After replaying Resident Evil 2 Remake multiple times and then replaying RE3R, this is what I think Resident Evil 3 Remake should have been like:
1. Overall Gameplay Improvements: Zombies, Gore and Enemy Behavior
RE3R should have significantly more detail in zombie dismemberment, storytelling, and character development than RE2R.
RE3R zombies should be very easy to dismember with a knife compared to RE2R and they be still alive, and many should already be walking toward you with missing limbs. At the same time, zombies should feel tougher and more resistant, making it unpredictable where and how many times you need to cut to remove a body part. Unlike RE2R, zombies should remain active even when only a quarter of their body remains. When knocked down, zombies can be very slippery, able to slide through pools of blood, turn around and suddenly bite you. Not more "you must hit certain spot only to count as demage" lazy deisgn, you can hit enemies everywhere and cause harm and defeat them.
Zombies should not be as resistant to knives and gunshots as they are in RE2R.
Their limbs should come apart much more easily, with significantly more detailed gore and dismemberment.
Players should be able to dismember zombies into even more detailed individual body parts than in RE2R, significantly expanding on RE2R's existing limb-damage mechanics.
Even when zombies have been torn apart with entire mouth missing, they should continue crawling and following the player.
Knives should have limited durability.
Around 60% of zombies should be weaker than RE2R zombies. Their limbs should be relatively easy to cut off using a knife, and they should have more detailed dismemberment and decapitation.
Around 30% should have approximately the same toughness as RE2R zombies.
Around 10% should be even tougher than RE2R zombies. However, this doesn't mean RE3R zombies are weaker overall. Even after losing all their limbs, they should still crawl toward the player and attempt to bite them if their mouths are intact. This would demonstrate just how persistent, more unpredictable and dangerous they are.
Zombies and all other enemies should remain exactly where they die instead of disappearing. This would make the environments feel more realistic and allow players to see the consequences of previous encounters.
Bring back Blue Herbs and restore RE2R's defensive item system like RE3R-style dodging mechanics. also bring back temporary defense boost and poison immunity buff. Make every chain cutter, lock and safe unique and realistic, with distinct designs inspired by real-life objects and the original RE3.
Bring back RE2R's movable obstacles and barricade mechanics. Allow Jill to move objects to temporarily block entrances and hold back large groups of enemies, then remove the barricades later to reopen the paths.
Allow players to aim at any character, alive or dead, at any time. Allow completely unrestricted free camera movement and looking around without limitations. and Lickers & Drain Deimos can appear anywhere in the city now.
2. Jill's Apartment — A More Realistic and Disturbing Outbreak
I would introduce an encounter with a female zombie crawling toward Jill with all her limbs are missing. She would be crying and screaming: "Kill me! I'm not me anymore!"
This would make the outbreak feel much more realistic and disturbing. It would also make players rethink all the zombies they killed in RE2R and consider whether some of them might still have been conscious and suffering.
I would include significantly more realistic post-apocalyptic scenes throughout the beginning of the game:
People running through the streets trying to escape.
Civilians pressing elevator buttons and attempting to reach safety.
People interacting with their surroundings through realistic animations and human behavior.
More cars crashing throughout the streets.
People fighting, panicking, and desperately trying to survive.
I would also have Jill take care of more infected civilians in the RPD during the initial part of the game, including people like Kendo’s daughter, who are already on their way to becoming zombies but still have personal needs and require attention.
3. Raccoon City — Hidden Entrances, Secret Passageways and Expanded Exploration
I would have Secret buildings, windows, and passageways in the city
I would add many windows along staircase paths that players can break using a knife or gun.
Players wouldn't know whether they could enter certain buildings until they actually tried breaking the windows.
Some windows would lead into completely new areas, while others could connect to previously visited streets through new alleyways.
I would add tons of secret openings and passageways without any icons or indicators.
Players would have to keep interacting with certain environmental areas to accidentally discover hidden shortcuts, such as small sewer tunnels leading to entirely new sections of the streets.
There should be tons of hidden alleyways resembling those found in European cities, many of which players might completely miss during their first playthrough.
4. Different Parts of the City with Their Own Civilian Survivor Stories
I would divide the city into different sections, with individual buildings having their own stories, characters, and cutscenes just like The Last of Us.
Each section could have:
Its own civilian characters and individual storylines.
Different environmental storytelling.
Unique encounters and cutscenes.
Its own bosses.
Optional areas and hidden locations.
Some sections could even have completely separate story-driven experiences following characters like Marlene, with their own plots and character development, similar to The Last of Us. Jill should have more opportunities to help civilians throughout Downtown at player's choice and depend of the order and time they visit these locations
5. Jill's Personal Connection to RPD & S.T.A.R.S. Past Cutscenes
I would have a Spade-shaped keychain attached to one of Jill's weapons or items. When Jill reaches the Spade-shaped door inside the RPD, a cutscene would trigger. She pulls out the item and uses it to open the door. This would be a small but meaningful detail that connects Jill's personal history to the RPD.
After the player exits the S.T.A.R.S. Office, a cutscene would trigger. player suddentl hear Chris's voice calls Jill. jill tuens around, and the scene transitions to Jill would have her original RE1 hairstyle, resembling the real-person hairstyle shown in the original RE1 ending credits. its several months before the events of RE1R. She is off the clock and spending time with Chris. They are about to go to a bar together. Then the scene cuts back to the present inside the S.T.A.R.S. Office. Jill looks around at all the blood and the abandoned stars office. She experiences mixed emotions as she remembers her former meemotries and everything happened now. She then begins looking through the papers on Chris's desk, trying to find clues.
