Especially when it comes to Resident Evil, I don’t easily give in to superlatives. I’ve been with the series since I was 6 and rented the original game for what was then my new PlayStation for Christmas. I loved Resident Evil 2. I thought 3 was okay, and the original Resident Evil 4 was great. When it comes to RE7, Village, and the beloved remake of Resident Evil 1, I’m a bit of an outsider: to me, these games represent various low points in the history of the RE series, when the creators were at their most bland. and the most bland. serious. , or looking for something, anything, original. I’m also wary of remakes; it’s a visceral reaction, I guess, an instinctive thrill to the gaming industry rehashing old ideas instead of tackling something new. I am not easy to give superlatives. I am an old withered soul. But as we inch closer to the release date of Resident Evil 4 Remake and the next iteration of Capcom’s horror game series, I can’t resist the feeling that this one is going to be good, very good.
In my hands-on preview of Resident Evil 4 Remake, especially to begin with, I’m amazed at how different everything is. I’ve completed the original Resident Evil 4 about 25 times. If I close my eyes, I can broadcast the whole game in my head: I see myself as Neo, squirming in the Matrix chair while learning kung fu. Everything about Resident Evil 4 feels familiar to me, but the new version, not just because of the modern visuals or rebuilt animations, feels like a completely different game.
Especially in the village sections, each chapter seems to have a completely changed and expanded layout. Along with the motorboat, which you can use to travel between optional expanded areas (you could do that a bit in the original, but they look bigger now), I see Leon crouching and crawling through caves, stalking a dark forest, and fighting Ganados inside mini, pseudo temples, built in the desert.
Much like 2019’s RE2 and the RE3 remake that followed a year later, this isn’t the original game, just with better graphics and added features. This is a remake in the broadest sense of the term. The spirit, energy and atmosphere of Resident Evil 4 remain intact, only now applied to a different and expanded game world seemingly full of new ideas.
Leon is incredibly agile. It’s like everything you could do in the Resident Evil 4 cutscenes, in the remake you can do it yourself. If an enemy throws a scythe at you, you can press a button to crouch. If they come at you with an axe, you can parry them with your knife and then smash them to the ground. The fight against Garrador, the blind, parasite-infested muscular boss with enormous steel claws, is particularly revealing. If you crouch, you can sneak around and stay out of earshot with carefully placed steps. Progress to his back and instead of pulling out a gun and shooting his weak spot, you can just hit a key to pin him down with your knife.
I’ve always been impressed with Metal Gear Solid 5 and Venom Snake’s functionality and mobility in the hands of the player. Resident Evil 4 Remake seems to accomplish something similar. If the key win from the original RE4 still gave you something new to experience: fight a lake monster; defense against waves in a cabin; fleeing from a giant robotic statue; using heat vision to kill regenerators, so Remake seems to be aiming for the same thing. The combat feels so versatile, the enemies and encounters so interactive, you should never want to do the same thing twice.
If I started this article by setting some sort of expert taste threshold: “When it comes to Resident Evil, it takes a lot to impress.” to me– so I guess I’m about to undermine myself, admitting very vile pleasure. On the other hand, I maintain that it’s vital in any good RE game: Resident Evil 4 Remake’s gory, bloody effects are fantastic. And I don’t mean some kind of splash, more is more, for free. I mean visually, artistically, aesthetically. When you stab a cattle, a large red spot appears on its chest. When firing a shotgun, massive plumes of red and yellow dirt momentarily fill the screen.
If a game is mostly about shooting, if I’m going to spend 15 hours aiming, shooting and killing, I want the guns to sound good, I want the firecrackers to jump off the screen, and I want the kills to look spectacular. . From what I can see, Resident Evil 4 Remake delivers on all fronts. I’ve never been against the series having more action: given the amount of zombies, hunters and bosses you kill, even the first Resident Evil is action-packed. But shooting and shooting, while it’s become the focus of the series, felt quite excellent and unrewarding in the later Resident Evil games. It looks like Resident Evil 4 Remake will finally and completely correct this course.
There is much more to say. The knife fight with Krasuer, which went from a simple QTE sequence to a full, almost Dark Souls-style boss encounter, looks great. Weapon customization has also been greatly expanded: in addition to building your weapons and storing them in the case, when accessing save points there is an additional storage option, such as the item box, so that you can change your arsenal whenever you want. .
There are also some miniature side quests. Do you remember collecting the blue medallions for the Merchant? Now, you’ll find little notices posted all over town inviting you to hunt for dozens of different items, including the coveted Golden Chicken Egg.
Your interactions with Ashley have also been improved and expanded. Instead of the simple “wait/follow me” commands of the original, you can now tell Ashley to stay close to you or split up and take cover: during firefights, she’ll dive behind something nearby, giving you room to kill the Mace gained target without inadvertently cutting it with your knife. And if it is hit, it no longer means that the game ends automatically. Instead, Ashely will enter an incapacitated state, which means you have little time to revive her. Particularly in the opening section of the castle, where it used to take splash damage from all catapults, this new system is a huge relief.
I am not easy to give superlatives. But more than any other Resident Evil game in the last fifteen years, except for the excellent remakes of 2 and 3, I’m excited to play RE4. I can’t wait for other people to play it and talk about it with them. I’ve learned that if you get too breathless and excited during previews, you might look like a fool when the final game comes out. However, this time with Resident Evil 4 Remake, I think it will be fine.
Get ready for launch day with all the system requirements for Resident Evil 4. Otherwise, bounce back with the best survival games on PC.