Simple as the concept may be, the ability to don alternate costumes is an added element that increases the replayability factor for myself and countless other gamers out there. Fortunately, the recently released Resident Evil 2 remake honors this long-standing franchise tradition that’s been around since the Playstation 1 era.
So, if you’ve been scratching your head wondering how to unlock more costumes, we’ve got good and bad news for you.
The good news is that two of them can be achieved through hard work, similar to how one could gain weapons with infinite ammo. Should you clear the 2nd run with either character – and on any difficulty setting, mind you – you’ll then unlock the “Alternative” costumes for both Leon and Claire. Basically, these threads look truer to the 1998 original, yet there are still some minor alterations.
When it comes to the bad news, well, let’s just say the bulk of these different duds can only be unlocked by purchasing them as DLC. Yes, that means you don’t have to do any in-game work for them, but that does mean you have to open your wallet in the real world. I’m not a fan of this practice in the gaming industry, but here’s what’s available:
- Arklay Sheriff Leon
- Elza Walker Claire
- Military Claire
- Noir Claire
- Noir Leon
In my opinion, the Elza Walker costume for Claire is most worth it. For those unfamiliar, Elza was originally set to be the female lead in Resident Evil 2‘s first PS1 build, which was scrapped around the time it was 80% through the developmental phase and has been referred to since as “Resident Evil 1.5.” Believe it or not, a bootleg of the beta version’s been floating around in recent years and has, of course, been showcased in YouTube videos. This inclusion, though, does a nice job of keeping Elza’s otherwise forgotten legacy alive.
Funny enough, you can now get free skins swapping out modern Leon and Claire for their blockier 1998 PS1 counterparts in some free DLC that was rolled out this month. This bit of whimsy may work for some Resident Evil 2 fans, but it’d take me right out of my gameplay experience. To draw a parallel, it’s like playing through Batman: Arkham City with the Animated Series skin. But to each their own, I guess.
