Shuffling along like a zombie
What’s the opposite of a speedrun? A “slowrun,” perhaps? If you want a Resident Evil challenge that requires you to clear your schedule for the next couple of days, this could be what you’re looking for. You see, it turns out the 1998 Resident Evil 2 can actually be completed from start to finish without walking at all.
This was proved by Twitch streamer and speedrunner Punchy (as spotted by PCGamesN). In an edited video uploaded to YouTube recently, they give a commentary on this unique challenge, which saw them get to the end credits of Resident Evil 2 without taking a physical step. While this video is a 40-minute highlight of the run itself, Punchy shows in the closing moments how long it took them to achieve this: 13 hours and 34 minutes!
When asking whether or not the OG Resident Evil 2 can be beaten without walking, Punchy had to establish a couple of rules. First: they could not initiate a walk themselves (i.e. by pressing on the D-pad to walk). However, they could turn to face directions, and walking upstairs was allowed, as it’s an automatic animation when the player presses the use button.
How was it achieved?
The way they were able to move was by simply aiming their gun. Doing so does shift Leon forward ever so slightly. We’re talking inches. To give an idea of how slow this is, it takes around five minutes to get through the first three screens of the game.
One big challenge was fighting against the auto aim. See, Punchy was playing the Japanese version of Resident Evil 2, which comes with auto-aim always on. This meant that, in areas where enemies were off-screen but otherwise in the opposite direction Leon needed to go, things became tricky as he struggled to make progress.
The ultimate obstacle, however, came during the final boss sequence, in which a five-minute timer begins. Given how slow Leon is moving, this felt like an impossible achievement.
Indeed, Punchy almost gave up, choosing to run the final few meters towards the end cut scene. However, some off-stream testing showed that, by aiming the magnum down at the ground, Leon can actually get enough push to make it to the end of the game before the timer runs out.
The streamer admits this was not the most optimal run. If you feel you want to give it a try, Punchy has proven that it is possible to beat the original Resident Evil 2 without taking a step forward. But be prepared for one of the slowest game play sessions of your life.
