Cut Content from Resident Evil 2 Remake Revealed; A Roguelike Mode With 11 Playable Characters

Almost eight years after the successful release of Resident Evil 2 Remake, the review and dissection of early versions of the game has revealed one of its largest cut contents. A modder with the username Keff0 announced

Almost eight years after the successful release of Resident Evil 2 Remake, a review and autopsy of early versions of this work has revealed one of its biggest omissions.

A modder with the username Keff0 has announced that by examining the remaining codes in the disc version (Playstation 4 version), he has found definite evidence that shows that Capcom has been working on a very extensive roguelike mode with the presence of 11 playable characters.

Based on the data extracted from the game files, the list of selectable characters in this mode includes familiar faces such as Lian S. Kennedy, Claire Redfield, Ida Wang, Hank, Brian Irons, Marvin Branagh, Catherine Warren, Robert Kendo, Ben Bertolucci, Annette Birkin and finally Chris Redfield.

The presence of Chris Redfield's name in this list is a very interesting and thought-provoking point; Because his 3D model, with exactly the same appearance as the Resident Evil 7 game, was discovered among the hidden files of the game from the first days of the remake of the second version. In January 2019, the modders even managed to activate the model as a playable character, but at that point it was completely unclear what exactly Capcom's purpose was for including the Chris model in the game's files. Of course, at the same time, there were rumors that his presence might be related to a rogue-like mode with the internal name Rogue.

Now, a new discovery by Keff0 appears to provide a definitive answer to this age-old mystery: Chris Redfield was, in fact, one of the 11 selectable characters for this deleted mode.

The structure and dimensions of the Rogue mode are much more extensive than the simple content that finally reached the hands of the players. In this section, in the first step, the player chose one of the 11 available characters, and more interestingly, for each character, five different equipment layouts, including a combination of weapons, ammunition and survival items, were considered.

The progress process in this mode was such that every round of the game started from a safe area called Base Area; A central hub in which a dedicated store was also built. Once equipped, players could choose between short, medium, or long routes to navigate and survive the corridors of the Raccoon City Police Department.

In each Run, the arrangement of items in different rooms was completely random, and portals called Warp Gate were used to connect different parts of the map. After finishing or failing each Run, the player would return to the Base Area. There, it was possible to sell the items collected along the way, buy new equipment and weapons, and strengthen the game's character for further efforts.

One of the most profound and important elements of this mode was having a character progression system with levels from 1 to 50. Players could use the earned points to purchase upgrades directly from the in-game store. On the other hand, the enemies also had their own level when they appeared.

This level difference between the player and the enemies directly affected the physics and the fighting process. For example, if the level of a zombie was much higher than your character's level, shooting with weapons such as Colt camry, shotgun, and even magnum, could no longer cause the zombie to push back or stop momentarily. On the other hand, the mechanism of gaining experience (XP) during the game was very strict and was only obtained by defeating the bosses.

The economy of this attractive mode was based on a special currency called Rogue Points or RP for short. The store located in the Base Area offered players a wide variety of items; From healing items, ammo and gunpowder to weapon upgrade parts, modification kits, recovery capsules and of course the option to buy Level directly.

In addition, options to increase the capacity of the inventory and the item storage box were also available to players. A close examination of the remaining codes also reveals the existence of a system to determine the number of lives, the ability to continue the game after death and a dedicated screen to display the final results after the end of each Run.

The important point is that the signs and traces of the existence of such a state are not completely new and unprecedented. Before the release of The Ghost Survivors expansion pack in 2019, there were unofficial reports that a DLC would be released with random elements, an internal shop and a structure inspired by the roguelike style. Some of these older reports even hinted that The Ghost Survivors would include random item placement and a shop that would work with in-game credits.

But the content that finally reached the audience in February 2019 had a much simpler and more limited structure. The Ghost Survivors pack contained only a few hypothetical scenarios for the characters of Robert Kendo, Catherine Warren, and an Umbrella soldier, and was more like a series of pre-designed, linear, challenge-oriented stages. Capcom, in their advertising campaigns, officially introduced this DLC as alternative stories for the characters who died in the main narrative of the game.

Now based on the findings of modder Keff0, it appears that The Ghost Survivors pack was the exact same massive roguelike project in its early stages of development, but midway through, its scope and dimensions were greatly reduced and simplified. Of course, Capcom has not yet shown any reaction to this new discovery, and it cannot be determined with certainty how close Rogue Mode was to completion and finalization when it was canceled or rerouted.