Resident Evil 2 headshots can be a tricky thing to master. Sometimes you fire off a round and hit a zombie square in the head, instantly downing them. At other times, you can fire off three perfectly-aimed shots, and yet the zombie remains standing, continuing to stumble towards you. Compared to the enemies seen in other survival horror games and movies, where “aiming for the head” is the perfect solution, in the Resident Evil 2 remake headshots are a lot less consistent. There’s a bit more to it, including the concept of critical headshots, which is why you’re searching for a how to kill zombies guide in the first place!
How to execute Resident Evil 2 headshots
This will sound pretty straightforward, but it’s easy to say without a zombie marching towards you. The best way to get headshots is to fire at zombies as soon as you see them. Line up the shot carefully, keep your composure, and fire a round at a time. The problem some players will have is that they’ll either panic or fire a bunch of bullets into a zombie. Neither of these is good, as your shots won’t hit the mark or you’ll fly through ammo very quickly.
The biggest problem when it comes to headshotting zombies with the common pistol, is that in Resident Evil 2, they can sometimes seem unphased by the strike to the face. They just take shots like a champ. Even when you down a zombie with several headshots, they can get back up.
Unfortunately, Resident Evil 2 headshots just aren’t all that useful. You can sometimes earn a critical hit, where the enemy’s head will completely cave in or explode. This is a sign that they will not be getting up. Otherwise, watch yourself!
How to get critical headshots in Resident Evil 2
Getting critical headshots in Resident Evil 2 is incredibly tricky. It seems to happen when you hit a zombie in the middle of their eyes, where the cerebellum is. This area seems extremely small, meaning it’s tough to hit when enemies are moving around.
In our experience, the more powerful the round coming out of the weapon, the bigger chance you have of triggering a critical hit. Hit that sweet spot and you’ll earn an instakill.
How to kill zombies without Resident Evil 2 headshots
Still struggling to get lucky with those nailed-on pistol shots that take down a zombie with a couple of bullets? There are other weapons in the game that can help with that.
The shotgun will rip through zombies — head and all — and do a ton of damage if they’re up close and personal. Which they will be, as they’re zombies. Another close-quarters weapon is the flamethrower, which will make them all toasty and do a good batch of damage too. Finally, the grenade launcher will blast them to bits. Make sure that the zombies are far away though, so you don’t suffer splash damage from your own grenades.
You don’t have any of those weapons on you at the start, mind you. You’ll have to locate them to add them to your arsenal. Our game page here has the lowdown on where to find each one, so read up on them there.
