Resident Evil’s awkward middle child, Resident Evil 3: Nemesis, is now available on GOG. It follows in the leaked, shaky footsteps of Residents Evil 1 and 2, which also leaked on the platform in June and August, respectively.
The launch of Resi 3 follows a similar path to the previous two games: full compatibility with Windows 10 and 11, fresh graphical controls, a slightly improved user interface, and support for state-of-the-art controllers.
Resident Evil 3 was conceived as a spin-off of the main series, with a different protagonist, and was developed concurrently with Resident Evil – Code: Veronica. Capcom changed its mind mid-development and squeezed in existing resident Jill Valentine and released it as the third main installment in the series. For these reasons, it’s shorter than its series mates and slightly less beloved than Resis 1 and 2 or Mikami’s magnificent return as lead designer on Resident Evil 4.
However! However: it has a good, scary, high guy in Nemesis who hunts the player in segments of the game; it has about the same charm as Resi 2 (the city, the pre-rendered backgrounds, the good gun); and I can never find it in myself to think that “short” is a bad thing. The sturdy 2020 remake also did a good job of strengthening its reputation, so here’s a chance to play the original a little over 24 years after its initial release on Windows.
Besides, there are so many Resident Evil games now that you could say Resident Evil 5 is its clumsy middle child, but let’s not get hung up on the details. A family can have more than one brawler at the dining table, and you can buy this one for £9 on GOG now.
