Resident Evil 4 (2023)

After finishing RE2 I wanted more so I started up Resident Evil 4 directly after. One of the most praised game in the series, so I had high expectations.

The story follows Leon Kennedy again, on a mission to rescue the president’s daughter Ashley. She’s been kidnapped and taken to a village in Spain. This mission turns out to be more complex with infected villagers and cults. I thought it was a entertaining story to follow.

This game is more packed with action than before and I enjoyed it a lot. The combat feels tight and a lot better, both melee and shooting. Really liked the inventory management with a briefcase that can be updated through the game at a merchant that pops up between new locations. Also to be able to upgrade and buy new weapons was a great addition.

It’s a great game and still holds up. Don’t really have bads things to say about it. Maybe the Bossfight against Ramón, it felt a bit frustrating. The scene was quite weird and the camera angles made it hard to follow him around.

Looking forward to play the next games of the serie that I’m gonna play, RE7 Biohazard.

Rating: 🌲🌲🌲🌲 ➕

I played and loved the original RE4 on GameCube when it first came out and it had remained my favorite Resident Evil game for decades.

I sort of stopped playing new RE games around the time RE6 came out and only got back in the series this year when I picked up RE Requiem for the Switch 2. I loved playing it, so I decided to play all the entries I had missed and saved RE4 Remake for last. I really adored RE Village and thought that was the new highlight of the series, until I just finished RE4 Remake a couple of days ago.

I absolutely can't believe how incredible it feels to play. It's such a great game, the updates to the combat feel outstanding and I think most of the changes made to the original narrative and game design are for the better.

I actually started a new playthrough of the original on Switch to refresh my memory and I still think that game is excellent in its own right, but there is something about the way RE4R feels to play that has me mesmerized, I started a new game + on PS5 and a fresh playthrough on Steam Deck so I can play it on the go.

I am hooked and I know I will be replaying this game over and over on a very regular basis.

This review includes my thoughts on the Separate Ways campaign and Mercenaries DLC.

Here we are with another Resident Evil remake. Unlike previous remakes, RE4 didn't necessarily need this treatment. The gameplay in the original is still great even though some of the script and sexism makes it dated. Happily, the latter portions have been improved with generally tighter writing, more exciting dialogue, and the removal of Leon being a weird pervert (Ada's stiletto's still feel out of place, but whatever I guess). You'd think this would make this the definitive RE4, but it doesn't quite make it to such a status.

Almost every aspect of gameplay, audio design, music, scenario, etc has been improved, but at any given moment, RE4R feels less like playing a video game. The original was mostly on rails as well, but everything in RE4R feels like a tight corridor in a restricting way. This is true in many Resident Evils, but typically that feeling isn't quite there and you are often making interesting little moment to moment decisions. This still occurs in RE4R, but specifically in the form of money management. It's difficult to not play this game optimizing for gold, especially with the merchant hanging out every 20 meters to sell you more stuff. It quickly became annoying, regularly breaking the tension, and I found myself wishing I could have slightly wider environments with less treasure to trip over. On the plus side, knives are super cool in this and I enjoyed the tank-like tromping about experience of being two heavily armed fighter people.

Ada's Separate Ways campaign, while even more of a corridor experience, is chock full of so much new stuff that It'd be difficult to not recommend this version. She is a blast to play with her grapple gun, interesting boss fights, fun spy music, and hot dialogue with Leon. Their chemistry is smouldering! It's good stuff. Oh, and The Mercenaries is as fun as ever.

Anyways, I'd still start someone curious about Resident Evil on the Resident Evil 2 Remake, then maybe go to this one if only because knife parries are the sickest shit ever. If they prefer horror and tension over action, send them to Resident Evil 1 HD.

The original was one of my favorites. This was a fantastic remake. I think that it was faithful to the original and expanded upon it in every way.

They've upgraded the gameplay to modern standards but kept the core of it. They've upgraded the visuals, which look absolutely amazing and more atmospheric than the original, making it creepier and more well-lived in. Particularly the detail on the ganados and all the enemy models are amazing and varied. They're added multiple side missions for the merchant that enhance the game, which is great. They've given the story a bit more seriousness to it, without removing the cheesiness which made the original so great. They've improved some bosses and added some new weapons. Most importantly, Ashley is NOT annoying in this game, she cannot gain "damage" to where you need to use healing items on her, and she's just generally less annoying. That is amazing because thats the most annoying part of the original.

