Recently, modder Shopcreeper01 returned to the Resident Evil 2 Remake and introduced a local cooperative game mode. It allows two players to embark on an adventure in Raccoon City.
The second player can join Leon, Claire, or anyone else as Hunk or one of 14 other characters for shared screen play, in split-screen mode, or with a classic fixed-angle camera. Additionally, it is possible to play the story campaign with an AI-controlled companion.
For this modification, Shopcreeper01 changed the character death mechanic. Now, losing health does not lead to death; instead, the player is "knocked down." After this, the player can heal themselves (if they have a healing item) or be revived by another player.
Shopcreeper01 explained that he wanted to help his wife play through projects she was very afraid of: "Hunk started as a support companion — he fought alongside Leon or Claire, supported them with first aid kits and ammunition. Now he can become a full-fledged companion for split-screen play with his own inventory, as well as a "downed" mechanic."
The modification "Local Couch Co-op (formally known as HUNK'y Friend)" for Resident Evil 2 Remake is distributed free of charge via Nexus Mods. The mod requires ReFramework (v1.5.9.1) to work — this project is publicly available on GitHub.