'Resident Evil 2' Speed Run Spawns 2 Mr. X Tyrants
It's terrifying enough to play the Resident Evil 2 remake knowing that Mr. X, the Umbrella Corp. Tyrant, is loudly stalking the hallways, ready to throw open nearby doors at any moment. But imagine that terror multiplied. Imagine having to contend with two Mr. Xs during your playthrough of the game.
That's the unfortunate reality YouTuber BeastGamingHD experienced. And what makes matters worse — BeastGamingHD was attempting a speed run at Resident Evil 2's S+ Hardcore mode, and was making pretty good time.
"I heard a weird number of Mr. X footsteps and was getting confused regarding his actual location because they were coming from multiple directions," the speed runner wrote in his YouTube description for the video. "If you thought one Mr. X is scary, try dealing with two of them. Footsteps everywhere, heart BPM through the roof."
If you watch the video, you can see the confusion BeastGamingHD speaks of playing out in real time. He eventually gets eyes on the first Mr. X and tries to make an escape. But you can also see him occasionally directing the camera toward other areas of the screen, as though he's expecting something else to show up. Finally, as he attempts to evade the first Mr. X in a hallway, something else does. A second Mr. X enters the frame, and the two march toward BeastGamingHD like a tag team of uncaring, unkillable assassins.
To BeastGamingHD's credit, he keeps his wits about him and takes the challenge head on, managing to stun both Mr. Xs at one point. Unfortunately, the presence of two Tyrants throughout the remainder of the game would almost certainly slow him down, so the glitch effectively ends his speed run attempt. But at least it provided some fairly entertaining YouTube material, right?
The modern day spin on Mr. X in Resident Evil 2 is something that a lot of gamers can't stop talking about. In fact, many players have shared YouTube videos of their own encounters with Mr. X, allowing everyone else to relive moments where the Tyrant bursts into the room and adds instant chaos to the situation. And some have even edited videos that put music to Mr. X's appearances, creating a meme of sorts that is equal parts horrifying and hilarious. Here he is, for instance, stomping around the Raccoon City Police Department accompanied by DMX's "X Gon' Give It To Ya." And no musical meme would be complete if it didn't make use of Phil Collins and the epic breakdown from "In The Air Tonight."
So yes, it's safe to say that the new Mr. X has plenty of fans in the video game world. And that includes many critics, who point to Mr. X as one of the more memorable parts of the remake experience.
"Resident Evil 2's Mr. X is easily one of the best things to happen to the survival genre in years, and I love him," wrote DualShockers' Jordan Byrd. "Resident Evil 2 Remake is brilliant across the board, but this resilient bastard is one of my favourite parts," VG247's Alex Donaldson said.
Game Informer's Kyle Hilliard, however, had more of a love-hate relationship with the Tyrant. "In the end, I do like Mr. X's inclusion, but when I am actively playing the game, I hate him," Hilliard said, adding, "I can't wait until he's truly dead though."
In case you haven't gathered it from BeastGamingHD's video, or from the way everyone speaks about the dreaded Mr. X, he's a character in the Resident Evil 2 remake that you cannot immediately kill. Instead, you cross paths with the giant monster a few hours into the game, and from there, he relentlessly pursues you everywhere you go. If you're careful and quiet, you can slip in and out of rooms and limit the number of times you have to deal with Mr. X. But he has very good hearing. If you get into a scuffle with some zombies — or worse, if you have to fire off a bullet or two — you'll almost certainly have a Mr. X problem before you know it.
Fortunately, we have the lowdown on how you can survive your Mr. X encounters, including ways you can more efficiently stun him, and rooms you can hide in that Mr. X can't enter.
If you spawn two Mr. Xs, though — we can't help you with that.