Through the years, I’ve been telling myself that I’m going to replay Resident Evil 4. I first beat it round 10 years in the past and was blown away by how tightly crafted and thrilling it was, however for no matter motive, I haven’t correctly gone again past a little bit of experimentation with PlayStation’s DualSense Edge controller.
Upon reflection, I believe I now know why that’s. Resident Evil 4 is an undeniably nice recreation, however there’s only one drawback: it’s kinda clunky. With out query, the seminal 2005 recreation deserves all of its flowers for the way it helped pioneer the third-person shooter style, however it may be troublesome to revisit as a consequence of its management scheme. Individuals who repeatedly replay the older Resident Evil video games have little doubt gotten accustomed to these tank-style controls, however others, who understandably come from a contemporary panorama, may discover the dearth of mobility slightly irritating, particularly when aiming. That’s actually been the case for me.
It’s additionally a key motive why I’ve been on board from the beginning with Capcom’s 2023 remake of the sport, merely titled Resident Evil 4. Utilizing the framework of its unbelievable Resident Evil 2 remake, Capcom revisiting RE4 introduced a chance to modernize the sport’s extra dated components whereas enhancing every little thing that also works extraordinarily nicely, from the delightfully campy tone and masterful pacing to memorably grotesque enemy design and eerie setting. It’s a monumental achievement, then, that Capcom has managed to do all of that and extra with Resident Evil 4 (2023), delivering an absolute masterpiece that units the gold normal for remakes in gaming.
That B-movie appeal, and extra
The core premise of the remake stays the identical. After the U.S. president’s daughter is kidnapped, particular agent Leon S. Kennedy is tasked with travelling to a distant European village to rescue her from a spiritual cult. However every little thing surrounding this strong motion B-movie setup has been improved. Neatly, Capcom now emphasizes how Leon’s been psychologically affected since we final noticed him through the harrowing occasions of RE2, making a stronger throughline between the 2 video games. This helps floor a personality who, within the authentic recreation, would carry out The Matrix-level superhuman feats with an virtually psychopathic stage of detachment. On the similar time, Capcom retains a few of his humour — which, within the context of his trauma, now feels extra like an acceptable coping mechanism — and charming one-liners. Additional strengthening the ties to RE2 is returning Leon actor Nick Apostolides, who does a superb job of conveying each the edgier and extra lighthearted sides of the character.
The remake’s stronger writing extends to different characters, too. Within the authentic recreation, the president’s daughter, Ashley, was little greater than an annoying damsel in misery for Leon to avoid wasting. Right here, she’s far much less whiny and even now has an endearing rapport with Leon, with the 2 bonding over the horrible experiences through which they discover themselves. It additionally helps that Canadian actress Genevieve Buechner delivers a extra understated efficiency, graciously making Ashley really feel extra like a personality than a plot machine. However the character who will get expanded upon probably the most is Luis. The ex-cop Spaniard had a comparatively minor function within the authentic recreation, through which he made decidedly distasteful feedback about Ashley, however right here, he has a meatier function whereas additionally dropping the informal sexism. Throughout a number of sections of the marketing campaign, the remake provides Leon extra of a chance to get to know Luis, giving them a way more compelling camaraderie than ever earlier than.
Cool strikes, Mr. Kennedy
However story and characters aren’t the primary motive one performs Resident Evil — that may be the survival horror gameplay. Fortunately, that’s the place the remake shines much more. That every one begins with Capcom’s gorgeous RE Engine, which powered RE2 and Village and produces extra jaw-droppingly beautiful, photorealistic visuals for RE4. All the pieces from blood-soaked animal carcasses and dilapidated European structure to pus-filled, fleshy mutants and Leon’s glistening rain-soaked tactical shirt seems to be completely unbelievable with the modern visuals. Admittedly, the unique RE4 marked a shift from the collection’ signature scares to a extra action-heavy expertise, however the improved presentation — replete with expertly honed lighting and audio design (enhanced on PS5 by way of the disembodied, unnerving voices that emanate by way of the DualSense speaker) — truly helps preserve a few of the horror components.
However let’s be actual — RE4 is, initially, an motion recreation, and the remake hones in on that in all the finest methods. Truthfully, it may possibly’t be understated simply how far more partaking and thrilling fight might be if you’re afforded full 360-degree motion. As a substitute of often combating with the controls, you’re in a position to focus solely on the obstacles in entrance of you, which permits Capcom to shift concentrate on getting inventive with enemy configurations and the precise format of areas. Positive, the unique recreation had a stage of verticality to it, however the remake’s additional freedom of motion and real-time transitions between vaulting round, climbing up ladders and leaping by way of home windows make every little thing really feel infinitely extra seamless. Ashley, too, is much less of a nuisance in fight, thanks to higher AI and the power to command her to stay near Leon (helpful when fleeing) or cling again (helpful when combating).
