avoiding the worst of the gore and horror

[Dubiter]

SHORT VERSION:

Which are the worst parts of this game with regards to horror and gore?
I´d like to know before so I can skip/don´t look at the worst of it.
Please keep it spoiler free.


LONG VERSION

Before you say "Come on it´s a horror game!" I might give a little background:
The main reason I am here for RE games is the gameplay. The combination of exploration, combat, item managment and puzzles is a very cool kind of game for me.
I also like tension - gore and horror are things I tolerate to a certain degree but not what I particularly enjoy.
I enjoyed the RE4 Remake yet I found some scenes a bit too disturbing. Not to the point of it being unbearable but certainly unenjoyable and disturbing for me.
Those were probably 2-3 scenes in the game in total. On my replays I happily skip those now.

Since RE2R has more gore and horror:
Which are the worst parts of this game with regards to horror and gore?
I already heard about the police man be torn in two. Are they only in the beginning of the game or also later? About when can I expect the worst parts?
I´d like to know before so I can skip/don´t look at the worst of it.
Please keep it free from major story spoilers.

[Heflar]

Yes, the police officer at the beginning getting ripped in half is a cutscene and skippable without missing anything from the story.
The rest of these are going from memory so I might miss some.

There is a pretty gnarly part in Leon's story at the beginning but it is completely optional. (Don't think it's in Claire's story, unsure on that as I don't often do her first run).
When you open the first gate after using the knife for the first time and go down a dark corridor, there's a police officer zombie slumped on the floor in the corner. There's a prompt if you get close enough, just don't press it and you'll avoid it easily. It's just there for the gore factor. There's another zombie round the corner suspended and can be knocked down (you don't see much really, but I guess the thought behind it can be horrific).

There is a story cutscene in Claire's campaign in the orphanage. I suggest watching it once for the story (or even watching through your fingers) and then skipping it in all future playthroughs if you don't want the gore but it is reminiscent of a certain scene from the Alien movie.

There's a part in the sewers when you go down a ladder into a pool and there's a zombie slumped on the bank ahead lit up with a green herb next to it. It is again reminiscent of the same scene from the Alien movie, so just turn around and back up to it instead, it can't hurt you. You will hear it and then when it's silent again, you can turn around and grab the herb.

I don't think I can think of many more but those are the three that come to mind.

[Dubiter]

Originally posted by Heflar:

Yes, the police officer at the beginning getting ripped in half is a cutscene and skippable without missing anything from the story.
The rest of these are going from memory so I might miss some.

There is a pretty gnarly part in Leon's story at the beginning but it is completely optional. (Don't think it's in Claire's story, unsure on that as I don't often do her first run).
When you open the first gate after using the knife for the first time and go down a dark corridor, there's a police officer zombie slumped on the floor in the corner. There's a prompt if you get close enough, just don't press it and you'll avoid it easily. It's just there for the gore factor. There's another zombie round the corner suspended and can be knocked down (you don't see much really, but I guess the thought behind it can be horrific).

There is a story cutscene in Claire's campaign in the orphanage. I suggest watching it once for the story (or even watching through your fingers) and then skipping it in all future playthroughs if you don't want the gore but it is reminiscent of a certain scene from the Alien movie.

There's a part in the sewers when you go down a ladder into a pool and there's a zombie slumped on the bank ahead lit up with a green herb next to it. It is again reminiscent of the same scene from the Alien movie, so just turn around and back up to it instead, it can't hurt you. You will hear it and then when it's silent again, you can turn around and grab the herb.

I don't think I can think of many more but those are the three that come to mind.

Thanks a lot for taking your time! I think that´s really helpful as a preparation for starting this game for the first time.

[Heflar]

I've thought of one more, in Claire's story again. Shortly after the orphanage you're running to an elevator with Sherry. It's a cutscene but you will see a large chunk ripped out of an enemy. The enemy is human-esque so not quite sure where that sits on the gore factor for you.

[Dubiter]

It´s probably something I´d rather not look at. I´ll add it to my little file.
Once I´m done with RE8 I´ll probably start my first run on RE2.

