Skip to main content

This new Steam Workshop mod lets you play classic PS1 Resident Evil 2 in VR

Leon's VR Corner.

Ian Higton avatar
Video by Ian Higton Video Producer
Published on
7 comments

Flatscreen to VR mods for Resident Evil games are no strangers to Ian's VR Corner. Thanks to the sterling work of modder Praydog, I've been able to play my way through both the Resident Evil 2 and Resident Evil 3 Remakes and I've had the pleasure of getting up close and personal with Lady D in Resident Evil Village VR way before the PSVR 2 version of the game was even announced.

However, on this week's episode of Ian's VR Corner (or should that be Leon's VR Corner?), you can watch me time travel back to the 90s as I dive face first into an incredibly detailed VR recreation of the classic PS1 version of Resident Evil 2!

All the places you remember from classic Resident Evil 2 have been lovingly recreated in the Source Engine, just like Tony's Kitchen here. Stannd outside this building in VR and you can almost taste the delicious Pizza Pasta Wine!

Resident Evil 2: Source was originally made for the flat version of Half-Life 2. After Steam Workshop support was added to the free Half-Life 2 VR Mod recently, the mod's creator gave permission for it to be ported to VR and that's exactly what someone has done! To play the mod for yourself, all you'll need are a copy of the original Half-Life 2 and of course the free Half-Life 2 VR mod. Then you just have to subscribe to Resident Evil 2: Source VR mod in Steam Workshop and, next time you load up the Half-Live 2 VR mod, you'll find all the RE2: Source maps in the 'Workshop' menu on the main title screen.

The level layouts are spot on and there's some incredible attention to detail that'll leave you convinced you're playing a port of the original game. The only things that let it down really are the lack of original Resi 2 weapon models and the inclusion of headcrab zombies rather than traditional Resi undead.

Pretty much the entirety of Resident Evil 2's "Leon A" scenario from the PS1 has been ported to VR here, and it all plays out much like the original game, minus all the cutscenes and the changes I mentioned in the screenshot caption above. That means, if you've got a good memory, you should be able to play through the game using exactly the same methods as you did back in 1998. Unless you do what I did in the VR Corner video and accidentally switch the game to Sandbox Mode without realising, which gives you instant access to all of the main Card Suit keys... whoopsie!

If you're a VR lover and a fan of nostalgia, I'd totally recommend giving this a whirl. The PS1 era textures work surprisingly well in VR and despite a few rickity bits here and there, the full package is genuinely impressive and you'll have a wonderful time taking a trip down memory lane in one of the most immersive ways possible!

Read this next