Raytracing removed from Resident Evil 2 & 3

User reports are pouring in: the Steam versions of Resident Evil 2 and Resident Evil 3 no longer support raytracing. That is to say, you can no longer find the option in the menus to begin with, and it is not enabled in the background. One might suspect the games have defaulted to their DirectX 11 versions, but cursory testing shows this to not be the case.

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The loss of raytracing at least isn't huge: its implementation in the two remade horror titles was never particularly well-liked, although many would tell you it was preferable to screen space reflections.

Additionally, 3D Audio is reported to be missing for Resident Evil 3 (though others claim 2 also); it's said only speaker and dynamic range settings audio settings are now available.

There is no known reason for the changes; Capcom has said nothing on the matter thus far, though we've reached out for comment and will update this article should we hear back. One would hope a fix or an explanation on the removal (if intentional) is imminent. Naturally, it is possible something was pushed live that shouldn't have been.

Resident Evil 2 released in 2019 while its sequel followed it just a year later. While 3 wasn't as well-received, both titles were designed in the much lauded RE Engine and have proven impressive technological feats in their own right (particularly with regards to facial detail). That said, various technological issues (TAA implementation, DirectX 12 performance) have plagued them on certain settings, leaving many to resort to the arguably flawless DirectX 11 versions.