[z4v3k]

It's just a video game, it looks nothing like reality.

Are you a kid who's not suppose to play this game or what? And If you're a grown person (especially a man), why would you be so sensitive about it?

[vukotlak]

Re2 was the most intense and gore filled Resident evil back then and it is now again.

Are we only talking about cutscenes cause the whole game is a gorefest. RE4 remake is toned down a lot and more arcady in the combat but Re2 is a slow and more violent game. Especialy with weapons like the shotgun.

Is it violence alone or is it a problem with violence against "inocent" humans. Cause if you realy have a problem with Gore i am afraid RE2R is the wrong game for you.

Not 100% sure but i remeber there was even a quote from the Developers that they toned Re4 down cause Re2R was to gore filled to the point to people disliked it.

[Dubiter]

Originally posted by z4v3k:

It's just a video game, it looks nothing like reality.

Are you a kid who's not suppose to play this game or what? And If you're a grown person (especially a man), why would you be so sensitive about it?

I don´t think it is a flaw or uncommon to be more or less sensitive to gore and horror even as a grown man. It is something that I try to deal with in a balanced way - not being overly cautious yet being mindful of things that might affect me negatively.

[Dubiter]

Originally posted by vukotlak:

Re2 was the most intense and gore filled Resident evil back then and it is now again.

Are we only talking about cutscenes cause the whole game is a gorefest. RE4 remake is toned down a lot and more arcady in the combat but Re2 is a slow and more violent game. Especialy with weapons like the shotgun.

Is it violence alone or is it a problem with violence against "inocent" humans. Cause if you realy have a problem with Gore i am afraid RE2R is the wrong game for you.

Not 100% sure but i remeber there was even a quote from the Developers that they toned Re4 down cause Re2R was to gore filled to the point to people disliked it.

Thanks for the input. I can deal with some gore but I don´t enjoy games because of it
(I enjoy some gory games for other reasons).
Since I already own RE2 and Heflar (the first one answering to my original post) gave
me a quite a few good hints about the most intense parts I think I´ll simply try the game with those in mind. I think I´ll see then if it´s for me or not.

[vukotlak]

Originally posted by Dubiter:

I don´t think it is a flaw or uncommon to be more or less sensitive to gore and horror even as a grown man. It is something that I try to deal with in a balanced way - not being overly cautious yet being mindful of things that might affect me negatively.

Everyone has to take care of themself regardless of the opinions of other people.

I love gore in games and movies. The more gore the better. But i dislike depressive violence.

So resident evil was allways great for me as it is a cheesy gore game just as i love it.

[Dubiter]

Little update:

I´ve played the game to the part where you are called back to the hall where you entered the police station. Love the game so far!
Based on the hints I got here I skipped the cutscene with the cop being torn in two and
the option to investigate the gross zombie corpse.
After killing some zombies and watching a couple cutscenes I´m still on board.
The gore is of course intense but somehow it´s okay for me.
Playing other RE games was probably a good preparation for that.

[Seamus]

7 and RE2R are probably the most intense as far as gore goes.

[Sticky White Stuff]

Unless you had some traumatic experience with real life gore, i don't imagine this would really horrify you in any major way. I had two major real life gore incidents when i was a small kid of 4, and then next was when i was 6. Both had to do with limbs being torn apart from the body. I also started playing video games at the age of 4, which was in 1996, and started playing Resident Evil 1 and 2 in 1998. And at the time, as a kid, those games horrified me, especially Resident Evil 3 in 1999, and the nuclear warhead portrayal in it at the end, which for some reason i had a weird fear of due to Metal Gear Solid 1.
There was also Silent Hill 1, 2 and 3. Even in 2003, i still had anxiety. But that slowly passed away.

Now, i remember those events that happened back then, but i don't find them scary or gross or anything of the likes. I am 32 years old now. I have the opposite problem now, games rarely scare me, in fact, horror games are the only medium that can scare me a bit or give me anxiety. Movies do nothing for example. And the whole purpose of horror games is to well, give some sort of fear. If you become totally immune to it, it doesn't do its purpose and effect.