All of the whereas, Leon’s returning potential to shoot enemies within the head or knee and make them susceptible to a satisfying kick or suplex is far more intuitive and clean when you will have full digital camera and character management. Throw within the potential to set weapons and grenades/flashbangs to D-pad shortcuts as an alternative of getting to always open your stock to equip gear and RE4 (2023) looks like the proper realization of its predecessor’s gameplay potential.
However the single greatest and finest change on this regard comes by way of Leon’s knife. Within the authentic RE4, you would need to awkwardly maintain up the blade whereas making sluggish slashes, a course of that needed to be repeated every time you wished to open a crate and examine for assets. This, coupled with the requirement to verify merchandise pick-ups as an alternative of merely mechanically doing so within the remake, made issues really feel a bit tedious within the authentic. (The surprisingly addicting Tetris-type case administration system does return, although, with a welcome auto-sort choice, in addition.) If immediate merchandise pick-ups within the remake weren’t sufficient, Leon’s knife now has larger versatility in alternate for a sturdiness metre, and it’s really a game-changer.
Within the remake, Leon can parry most incoming assaults — together with melee assaults, crossbow bolts, tendrils and even chainsaws — with a well-timed button press. The window for that is fairly beneficiant, admittedly, nevertheless it nonetheless feels ridiculously cool to fend off incoming fireplace with only a knife. As a substitute, the problem comes from the on-the-fly decision-making relating to when to really make use of the knife. Because it can be used for fast, last-minute escapes if you’re grabbed by an enemy and even new insta-kill stealth strikes, there’s a significant risk-reward component to your blade.
On the similar time, you could find new knives to interchange your damaged ones and restore your essential blade on the Service provider (sure, the lovably goofy and mysterious salesman returns) for a reasonably large price, so there’s a superbly balanced and rewarding gameplay loop surrounding the knife alone. That’s to say nothing of the fantastic assortment of pistols, rifles, shotguns and different weapons that Leon accrues, all of that are upgradable on the Service provider. All advised, Resident Evil 4 (2023)’s intensive mechanical refinements end in a few of the most pulse-pounding and gratifying third-person fight I’ve ever skilled in a recreation.
Change for the higher
In some ways, Resident Evil 4‘s nondescript European setting was a personality unto itself, and the remake solely dramatically expands upon that. Every of the sport’s three essential hubs — the village, fortress and island — are all larger and denser this time round, with extra secrets and techniques and puzzles to sort out in every. In some areas, Leon may even return with Ashley to provide her a lift and open up beforehand unreachable paths. Whereas I want they did just a little extra with the team-up dynamic (there aren’t actually that many of those cases, and the segmented nature of RE4‘s settings implies that you finally depart areas with out the power to return), it’s nonetheless a novel solution to reward exploration and add replay worth. A brand new sidequest system additionally encourages you to enterprise off the overwhelmed path, be it to shoot ‘x’ variety of hidden targets kill extra highly effective variations of enemies. I admire the added problem these afforded on prime of simply netting you useful cash and assets to spend on the Service provider’s store.
All through all of this, Capcom has additionally been intelligent sufficient to make modifications to environments and buildings the place it is smart. Gone are a few of the comically over-the-top quick-time occasions (QTEs) — high-quality in 2005, however fairly dated 18 years later — and of their place are interactive sequences that retain the identical campy spirit. Boss fights and setpieces that had been restricted to small areas now really feel extra full of life because of bigger fight arenas through which Leon can truly correctly run round and shoot. After 2020’s Resident Evil 3, there have been considerations from some long-term followers as to how a lot content material is perhaps lower or modified, however fortunately, this reimagining of RE4 retains almost every little thing whereas making good tweaks the place they’re most wanted.
To enter specifics would spoil a few of the remake’s many wonderful surprises, however the perfect broader instance I may give is the aforementioned island. What was as soon as a numbing slog of waves of overpowered enemies and visually boring rocky environments has been reworked right into a extra atmospheric, tightly crafted and aesthetically numerous endgame part. What initially labored right here has been thoughtfully retained and constructed upon — particularly, the horrifying Regenerators — whereas every little thing else that was grating has seen a big revamp. Better of all, Capcom correctly fleshes out Leon’s antagonistic relationship with soldier Jack Krauser all through the sooner sections, so the island gauntlet now serves as a dramatic and thrilling build-up to an impressive, tense, virtually cat-and-mouse encounter between the 2 former brothers-in-arms.
The very best REmake to this point
For years, many have argued {that a} Resident Evil 4 remake was unneeded, and that’s not with out benefit. The unique recreation stays playable on just about each platform and holds up fairly nicely in some ways. However Resident Evil 4 (2023) exhibits that such a line of pondering lacks creativeness. Towards all odds, Capcom has managed to take some of the beloved video games of all time and modernize in it so many sensible methods, lovingly staying true to the unique expertise whereas bolding charting a brand new path for it. That is simply the best gaming remake to this point and an early frontrunner for Recreation of the 12 months.
Resident Evil 4 is now accessible on PlayStation 4/5, Xbox Series X/S and PC.
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Picture credit score: Capcom
