As one of 2019’s most-loved games, a massive fandom consisting of old and new fans has risen around Resident Evil 2.
The reimagined survival horror, which went on to outsell its original counterpart and score multiple Game of the Year awards and nominations, is now considered one of the best entries in the series to date, and for good reason. From masterful level and enemy design to superb pacing and incredible attention to detail, Leon and Claire’s reimagined escape from Raccoon City has seen Capcom raise the bar, yet again, on what should be expected from a genuine remake. A borderline perfect survival horror experience it may be, then, but development certainly wasn’t without its ups and downs.
In a roundtable discussion filmed shortly after the game’s release, a number of Capcom employees who worked on the ambitious project shared several anecdotes about content that never made it into the final version. A number of set-piece sequences and camera perspectives – one of which would have moved the action to a first-person viewpoint – ultimately ended up on the cutting room floor, they reveal, as too, was a brand new enemy type.
The Condemned, as they were code-named, were intended to be present only in Claire Redfield’s campaign. More specifically, the creatures (presumably infected with the G-Virus) would have confronted the survivor in her visit to the Umbrella orphanage to save Sherry Birkin from Chief Irons and would have been used as a jump scare. For reasons not touched upon, the studio eventually opted to cut the Condemned, despite having gone through the effort of creating unique models and behaviour patterns for the creatures.
Capcom may have decided against using the Condemned in Resident Evil 2, then, but all’s not lost just yet. Sequels often use scrapped ideas from their predecessors and with Resident Evil 3 just around the corner, it could be Jill, not Claire, that gets to meet the mysterious monsters.