive number of puzzles for a public building. Ammunition is valuable, healing items cannot be taken for granted and avoiding a zombie is often smarter than fighting it.

Unlike Resident Evil 4, enemies do not usually collapse after a few shots, and Leon and Claire lack convenient melee attacks for finishing off staggered opponents. Every bullet and open inventory slot matters, creating tension even when the immediate danger seems to have passed.

The game’s strongest quality is the way it keeps that pressure under control. You are constantly weighing whether to carry another item, use a healing item now or save it, and leave a zombie behind even though it may become a problem later. Weapons become more effective as the campaign progresses, but safety never feels permanent.

That tension rises sharply when the enormous Mr X begins pursuing you through the police station. He keeps moving, keeps searching and turns familiar routes into dangerous decisions. His arrival is an effective escalation across Leon’s and Claire’s separate scenarios, even if the chase is hard on the nerves.

How the Switch 2 port performs

Resident Evil 2 looks impressive in handheld mode. The image is cleaner than the softer presentation seen in the Switch 2 versions of Final Fantasy 7 Remake and Resident Evil 4, while performance remains smooth and stable.

That level of performance is a reasonable expectation for a game originally released in 2019 on last-generation consoles, but Switch 2 has a notable advantage over handheld PCs such as Steam Deck and Asus ROG Ally: HDR.

HDR gives the game’s lighting greater impact. Dark areas appear deeper, colours retain more definition and the overall image avoids the washed-out look and persistent glare that can affect other handheld versions, even after adjusting brightness.

There is one small visual compromise in handheld play. Shadows can look a little softer than they do when the console is docked. Similar behaviour is visible on the ROG Ally at lower performance settings, particularly around reflections and shadow edges. It is subtle, and unlikely to distract while escaping through a zombie-filled corridor.

Is this the best version?

For players who already own the remake on another handheld, the improvements are fairly focused: stronger blacks and colour from HDR, alongside the ability to switch between portable and docked play. Those benefits may not justify buying the game again for everyone.

For anyone who has not yet played it and enjoys survival horror, however, this is an especially appealing way to experience Capcom’s modern classic. Its compact format makes the fear easier to manage, without sacrificing the atmosphere or carefully balanced resource management that define the game.

Readers exploring more dedicated gaming setups can also browse RETROCADE’s arcade blog, compare options in the arcade machine buying guide, or see the range of arcade machines.