Resident Evil 2 ‘1-Shot’ demo announced with a twist

Get your first look at Resident Evil 2 with the 30-minute long ‘1-Shot’ demo, arriving this week.

Later this month, gamers will return to the zombie-infested, post-apocalyptic Racoon City when Resident Evil 2 releases for PlayStation 4, Xbox One and PC. But before its official release, Capcom is giving us a chance to return for a temporary stay with a new demo launching this week.

Officially announced today, the “1-Shot” demo will provide you with 30 minutes of uninterrupted time in Raccoon City. As the name of the demo suggests, though, you will only be given one chance to experience and complete it.

The 1-Shot demo will take you to the supposedly safe Raccoon City Police Department which has been overrun with zombies. You’ll be playing as police officer Leon S. Kennedy, one of the game’s two playable characters (Claire Redfield being the other). The entirety of the demo will seemingly be set within the walls of the reimagined R.P.D. station.

Now the phrasing is a little confusing, so here’s how it will work: once start playing, you will have  30 minutes of in-game time to complete the task at hand. Of course, you’re completely free to explore the R.P.D. as you please and we all know that Resident Evil games have a lot to be discovered; although, it’s unclear exactly how much of it you’ll be able to explore within the time.

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Regardless of whether you choose to explore or complete the task, you are on a time limit. The game time will be paused when you’re in a menu, so you’re able to investigate, rotate and learn more about the objects you discover without having to worry about the time limit.

Resident Evil is a game that heavily involves puzzles, so you’ll want to take your time. However, with just 30 minutes, you’ll also want to move quickly, which sometimes means running past hordes of zombies instead of stopping to fight them.

Also, don’t worry about dying because you’ll be able to continue playing, although you won’t gain any time back. You’re also able to continue playing and exploring for the full demo time even if you complete the mission objective.

Basically, play this demo as you please because no matter how it ends, you’ll be treated to a brand-new exclusive trailer when it’s over. This is our first real look at the improvements that have been made since the original was released in 1998 (not counting the ports).

Resident Evil 2 is set to release for PlayStation 4, Xbox One and Steam on January 25. The demo will be available from January 11 through January 31.