An absolute survival horror masterpiece. It is a testament to the games design that it has aged as well as it has - the prerendered backgrounds look gorgeous. Stunning atmosphere, music and use of shadows and camera angles to create an unnerving sense of isolation. A must play for any horror fan.

The survival mechanics of Resident Evil are rock solid. The game takes place in an enclosed space with limited resources which are often dangerous to obtain, especially if you haven't cleared the enemies or, worse yet, killed the zombies without burning them or destroying their heads.
Backtracking is not only dangerous but necessary due to the limited inventory and manual saving system so there are real choices to be made when it comes to moving around the mansion, what enemies to avoid, which ones to kill, and, perhaps most important of all, when to save.
This last aspect is what prevents me from saying that Resident Evil is perfect (the game is that good) because a new player has no way of knowing ahead of time how often they should save.
For those who don't know, saving is a limited resource in Resident Evil because it requires ink ribbons that the player needs to find like any other item. This helps enhance the tension but it also promotes exploring as far as you can go, making notes of what you need to do and then reloading to try and maximize how much you do with each save. This is clearly overkill since you can save pretty comfortably and with ribbons to spare every 15-20 minutes (probably 5 on very easy) but I had no idea as a new player. Perhaps this says more about my own personality, but I digress.
The rest of the gameplay is quite good. Even the original tank controls have been retouched with the ability to do a quick turn and I think I prefer them over the modern setting for playing on a keyboard. There isn't much to say about the combat since aiming is largely automatic, it's more about the resource management aspect (ammo and inventory space in this case).
The presentation is nothing short of fantastic. Even the rejected concept art for this game was great, the mansion is beautiful and I love the sound effects.
To conclude, it was hard for me to get into the game but I'm glad I stuck around because it's totally worth it.

Though stressed and scared, game also made brain warm and zingy;

- Key unlock door complete puzzle get other key for other door and other puzzle = dopamine straight into my veins
sometimes puzzle or door need more than one key. crazy stuff.
- Path wrap back around to area you need key from where found key from other area.
- Kill zombie??? 0: Perhaps not good idea!
- Safe room cosy haven for between stressy moments. Sometimes just sit and breathe and enjoy music before go back out. Sometimes want to stay and not leave ever.
-Inventory head-scratching. very tense.
-Atmosphere and design!

10/10
Actually perfect game.