Dr. Salvador, also known as Chainsaw Man, or “Oh no, not him, not now,” will return for Resident Evil 4 Remake, once again serving as Leon Kennedy’s bane, or, more specifically, Leon’s neck. Kennedy. As we get closer to the release date of Resident Evil 4 Remake, horror game developer Capcom reveals the secret of the scariest Ganado, who looks scary because he looks like “a normal guy”.
While I’m a bit concerned that Capcom’s definition of “regular guy” would extend to a maniac covered in blood, wielding a chainsaw, and infected with a parasite, there’s some logic in how the Dr Salvador was designed for RE4 Remake.
According to Hirofumi Nakaoka, art director of the upcoming survival game, several more iterations of Chainsaw Man have been planned and discussed, with Capcom aiming to build an even scarier foe.
“I liked the villager with the chainsaw,” Nakaoka explains, “so when we heard he was coming back in this new version, we really thought a lot about what he should look like. Speaking with the director, we tried a lot of different things during the design process, like making him really muscular or super tall. Maybe giving him this really long coat. We tried different things with Chainsaw but it just didn’t feel right.
“So we went back and replayed the original, and we took another look at the villager with the chainsaw. And we realized the problem with him is that he’s pretty normal. He looks like a normal guy, but he has a balaclava on his head and is holding a chainsaw. That’s what’s scary. That’s where the horror comes from.”
To make Dr. Salvador too monstrous would make him too inhuman, too unrecognizable, suggests Nakaoka. Thinking back to the credits sequence of the original Resident Evil 4, where we see the villagers before Plagas appeared, what’s chilling is the idea that they were once normal, decent people. It is this vanity that inspires Dr. Salvador in Resident Evil 4 Remake.
“If he was really muscular or didn’t look human holding the chainsaw, he’d just be a freak,” Nakaoka told Game Informer. “It’s not scary. When there’s someone who seems to have intellect but is wearing a balaclava and holding a chainsaw, it’s scary. From the mast down, his design isn’t so different from other Ganados.
Hopefully RE4’s new parry system will help when it comes to taking on the Chainsaw Man, though one useful weapon exploit from the original was sadly nerfed. It looks like many addons, including additional treasures and collectibles, may also be locked behind the Resident Evil 4 Remake DLC.
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