Two video games that have the absolute best gore mechanics would be Resident Evil 2 Remake and The Last of Us 2.

Obvious spoilers, but:

There are more scenes than those that were written by the first poster.
I think the "worst" scenes are the very first ones with Leon. Officer at the Gas Station being eaten by a zombie at his neck. The officer in the RPD being ripped in half with all his innards crawling out and the officer with a ripped jaw/face a little later. The second one is optional, the first one can be skipped. There are other gore scenes like Ben's head being crushed to death by Mr.X, and Mr.X being ripped in half by Birkin. Alligator Jaw being blown in half, scene with Irons at the orphanage when playing as Sherry (Chestbursting and face scarring) Also Mr.X being torn in half at the end of the game with his innards spilling out by a rocket explosion, etc.

All those Cutscenes/Events are skippable.
But here is the problem, those gore scenes are nothing compared to the gore when you shoot zombies.

You can shoot feet, legs, arms which they would dangle and slowly peel off. You can dismember them in half with a shotgun, with their innards dangling down and they would still crawl. You can also deform their body, skin, flesh and fat by shooting them with bullets, and depending which gun does what, it has various effects. You can even see the bones if you deform the flesh too much.
You can also shoot their head and burst their brains out with a critical hit.

As for death scenes, there aren't any scary ones. Most of those are off-camera.
Original RE 1-4 games had VERY violent death scenes, REmake3 made them a bit more gorey when a zombies kills you, actually ripping your flesh out, or a parasite latching onto your head.

So the whole game is filled with gore, and aside from cutscenes, you can't really avoid those because you will kill some things here and there and those things will be dynamic.

[Seamus]

Originally posted by G L U E:

Unless you had some traumatic experience with real life gore, i don't imagine this would really horrify you in any major way.

Not your call to make.

[Heflar]

Originally posted by G L U E:

There are other gore scenes like Ben's head being crushed to death by Mr.X, and Mr.X being ripped in half by Birkin. Alligator Jaw being blown in half, scene with Irons at the orphanage when playing as Sherry (Chestbursting and face scarring) Also Mr.X being torn in half at the end of the game with his innards spilling out by a rocket explosion, etc.

I knew I'd forget some, thank you.
But I agree with Seamus, we all have our own reasons for not liking certain things and trauma doesn't have to be the reason, nor is it our business to ask/know.

So Dubiter can be a little more informed:
- When you get to the jail cells, after you go down the corridor of them and turn left, there's a cutscene. You can watch up until the bricks break, then turn away.
- Covered Mr.X/Birkin above.
- Alligator isn't too bad as the explosion covers the view and can turn away pretty quickly if it is bad.
- Covered Irons above.
- Mr.X endgame. Spoilers much? Although it can be perceived as gory (bones visible, blood spilled) , it's pretty satisfying at the end of a long road.
- Another one also at the end of the second runs, the final boss has a dramatic cutscene but if you don't like giant eyeballs, even mutated ones, it could be a little difficult.

[Sticky White Stuff]

Originally posted by Seamus:

Originally posted by G L U E:

Unless you had some traumatic experience with real life gore, i don't imagine this would really horrify you in any major way.

Not your call to make.

i didn't say it was my call to make. I said it might not be as horrific as the OP thinks it is.
I pointed out that besides the cutscenes, which are skippable, the game itself is full of dynamic gore that can't be avoided unless he is playing the censored Japanese version.

So while you can skip story cutscenes and miss a lot of things, you can't skip "gameplay" unless he is doing a pacifist run, so not killing anyone or anything to avoid the dynamic gore.

I only got the PC version yesterday because BioRand REmake2 is coming out soon, so i don't really know how exactly does someone get the Japanese copy of the game, besides having a Japanese Steam Account/Region and buying it from there.

There is a mod that restores the gore for the Japanese version, so there might be a mod to remove the gore. So far i haven't found anything interesting aside from nude modes and some mods that don't actually work on the recent RayTraced version.