Ray Tracing shader uncovers hidden background detail in Resident Evil Remastered

(Image credit: Capcom)

Hidden background details have been discovered using a ray tracing shader in Resident Evil HD Remastered.

YouTuber Harry101UK has shared what the game reveals when enabling a ray traced global illumination shader in a new video, and to our surprise it unearths higher-resolution background models with details that have never been noticeable before.

He explained that for the shader to work the game needs to have a working three-dimensional depth buffer and models. Previous games in the series like Resident Evil 2 and Resident Evil 3: Nemesis used two-dimensional backgrounds, but the Resident Evil Remaster has fully-realised 3D backgrounds in it that Capcom recreated for dynamic light purposes. If you play Resident Evil Remastered with the mode enabled you can see all of the detail that went into the remodelling of the famous mansion in a higher resolution.

Most of the video demonstrates the comparison between the game versus when it has the global illumination shader enabled, showing how the environments and characters are modeled. Surprisingly, the filter also reveals objects and details hidden in the background of the game. Resident Evil Remastered is famous for its dimly lit corridors and shadowy entry ways, but the shader strips back all of that and reveals so much more. Harry101UK said, “I was surprised by how many small things I never noticed in the environment before.”

For instance, turning on the shader will reveal an attic filled with items that would otherwise be consumed in darkness, and the giant Snake, Yawn, has strange bumps all over its character model. Even more interesting, the MO Disk reader object was originally a GameCube in the original version, but for the Remaster, they disguised it. If you enable the shader, however, the underlying model is still the original GameCube.

For more on Resident Evil, check out everything we know about the upcoming Resident Evil 8.