This is a supplementary post to accompany the Resident Evil 2 (2019) S Rank Hardcore Walkthrough Video Guide.  There is no trophy or achievement for getting an S Rank on the Hardcore difficulty.  However, there is a bonus weapon — the LE 5 sub-machine gun weapon with infinite ammo that is unlocked for achieving this difficult feat.  There is also a trophy for getting an S Rank for either character.

NOTE: THIS POST IS SUPERCEDED BY A NEW S+ RANK GUIDE.  CLICK HERE

Getting S Rank for the Hardcore difficulty also naturally unlocks the Minimalist trophy, which requires walking less than 14,000 steps in a single playthrough.  This is achieved from Claire’s 2nd Run campaign.  The video walkthrough pauses the game frequently to check the game time counter.

This S Rank Walkthrough requires that you complete the game on Hardcore once previously; no specific rank needed.  By doing so, you unlock the Samurai Edge gun with infinite ammo.  This allows you to not worry about ammo pickups, and managing the inventory that comes with it.  Since the number of inventory slot expansions (hip pouches) on Hardcore difficulty are reduced, having this weapon is a convenient time-saver.

Resident Evil 2 (2019) S Rank Hardcore Walkthrough | Hardcore Changes

What’s new for the Hardcore mode?  Well as stated already, your inventory potential is reduced.  Hip pouch upgrades that were available in Normal standard difficulty are not there, or are replaced by ink ribbons or other items.  This forces you to manage your inventory space.  You’ll have to give up the idea of being a pack mule, and picking every item you come across.

Zombies (and Tyrant) all shamble to you much faster, and it takes more to make sure they’re down for the count.  To get S rank, you can’t afford the time to make sure the zombie’s head explode.  It’s more about stunning them and running past them.  Only in certain areas will you need to put down every zombie, to make sure your plan goes without problems.  Damage is also more severe on Hardcore, making the use of blue defense herbs critical.

There is no autosave like in Normal difficulty, and you must use an ink ribbon item in order to save.  This is not a big deal since ink ribbons are plentiful as long as you look for them.

Resident Evil 2 (2019) S Rank Hardcore Walkthrough | The ‘S’ Rank

To get past Hardcore mode is accomplishment enough.  But to be able to finish it with Rank S?  Not many people will understand the difficulty, so I will try to explain.  The rank of your playthrough is based on how fast you complete it.  The requirement for S Rank for Claire’s 2nd Run is 2 hours or less.  I played point-to-point, with no messing around and was only able to clear it at 1:56:58 — just more than a 3 minute buffer.  Over a two hour run, it’s very easy to eat up 3 minutes — trying to hide from Tyrant, dealing with zombies in your path, or fighting bosses that can absorb more damage.  Spending time in your inventory or weapons box also eats time.

The ‘S’ may as well stand for “Speedrun”, because that is what is needed.  You can look at it as a giant time trial event.  To put it in perspective, I got the Minimalist trophy on this run with 13,152 steps taken.   This is 848 steps under the requirement, which means zero backtracking.  I optimized my run and still had to hustle until the very end.

Resident Evil 2 (2019) S Rank Hardcore Walkthrough | No Extra Stuff and Etc.

On a more leisurely playthrough of the game, you can get more powerful by seeking out custom parts for your weapons.  They are helpful for the Hardcore enemies.  Not for S Rank.  You don’t have the time or the inventory space to spare.   Those spare button keys for the Storage Locker Room?  No time to mess with that either.

Remember that sometimes it’s better to walk slowly when nearby zombies to avoid waking up them up and having to deal with it.  Check the video description for time checks to track your progress against my own.  You shouldn’t be lagging behind too much, or else you might have to reload a previous save.  Memorizing and mapping a short segment between save rooms is a good idea.  Unload your inventory, and only bring along what I bring to properly collect what is needed.

Resident Evil 2 (2019) S Rank Hardcore Walkthrough | G (Stage 3) Boss

I ran into a problem with this boss at the Laboratory during my initial runs.  Even with the infinite ammo Samurai Edge, this boss takes a long time to go down.  The key here is the Acid Rounds from the grenade launcher.  Put away your Flame Rounds, since they are quite ineffective.  If you have been following the video walkthrough, you should have refrained from using any Acid Rounds, and also should have lots of gunpowder components to make plenty more.

On Normal difficulty, each eyeball would have only taken one well-aimed shot from the Acid Rounds to be destroyed.  On Hardcore, it takes more than that.  One other tip that I did not show in my video walkthrough — you should use up a GBR herb mix before entering the battle, to begin with defense boost.  You should have plenty  — no point in saving them now.

Leave a question or comment below, if you wish.  I regret any errors in this guide — please notify me of them immediately so I can correct them.  I’m currently working on the Resident Evil 2 (2019) Trophy Guide & Roadmap.  No guarantees if it will get done, but check back in case I do eventually finish it.