After the Dead Space remake comes another renewed classic, the original of which was the main inspiration for the first one. We have already had the opportunity to test it and can share our first impressions.
Survival horror shooter fans can’t complain about the lack of exciting news from earlier this year. The dust has barely settled after the arrival of the hit remake of Dead Space, and the second of the revamped classics, Resident Evil 4, is already looming on the horizon. Capcom is unlikely to postpone the game at this point, so the two releases will only be 56 days apart. It’s actually an interesting case, because the previous game probably wouldn’t have seen the light of day if Dead Space creator Glen Schofield hadn’t taken a trip to Spain in 2005 with Leon Kennedy (the action of RE4 takes place in this country). . It’s tempting to wonder who will emerge victorious from this confrontation, although ultimately it should be the players, as both games are set to be true representatives of the genre.
Unknown, but promising
While we already know absolutely everything about the Dead Space remake, the general state of the remastering of the fourth resident Evil remains a mystery. Sure, I’ve had a chance to try it before (more on that in a bit), but it wasn’t really a game, so there’s almost no conclusions to be drawn. Moreover, we already had the chance to see the exact same gameplay snippet in a gameplay video released last year. It should be noted that Capcom recently uploaded another video, from episode five, in which León reunites with the president’s daughter who was kidnapped by Los Illuminados. This is additional information for anyone waiting for the Resident Evil 4 Remake.
The demo only contained the first chapter of the campaign: this is part of the game, which will normally take you 15 minutes to complete. In the end, I played a bit more, but mostly because I was deliberately avoiding the story and trying to test out various aspects of the improved mechanics. The biggest surprise for me was that the new Resident Evil 4 starts off in a different way than the original. The demo completely skipped the scene where two police officers drive León to the outskirts of town, and after watching a brief recap (made from scratch, let’s add it), we immediately landed in the woods.
The road to the city in the remake seems a bit shorter and I feel like there’s a lot less going on (no truck scene, for example). The encounter with the first infected villager in the house is almost the same, but then our walk slowed down, as did contact with other opponents. The real carnage doesn’t happen until we enter the city. After burning a policeman alive at the stake, who, according to the 2005 original, was captured before León appeared; the inhabitants disperse and we can start euthanizing infected people. For each enemy we kill, a new infected local appears, and after eliminating a sufficient number of opponents, Chainsaw Man appears, triggering a boss fight that we must win to complete the chapter. The same opponent also appears when we enter the cabin with the shotgun, which is exactly the same as in the original. Thus, the whole sequence can be shortened, saving ammunition in the unnecessary fight with the villagers.
During events in town, you may notice important new mechanics. First of all, you can shoot while moving, which usually isn’t a huge surprise, since Capcom has been obeying this mechanic since the second part remake, but from the perspective of the original RE4, it’s a complete novelty. Some surprises have also been added to the environment, resulting in interesting interactions. For example, there is now a lamp under the ceiling of the barn which, when fired, sets the cow inside on fire, and the cow goes mad and tramples all opponents in front of it. The changes also affected the knife Leon uses, as it consistently degrades the more you use it. The knife is the last chance for an effective defense, but at the same time it can break and then we have to replace it. I guess the first opportunity for this will appear in chapter two.
When it comes to story fixed points, the changes are more symbolic. As I mentioned, you can still barricade yourself in one of the houses for a while, and the slaughter in the village is interrupted by the sound of the bell. The difference is that the noise surprises Leon outside the building, so we can see the mesmerized villagers start to walk past the hero, completely ignoring him. At the end of this scene, the legendary bingo prank happens, which is sure to please many of you. This issue has been considered embarrassing for years, but on the other hand, almost no one could imagine Part 4 without it. As for other interesting changes, it is worth mentioning the trap scene that takes place at the beginning of the chapter, when Leon frees a trapped dog. In the new version, the dog is absent, and the hero himself falls into the trap. Removing the dog from the plot will likely affect his absence during the fight with El Gigante, unless we find him in another situation.
Capcom must comply
Difficult to say more after such a short game. The demo gave me a taste of what’s to come in March, but it’s just an appetizer before the main course. Among the significant things, Leon’s increased mobility, the ability to shoot on the move, new interactive elements in arenas, minor plot changes, and generally great visuals are very enjoyable. If we compare all this with the new dead spacewhich has been greatly improved by such patches, we should get a great new version.
However, let’s also remember that of all the Resident remakes that Capcom has delivered in recent years, the fourth part will be the most difficult. In the case of Resident Evil 2 and 3, moving the camera to TPP turned the game upside down and thanks to this decision, we received a completely new experience. It won’t be as easy with Resident Evil 4, not only because it looks more like the original, but also because the original is often considered the crowning glory of the series. Expectations are high and let’s hope the Japanese developers live up to it. His attempts so far have been remarkably successful, and things shouldn’t suddenly go wrong. Crossed fingers!