Resident Evil 2 (2019): Every Boss From Worst To Best, Ranked

Summary

• Resident Evil 2 Remake has a great set of bosses, with G being featured in five out of eight major boss fights.
• The combat and boss designs in the remake are so good that it's hard not to have fun in every boss encounter.
• Some boss fights, like G5, may not offer much in terms of gameplay, but they still provide a spectacular and horrifying spectacle.

1998's Resident Evil 2 is home to one of the best set of bosses in survival horror history. Like with the original game, Resident Evil 2 Remake does a fantastic job of building up William through his G Stage fights. Of the eight major boss fights in the game, G makes up five. That’s a lot to repeat a boss, but each stage is a completely new encounter with its own gimmick and challenge.

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The remake of the second game is a bit more debatable in whether it lives up to the title of the original regarding the boss fights. However, the combat is so good, and the bosses are so well-designed that, in general, it’s hard not to have fun in every single boss encounter.

Updated on February 8, 2024 by Dennis Moiseyev: Resident Evil 2 Remake has now come to Xbox Game Pass and the bosses didn't go anywhere. They're waiting for Leon and Claire and for you. Here are all the bosses you have to worry about and how some of those experiences can go in this reimagined survival horror classic, and now updated with our current publishing standards.

8 Infected Sewer Alligator

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The infected gator lurking in Raccoon City's sewers is a returning set piece in the 2019 remake, with updated graphics to make this giant t-Virus beast even more frightening. The boss fight is far from your traditional Resident Evil encounter, yet more suspenseful, designed as a linear chase sequence in which Leon trudges through sewer water while an alligator lunges and clamps its jaws mere inches away.

This is an easier mini-boss section if you keep a solid pace, don't stumble, and successfully dodge the alligator's wide mouth as it closes in on you. Eventually, the alligator will lock its jaws on a flammable tank, which you'll explode with a weapon in order to blow the gator into chunks.

7 Mr. X

X Gon' Give It To Ya

Mr. X is a scary boss for one specific reason: he can't be killed. Although, once again, he's not the typical boss you'd face in a Resident Evil game. Mr. X stalks you in the halls and rooms of the Raccoon Police Department, a tall and menacing Tyrant bullet sponge who would deplete your health significantly upon colliding with him.

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Your goal is to outrun him and get to the areas you need without taking severe damage, which is a tough challenge. He later comes as the even more formidable Super Tyrant for Leon to take on toward the end of his scenario, though this one is still equally as fierce of an opponent since wasting ammo is not an option, and you can only avoid him around doorways and tight corners.

6 G2

William Birkin Gets A Conjoined Nemesis Twin

Here’s a quick easy way to kill G2 as Leon: toss a flash grenade at him, spray him with fire, toss another, spray him again. If you hit the crane’s button shortly after stunning William and then again as soon as it becomes available, G2 will be knocked off the platform in one go, ending the fight and saving you a ton of ammo.

It’s not as methodically easy for Claire, but it’s still simple enough to get done. There’s no real reason to unload ammo either, as two goes around will be enough to knock G2 off. Just dodge, be patient, and he’ll go down easily. It’s not that exciting of a fight, but it makes for an incredibly tense encounter on a first playthrough!

5 G5

What In The Dead Space Is That?

Final bosses should be a highlight of any game – and Resident Evil 2’s certainly is – but G5 doesn’t really offer much as far as 'fights' go. It’s a fantastic set-piece, one that gets increasingly more horrifying as William inches closer to consuming Leon, Claire, and Sherry, but that’s it. It doesn’t go beyond the spectacle.

It makes G5 a rather underwhelming way to end the game, but does make sense to some degree, though, since you will have naturally exhausted most of your ammo. By unloading into G5 with Leon or Claire’s ammo, you can then knife G5 once he reveals his eyeball. So long as you time it right, G5 should go down in three to four swings.

4 G1

The Rare Case Where The First Form Is Scarier Than The Others

Running into William for the first time is overwhelming as either Leon or Claire. He comes out of nowhere and immediately jumps you, thrusting you into one of the tensest boss fights in the game. You will most likely need to rely on your handgun to take out William’s eyeballs, and needing to use such a weak gun so early in the game makes for a very memorable fight.

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It’s worth noting, however, that Claire has an easier time overall as her Grenade Launcher is better suited for boss fights. And G1 is one of the best fights in the game. He slowly follows you around, and letting linger for too long results in him quietly hunting you. It’s genuinely frightening and the boss arena’s tight corridors make each turn a matter of Fine or Caution.

3 G3

A G-Virus Four-Arm Monstrosity With No Remnants Of Birkin

Although Claire can utterly decimate G3 with her Acid Rounds, he’s intended to be one of the more challenging battles in the game. G3 is William at his near sturdiest. He can take damage, dish damage, and he will kill Leon or Claire if you let their guard down for even a second. Just keep a steady aim and don’t stand still for too long. He’s aggressive, but he does let his guard down every now and again.

Leon, especially, will need to make sure he’s hitting William’s eyes to actually fell him with ammo to spare. It's also worth noting that Leon's first scenario is the only scenario where G3 marks the last time you fight William. The three other scenarios either include G4, G5, or in the case of Claire’s second scenario, both.

2 Super Tyrant

X Gon' Give It To Ya... Just Extra Super

After spending an entire game running from Mr. X, there’s something incredibly cathartic about facing off against him once and for all in both of Leon’s scenarios. If you managed your ammo well enough, you should be able to head into the fight with more than enough to survive long enough for Ada to drop Leon the Rocket Launcher, but this can be a damning fight otherwise.

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You only need to survive for a minute and a half, but Mr. X hits hard as the Super Tyrant. Even with an R+G+B herb mix, he can take Leon from Fine to near Danger with a single swipe. He’s a boss where you must either dodge or must have enough healing to survive the onslaught in their path. If there’s one thing holding back this fight, it’s the fact that you don’t really need to fight back.

1 G4

Resident Evil 2's Bitores Mendez Licker Hybrid Boss

Claire’s final boss in her first run is as good as Resident Evil 2’s bosses get. At this point in the game, G3 will surely have drained all of Claire’s Acid Rounds, leaving you to rely on other weaponry. Thankfully, there’s a minigun lying around, but even all of its ammo isn’t enough to fell G4. What’s worse, William goes utterly manic as G4, climbing around, dropping down, and lunging from just about everywhere.

Claire’s fight against G4 is a duel to the death. At the end of the fight, he’ll desperately drag himself on the floor, following Claire around the arena. At this stage, his convenient eyeball weak points are getting harder and harder to hit, adding some last-minute tension to an already tense finale. It’s a morbid and pitiful sight, but these are real people. They’re afraid, they’re suffering, and they’re dying.

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