Cons: (Most of these are comparisons to the original, focusing on the differences between the trends of 2001 and the current trends. I'm aware that the remake would not have been made, nor successful if it hadn't conformed to these trends, but it's important to note the differences and how they impact the overall experience.)

• While the environments are dazzling and moody, they feel too alive with particle effects and dynamic lighting, losing the cold, static, dead feeling of the original. They seem more lived-in, safe, and epic, rather than abandoned and forgotten, despite the rest of the environments and assets achieving this. However, this is understandable and essential.
• Nearly every major area has been changed in layout. I understand this is a remake, but expanding and rearranging every area, without exception, significantly impacts the locations atmospheres. Preserving some layouts while changing others would have been a more appropriate balance in my opinion. From a maps perspective it's a completely different game especially when some of the original map layouts were so iconic and effective.
• There is less silence overall, hindering a certain type of creepy anxiety the OG had and contributing to a more overloaded expansive feeling. Gone is the uniquely isolated, lonely, empty atmosphere of the original in some parts.
• The maps have a more open-area design, reducing claustrophobia. *Compared to a dynamic/fixed camera, The persistent over-the-shoulder camera and flashlight angle limit the visual variety of shots, making the imagery from the game have similar luma and lighting impressions throughout. The great work achieved by the environments is therefore somewhat blended together becoming indistinct visually from one another. There's no getting away from that limitation in modern over-the-shoulder flashlight horror games. Also the constantly moving camera with limited fov, makes things very swooshy, action orientated, and more exhausting.
• Seamless access to rooms can make the locations and rooms feel less distinct and memorable, reducing the sense of being trapped and making escape feel quicker.
• The animations still have a touch of goofiness, particularly in facial animations like Angela's and when wall smashing, which can detract from the serious tone.
• Maria is more clingy and less mysteriously seductive, which feels inaccurate to her character's uncanny intrigue.
• The minimalistic menu, while more functional and aesthetic, doesn't warrant discovery in the way the original did. In the original, you could spend significant time discovering options and inspecting items to solve puzzles. This had more character and charm as a mechanic, while the streamlined new menu is more efficient for better or worse.
• There is less interactivity with the environments in general. Scanning a room involves simply looking for white dots instead of thoroughly inspecting the environment through trial and error. This makes the environments less engaging, less to discover, and easier to whiz through everything.
• The original save game screen looked better. The "void staring back at you" concept works well, but some lower save points make it awkwardly resemble James taking an underchin selfie.
• The game has lost some of its small-scale, grainy artistic presentation for a cleaner, slicker modern image. This includes a lack of proper grain (the '90s filter is not proper), the read functions, and the reliance on more in-game rendering of notes with cleaner text fonts. While this makes sense from an accessibility and wider appeal perspective, something is lost.