I wish I could actually play these PS1-style demakes of the latest Resident Evil games

Rustic Games BR is one of those YouTube channels with a delightfully simple niche: what would X modern game (usually a Resident Evil) look like on the PS1? Their collection of delightful little anachronisms scratches this itch in the dumb nostalgic lizard part of my brain, with their latest creation, a PS1 demake of the Resident Evil 2 Remake, being a particular winner.

Now, basic algebra would have you think a PS1 demake of the Resident Evil 2 remake just leaves you with… Resident Evil 2, but Rustic Games BR's take is much more than that. The video presents and over-the-shoulder, full-3D take on a portion of the iconic RE2 police station, with Leon fighting a zombie and the Tyrant with the 2019 remake's over-the-shoulder camera.

Last October, seemingly in celebration of the Resident Evil 4 Remake, Rustic Games BR did a similar treatment for a scene from that game, the modified (and far scarier) introduction to the Wolverine-but-evil monster, the Garrador. These puppies are already stressful enough to deal with using modern controls and over-the-shoulder aiming, so even thinking about taking one on with the clunky controls of yesteryear stresses me the hell out.

Rustic Games BR has a number of other takes on more recent Resident Evil games, but their creation that's most dear to me has to be Elden Ring - PS1 Edition. This fixed-camera mockup shows a kind of hybrid of the first and second fights with Godfrey, and the tank control version of Elden Ring's combat looks way more fun than it has any right to be. The real star of the show has to be the pre-rendered background though: Leyndell's otherworldly beauty might be a perfect fit for that uncanny quality of '90s Myst-style pre-rendered graphics.

You can follow Rustic Games BR on YouTube to keep abreast of their future projects, while the closest thing to what we covered today that's actually playable is probably the excellent Bloodborne PSX fan demake, whose creators are now working on Not-Bloodborne Kart.

Associate Editor

Ted has been thinking about PC games and bothering anyone who would listen with his thoughts on them ever since he booted up his sister's copy of Neverwinter Nights on the family computer. He is obsessed with all things CRPG and CRPG-adjacent, but has also covered esports, modding, and rare game collecting. When he's not playing or writing about games, you can find Ted lifting weights on his back porch.

Read more
Ten planks of wood from Dark Souls, responsible for my nightmares in Blighttown.
The co-creator of Dark Souls' most ambitious mod resurfaces to inform me that Blighttown, source of my nightmares, was cobbled together with '10 bits of wood'
BloodbornePSX - A hunter standing in front of a lantern
Sony enforcers execute a legal visceral attack on the BloodbornePSX demake, continuing its mission to eradicate all traces of FromSoft's beloved RPG on PC
Days Gone's Deacon St. John giving you the winky face
Using the State of Play showcase to announce a remaster of Days Gone makes it feel like Sony has graduated to deliberately trolling Bloodborne sickos for kicks
Retro 1990s style beige desktop PC computer and monitor screen and keyboard. 3D illustration.
I played at least one retro game every week in 2024: Here are 10 I'd still recommend to everyone
Silent Hill 2
Bloober's Silent Hill 2 was more remix than remake and that's why it was great
Clock Tower cover art
Horror classic Clock Tower's Windows 95 port jabbed a giant pair of scissors through my rose-tinted glasses
Latest in Horror
Resident Evil Village - Lady Dimitrescu
'It really truly changed my life in every possible way': Lady Dimitrescu actor says her Resident Evil Village role was just as transformative for her as it was for roughly half the internet in 2021
Silent Hill f transmission trailer screenshots
'We've been keeping fans waiting for an awfully long time': We finally got to see more of Silent Hill f and boy, does it look great
One of Repo's player characters, resembling a yellow pedal bin with googly eyes, encounters a skeletal, open mouthed face with glowing yellow eyes.
After REPO 'kinda blew up', its developer asks the community for advice on how to make matchmaking lobbies
R.E.P.O. screenshots
REPO is my new favourite co-op horror game, which combines Lethal Company's looting loop with Content Warning's zany monsters
Blood Typers
Blood Typers is a budget-priced fusion of Typing of the Dead and co-op survival horror
Phasmophobia Bleasdale Farm rework images
Phasmophobia is getting a big rework for one of its oldest maps, turning the Bleasdale Farmhouse into a horrifying and confusing maze
Latest in News
Man facing camera
The Day Before studio reportedly sues Russian website for calling infamous disaster-game a 'scam'
Will Poulter holding a CD ROM
'What are most games about? Killing': Black Mirror Season 7 includes a follow-up to 2018 interactive film Bandersnatch
Casper Van Dien in Starship Troopers
Sony, which is making a Helldivers 2 movie, is also making a new Starship Troopers movie, but it's not based on the Starship Troopers movie we already have
Assassin's Creed meets PUBG
Ubisoft is reportedly talking to Tencent about creating a new business entity to manage Assassin's Creed and other big games
Resident Evil Village - Lady Dimitrescu
'It really truly changed my life in every possible way': Lady Dimitrescu actor says her Resident Evil Village role was just as transformative for her as it was for roughly half the internet in 2021
Storm trooper hero
Another live service shooter is getting shut down, this time before it even launched on Steam