This yr’s Resident Evil 4 is among the biggest remakes of all time, however purists — or no less than those that had already performed the PS2 model — will inform you it was nonetheless lacking one thing. When the Nintendo GameCube unique was ported to Sony’s second house system, it got here bundled with new campaigns all about aspect character Ada Wong. Separate Methods was an important of the bunch, and 6 months after the PS5, PS4 remake’s launch, it is again as DLC for Capcom’s latest masterpiece. 18 years later, it has the identical impact: Separate Methods meaningfully expands the Resident Evil 4 story and gives a tantalising purpose to return to among the best video games ever.
Advised from the attitude of the mysterious red-dressed character, Separate Methods reveals what Ada Wong is as much as whereas Leon S. Kennedy is busy saving the president’s daughter. She’s there on a mission from Albert Wesker to steal the Amber from the clutches of Osmund Saddler, with Luis appearing as sidekick. Seven chapters fill within the gaps when Ada is off doing her personal factor, which broaden the bottom recreation’s village, fortress, and island places with new areas and options to make them feel and look recent for a second go to.
It performs like a “Best Hits” tackle the unique expertise as Separate Methods strikes at such a breakneck tempo there’s little time to take a breather. Already aware of the controls and the unimaginable, action-focused gameplay loop of the PS5, PS4 remake, Capcom cranks issues up a notch with extra enemy density and more durable boss battles in amongst most of the similar spots from Leon’s marketing campaign. Principally forgoing the explorative nature of Resident Evil 4, the growth is extra condensed and linear to make battle its essential draw. You will comply with the same construction as the bottom recreation (beginning within the village earlier than heading contained in the fortress after which offshore to the island), however new devices give Ada’s narrative its personal really feel and magnificence.
Her trademark grappling gun is what units Separate Methods aside essentially the most, permitting Ada to shortly traverse the atmosphere and keep away from hazard or attain new areas. With grapple factors indicated by round in-game icons, you possibly can swing in regards to the map and get the drop on enemies ought to they be in vary upon touchdown. The gizmo is simply as helpful throughout normal fight encounters: upon staggering a Ganado, you possibly can comply with up with a ranged melee assault that makes use of the grappling gun to tug Ada in direction of an enemy and end them off with a swift kick to the pinnacle. Whereas the weapon is barely usable when the sport says so, it ties into the extra agile nature of the character.
That is demonstrated finest by the very fact stealth is a way more viable method within the DLC. Whereas it’s attainable to keep away from a combat or two as Leon, the unique title by no means actually feels purposefully designed to assist covertness and firefights on the similar time. In distinction, Separate Methods helps you to fairly comfortably clear lots of its situations with out firing a bullet, as a substitute counting on Ada’s knife to do the soiled work. And when she does go loud, new weapons just like the Blast Crossbow and a sawed-off shotgun diversify your loadout past the pistols, rifles, and sub-machine weapons of the bottom marketing campaign.
There’s even a brand new puzzle-solving mechanic referred to as the Interactive Retinal Inquiry System. Letting Ada scan footprints and keypads, she’s in a position to observe characters or work out what numbers have to be pressed to unlock a door. With its personal little HUD to accompany monitoring, it is an additional layer to Separate Ways in which leans into Ada’s spy-like tendencies.
All of it makes for a narrative that ties neatly into the general plot of Resident Evil 4, whereas feeling distinct sufficient to make Ada very a lot her personal character. Cutscenes reveal how Ada impacts a number of the occasions in Leon’s marketing campaign, however then Separate Methods goes above and past with neat, context-sensitive touches. For instance, it is revealed Ada is the one who rings the church bell at first of the sport to rescue Leon from the Ganados horde attacking him within the village. Nevertheless, in case you discover the church space a bit as Ada, you will hear Ashley crying inside as she waits for the blonde-haired heart-throb to rescue her.
Small particulars like this actually elevate the expertise, particularly for followers. In reality, the growth brings again a handful of scenes from the 2005 unique that did not make it into the complete remake. It was a nice shock to study these fan-favourite sequences hadn’t completely fallen by the wayside even when they did not seem of their unique context.
One other spotlight is the boss battles. Ramón Salazar’s right-hand man monster, the Black Gown, will get its due throughout a number of encounters that discover a extra supernatural aspect of Resident Evil 4 — maybe a nod to a route Capcom thought of for the 2005 unique throughout growth. In the meantime, fights with El Gigante and Osmund Saddler play very in a different way to their base recreation counterparts, making every brawl a pleasure yet again.
The one difficulty Separate Methods runs into is a way of disjointedness, which comes from the very fact it has to plug within the gaps of a separate marketing campaign. Significantly when Leon is concerned in a cutscene, the DLC will instantly fade to black and a time skip will happen. You will regain management in a unique space with a unique goal, missing a proof of what received Ada to that time following the cutscene. It feels a bit awkward within the second, as if Separate Methods is a sequence of standalone situations stitched collectively quite than one cohesive narrative.
That stated, it does no less than handle to supply a formidable quantity of content material. Your first playthrough will take as much as six hours to complete, after which you possibly can go for higher ranks and unlock particular weapons in New Recreation+. To place that into context: a bit of DLC for Resident Evil 4 is similar size because the entirety of Resident Evil 3. That assertion might be extra damning for Capcom’s Resident Evil 2 follow-up than anything, however to get the identical quantity of playtime out of an growth continues to be spectacular.
Conclusion
Separate Methods is about pretty much as good a DLC of this measurement can get, filling in narrative gaps and expertly tweaking a elegant gameplay loop. Enjoying as Ada Wong feels completely different sufficient because of new devices and weapons, whereas expanded areas present recent surroundings for a second go to. A way of disjointedness frays the perimeters, however Resident Evil 4 feels entire with Separate Methods by its aspect. A worthy growth for considered one of 2023’s biggest titles.