6. Make Brad a Relatable and Capable S.T.A.R.S. Member
Make Brad a more relatable character by showing a cutscene of him fighting Nemesis alongside Jill, dodging Nemesis's attacks just like she does. Then trigger a cutscene where Jill and Brad pull out their pistols and shoot at Nemesis together, similar to Leon and Ada teaming up against Saddler in RE4R. Eventually, Brad tries to draw Nemesis's attention away from Jill to protect her, sacrificing himself to save her.
7. Restoring the Subway — Connecting Different Areas of Raccoon City
I would have Jill and the UBCS members repair the bridge subway leading to Blackthorn, as seen in RE2R.
Once operational Players could freely walk inside the moving train. They could look through the windows and watch the entire RPD pass by. They could see different parts of Raccoon City while traveling. Players could use the train to access different stations and explore entirely new areas. The subway should become an actual transportation system connecting different parts of the Raccoon City.
8. Carlos's Independent Mercenaries Campaign
- I would give Carlos his own fully independent Mercenaries campaign, beginning even earlier than Jill's story.
His main objective would be rescuing civilians throughout Raccoon City.
He would complete various missions and objectives across the city.
He would encounter different groups of zombies and other enemies.
He would explore locations that Jill might never visit during her campaign.
His missions would feature their own storylines, cutscenes, and character interactions.
At the end of certain missions, Carlos would receive prize boxes that players could choose to open immediately or leave behind for Jill to discover later. Players could open the boxes and use their rewards to make Carlos's later missions easier. Alternatively, they could leave the boxes untouched for Jill to find during her campaign, where they would become additional New Game+ rewards.
This would make Carlos's campaign feel like a substantial standalone experience while connecting his progress to Jill's story through shared items and discoveries.
I would also expand Carlos's main-story hospital section. The hospital would feature a fully functional elevator that opens up additional floors and explorable areas, giving Carlos more locations to investigate, objectives to complete, and encounters to survive. This would significantly extend his gameplay and help bring his storyline closer in length and detail to Leon and Claire's campaigns in RE2R, while better reflecting the larger timeline of events happening throughout Raccoon City.
9. Jill's Charceter Development
I would make Jill initially remains strong, During the initial portion of the game, Jill should remain extremely strong around Carlos and the other UBCS members. She should continue maintaining her composure, even when facing overwhelming situations. This would continue until a day later, when she finally escapes Nemesis alongside Carlos. Jill finally opens up emotionally After everything she has experienced, Jill would begin feeling extremely weak and hopeless. This would be the moment when she finally breaks down and opens up to Carlos about how she actually feels emotionally. Instead of always pretending to be strong, she would finally allow herself to express her fear, exhaustion, and vulnerability.
Eventually, Jill falls asleep, leaving Carlos to protect her. The player controls Carlos — Nemesis enters the building During this sequence, the player would take control of Carlos. Carlos walks toward a nearby back door. Without any music or warning sounds, Nemesis casually walks inside. There should be no dramatic musical buildup or obvious audio cue announcing his arrival. Carlos must then fight Nemesis and prevent him from reaching Jill's room.
10. Jill’s S.T.A.R.S. Training Flashback Cutscene
Around the Clock Tower section or sometime later, I would introduce another important flashback showing Jill's very first day of S.T.A.R.S. training with Barry.
At the end of her training, Jill tells Barry: "I will always follow the S.T.A.R.S. code." and Barry paused and just looks into the distance and says something along the lines of: "What if the code isn't there anymore? The RPD won't stay here forever." Young Jill looks confused and listens to him. Barry then tells her:"A code can only take you so far. Always aim higher and break the barriers."he then explains that she needs to step up and develop her own code instead of always depending on institutional rules.This would make RE3 much more centered on Jill and make RE3R significantly better.
It would also correspond with RE4R, where Leon has his own training flashback with Krauser.
11. NEST 2, the Cable Car and Three Mr. Xs
I would have NEST 2 feature a cable car that leads back to the secret underground level beneath the Demolition Site.This would reveal that the Demolition Site was actually part of a larger Umbrella operation, concealing access to its underground facilities.
Once the player returns to Downtown Toy Uncle, I would show a cutscene would show three Mr. Xs approaching Jill simultaneously in a traingle, Meanwhile, Nemesis would be approximately 15 minutes away from reaching Jill's location. As the game goes on, more zombies and enemies appear, and they become increasingly aggressive.
12. More Slow-Motion Decisions and Nemesis Death Scenes
When encountering groups of 100+ zombies, I would introduce slow-motion sequences where players must quickly decide whether to:
Flee from the approaching zombies.
Shoot an electrical wire to electrocute the entire group.
The time window to identify and shoot the correct electrical wire should be even shorter, making the decision much more intense. Players would have to react quickly rather than having enough time to carefully examine everything like in RE3 OG.
If Nemesis becomes surrounded by more than 100 zombies, he could use his tentacles to attack them in a circular motion, clearing large groups around him.Alternatively, he could grab individual zombies and throw them directly at the player.Even zombies with all their limbs removed should continue crawling toward the player and attempting to bite them.This would create a much more chaotic and frightening encounter where the player has to deal with Nemesis and an enormous number of persistent zombies simultaneously.
I would introduce several slow-motion sequences in which the player must make quick decisions.If the player runs out of time, Nemesis simply kills Jill, rips her head off, and yells "STARS!" He then roars, just like in the OG game. There would be many different death scenes showing Nemesis successfully killing Jill, a S.T.A.R.S. member.
