Never played RE2 before, but got the remake and doing my first playthrough on Hardcore with Claire. Love the atmosphere, the exploration and how oppressing the entire setting is when playing on a difficulty where death could set you back considerably. I wish the revolver had more power behind it though, both in terms of audio feedback and actual damage done. The zombies can take too much damage, sometimes soaking up 10 shots to the head before going down.
I really like how various items have emergency mechanics tied to them, such as the knife and flashbangs.
