Resident Evil 4 remake—a whole reimaging of the basic 2005 survival horror recreation out now on consoles and PC—follows Capcom’s earlier Resident Evil refreshes. Following the considerably standalone Resident Evil 1 remake, we obtained the superb Resident Evil 2 remaster. After that, we obtained the nice if a bit quick remaster of Resident Evil 3. And whereas followers might have wished Capcom to remake Code Veronica subsequent (and I nonetheless hope they do…), most assumed the writer would hear the siren’s name and as soon as extra return to Resident Evil 4. It’s a recreation Capcom has re-released over and over. I used to be, admittedly, nervous about it. After Capcom’s earlier remasters, HD ports, and a VR model, did we actually want a remake of such an important recreation? Wouldn’t it even be price it? Effectively, I’m glad Capcom ignored me and different followers and made the RE4 remake, a recreation that’s higher than the unique.
Remaking this beloved Resident Evil installment can be completely different that Capcom’s previous initiatives. Not like RE2 and 3, RE4 wasn’t a sluggish horror recreation with tank controls and static digital camera angles. It was the entry within the collection the place Capcom ditched all that and added extra motion and taking pictures into the formulation, full with a now-famous (and sometimes imitated) over-the-shoulder digital camera. So the room for modernization was narrower, and the locations the place Capcom may “enhance” the sport have been much less apparent.
So as a substitute of tossing all of it out or slavishly sticking to the unique, the builders neatly pruned and tweaked it, as if the sport was a fragile plant that would topple over if fucked with an excessive amount of.
At its core, that is nonetheless the identical primary recreation. You continue to play as good-looking good man Leon S. Kennedy, a couple of years faraway from that horrible night time in Raccoon Metropolis. Within the time since RE2, he’s change into a badass federal agent and is distributed on a mission to avoid wasting the President’s daughter, who has been kidnapped by some creepy cult in the course of rural Europe. As soon as Leon arrives and begins blasting and kicking his method throughout the world, he uncovers a disturbing secret, involving harmful parasites and non secular zealots. Veterans of the OG RE4 can verify none of that has modified. Even the campy tones and tacky dialogue—like Leon yelling out one-liners earlier than killing bosses—largely stays intact.
It’s within the particulars and execution the place Capcom has tweaked and edited the narrative and total recreation. Some boss fights are lacking, changed both with new ones or simply left off the desk completely in an effort to maintain the story transferring. Ashley continues to be a younger lady, with an identical outfit, however you now not can lookup her skirt, and characters aren’t continually hitting on her in uncomfortable methods. Leon can now transfer, intention and shoot on the similar time. Oh, and QTEs are gone from cutscenes!
Added up, all of those tiny tweaks and modifications do make the sport really feel noticeably completely different than the unique. This can be a sooner, extra aggressive, and extra modern-feeling Resident Evil 4. My first few hours have been spent being knocked round a ton whereas getting cornered by massive teams of enemies. But, I didn’t thoughts this in any respect. In reality, fashionable enhancements to controls make it simpler to battle large waves of baddies. And all of this—together with the way in which the remake higher handles its characters and narrative—felt like they have been carried out by individuals who actually, actually cared about this shit.
That is extra noticeable within the methods Resident Evil 4’s remake doesn’t change issues up. There’s nonetheless a mysterious service provider who will promote you numerous upgrades and weapons and purchase your undesirable objects, although you’ll be able to now not kill him. The opening village battle stays an intense baptism by hearth. The Regeneradors within the latter sections of the sport are nonetheless scary as hell. You possibly can shoot crows to get cash prefer it’s 2005. You possibly can as soon as once more abuse Leon’s large kicks when attacking a surprised enemy. And for those who shoot the lake, you’ll nonetheless get your ass eaten by the enormous monster hiding beneath the murky floor.
It’s clear the devs knew what may very well be tweaked, eliminated, or closely altered and what wanted to stay. It’s a balancing act that appears unbelievably onerous to tug off, and but all through your entire 16 hours or so it took me to beat my first RE4 remake playthrough, I by no means stopped and shook my head over some tweaked mechanic or lacking piece of content material.
Effectively, that’s not fully true. After I found the Ada Wong-focused facet marketing campaign “Separate Methods” wasn’t a part of this remaster, I did get unhappy. However fortunately, it appears Capcom might have plans so as to add that facet journey sooner or later. Equally, The Mercenaries mode is absent at launch however might be added through a free replace on April 7.
Nonetheless, even with that stuff lacking out of the gate, the RE4 remake seems like a whole package deal. The sort of recreation we don’t get anymore. After beating the sport as soon as, you’ll unlock enjoyable extras and new costumes. Beat it once more on a more durable issue or with a sooner time and also you’ll unlock extra highly effective weapons and cheats. All of that great stuff is right here and identical to within the authentic recreation, it makes RE4 remake onerous to place down and straightforward to get misplaced in. I actually began up a second playthrough through New Game+ the second the credit ended.
If it wasn’t clear earlier than, this isn’t a 1:1 recreation of Resident Evil 4. This recreation is a bit darker, a bit sooner, and simpler to manage. It cuts some bosses and annoying components however has additionally expanded on fan favorites, just like the attache case stock system and merchant-ran taking pictures galleries. (The taking pictures galleries are extra elaborate now and the case might be modified, granting bonuses and perks.)
Actually, as a substitute of recreating the basic title, Capcom has as a substitute seemingly dug into my mind and pulled out the model of the sport I keep in mind enjoying in 2005 and slapped that onto a disc to promote again to me. Artful bastards, I’ll give them that.
I didn’t suppose we wanted a Resident Evil 4 remake. I guessed that Resident Evil 4’s remake would look good and play nicely, simply as the opposite latest remakes. However what I didn’t count on was a recreation that not solely recreates the unique but additionally builds on it in sensible and fascinating methods to create one thing completely different and higher than the basic.
In reality, after I return and replay Resident Evil 4 once more someday within the not-too-distant future, I believe it will likely be this new model that I’ll return to as a substitute of the unique. And I really can’t consider larger reward to put upon the remake than that.
