Resident Evil 2 Leon walkthrough 1: Gas station and Raccoon City streets

There is, to be frank, very little to say about Resident Evil 2’s first two levels.

In the first, all you’ll do is enter and leave a gas station while encountering your first zombies. There’s nothing hidden. There are no collectibles to find. All you need to do is get in and get out alive.

Here’s our only advice: Don’t shoot. Ammunition is scarce, and saving your bullets until you need them is a habit you should ingrain from the moment you have a gun and bullets to load into it (which is right now). Every bullet you have at the gas station will follow you into Raccoon City proper. Save them for later, when you’ll need them more.

Explore your surroundings

After the opening cutscene, Leon pulls into the Mizoil station and realizes something’s wrong. That’s where you’ll take control.

Grid View

• Capcom via Polygon
• Capcom via Polygon
• Capcom via Polygon
• Capcom via Polygon
• Capcom via Polygon

There’s nothing to find in the parking lot (besides a relic of a bygone era known as a “telephone booth”), so head straight to the front door. Inside, Leon will pick up a flashlight. There’s nothing to pick up in here either, so just turn left and head to the back of the store. Turn right and you’ll spot a cop collapsed on the floor next to a door.

Go through the door he’s pointing to, turn right, and follow the hallway all the way to the end. Push the door open to get into the back room. You’ll meet the first cop’s partner, but it doesn’t go well. Put a few bullets into the zombie’s head, then continue all the way to the end of the hall. You’ll pass an opening on your right, but skip it for a second.

At the end of the hall, turn right again. Retrieve the Key out of the box on the wall next to the desk.

Escape from the store

Grid View

• Capcom via Polygon
• Capcom via Polygon
• Capcom via Polygon

Turn around from the desk and start back the way you came in. Around this time, the zombie will get back up. You can shoot it some more, but we’d recommend just sprinting past — those bullets will come in more useful later. Take the first left in the hallway — that opening you skipped earlier — and use the Key to get back to the main room of the store.

More zombies have shown up, so this is a bit of an obstacle course. You can (and might have to) shoot them, but sprint past any you can to save ammo. Get to the front door to meet Claire. This will trigger a long cutscene and the opening credits.

Get to the Police Station

There are no tricks or hidden items along here, so your job is just to survive. Don’t shoot at any zombies you don’t have to — there are way more zombies than you have bullets anyway. Just keep sprinting and try to run behind any zombies you get close to. It takes them a second to turn around so you can slip past.

Grid View

• Capcom via Polygon
• Capcom via Polygon
• Capcom via Polygon
• Capcom via Polygon
• Capcom via Polygon
• Capcom via Polygon
• Capcom via Polygon

After the explosion, run right. You’ll zig-zag along the street, then come to an alley on your left (the way forward will be blocked). Run down the alley to the end, then turn left. There’s a zombie at that corner, but you can sprint past.

Keep following the hall down the stairs, past the graffiti, and back up. You’ll be able to see the station from the top of the stairs. Follow the corridor of cars to the left. Sprint past the bus, then follow the car-ridor to the right and up to the gate.

There’s nothing to pick up outside, so just head into the station.