They've kept the things that are important though, such as most of the bosses and encounters and they've tweaked them JUST so, to give small surprises throughout that only original fans would notice.

This game is amazing and I love it!

Resident Evil 4 Remake is an interesting case. It had the gargantuan challenge of remaking a game that is as classic and well-regarded as games can be. How do you go about remaking that? You'd think that remaking a 18 years old game would require some drastic modernising and altering the formula to suit today's trends and needs. That wouldn't be like the original then?

To my surprise, Resident Evil 4 Remake keeps very close to the original and sticks the landing. Of course, there's new stuff, QoL features and mechanics but playing the game feels very familiar. It was fun to find a blue medallion in same place as I did 15 years ago. It was fun to see similar combat strategies working here as they did in the original. And even though I'm sucker for a more horror-oriented tone, it was also fun to see the cheesy vibe of the original retained here. Was Leon always this sassy?

While the old school feel of the game is mostly a big plus, a few times I felt the game was a bit clunky to control. Even at later parts of the game, I still messed up here and there because of camera angles, quick turns and knife combat. And as is the Resident Evil tradition, there are some clumsy fights and parts but overall it's pretty remarkable how much good stuff there is in the game.

Interestingly, the game suggests you to choose Hardcore difficulty if you played the original. While I managed to beat the game with it, it still felt a bit weird way to frame the difficulty option. That's because Hardcore was pretty damn hard even with my (shaky) knowledge of the original.

While the game feels like the old-school original, it looks brand spanking new. Once again the RE engine is put through its paces. The game looks really good with environments that are distinctly reminiscent of the original but a lot more detailed and atmospheric. It's also a nice continuity to go from RE2 Remake to this and see Leon's character model look like the same person.

Sound-wise the game is pretty close to the original. Mainly you'll be hearing a lot of gunshots, explosions and Spanish chants and excalamations. New voice actors are fitting and corny in their delivery – as they should be. As for music, once again, for the life of me, I can't really remember much of it except for save room music being nice, shooting range music being fun and end credits rock song being cheesy. Of yeah, I guess Salazar fight had a pretty epic music in it? I don't know what it is with RE games' music that doesn't register on my memory.

The main campaign of the game follows the original rather closely and kept me occupied for about 18 hours. I think that's a bit longer than the original? At times I was getting a bit tired of a stream of similar fights and encounters but it felt like the developers understood the risk of this happening. So, usually at these points, the game introduced some new enemy or twist to keep things fresh. This happened all the way through until the end of the game.

Speaking of the end of the game, one thing I really liked in the original was the Mercenaries mode that you got after beating the game. In RE4 Remake, Mercenaries mode was added as a free download (probably a bit after release). After beating the game, I gave it a quick go and it's still fun here. It's pretty surprising how a surival horror game turns into a arcade shooter so easily.

Also, as was the case with the original. Ada also has her own bit of story in the Separate Ways DLC/episode. I can't remember whether I played it in the original but I might give it a go here. Probably more of the same good stuff.

Resident Evil 4 Remake is, in my opinion, a good example of a remake done right. It keeps the core of the original intact and where it does things differently, it does it so that feeling stays close to the original. I had fun with it.

Now that I've recently played more Resident Evil games than I ever imagined I would in such a short time, I have a pretty good grasp of where the series is at. While this game was undoubtedly really fun, I kinda feel Resident Evil Village is the high point of the newer games in the series. And I'm still waiting for a Resident Evil game that wins me over completely. The series is in a really good spot now so maybe Resident Evil 9 will be the one?

P.S. It's funny how I never find much to say about music in games. That's surprising since music plays such a big role in my life otherwise (and I also kind of write music reviews for my own enjoyment as well). Similarly, I write pretty limited insight about graphics even though that's something that I'm constantly keeping an eye on while playing. Let's see if I can think about presentation more critically with the next game I review whatever it may be.

I don't know. Maybe its just too long and repetitive. Maybe its that compared to other games I've played recently such as Pizza Tower, Balatro, Dark Souls 2, Celeste, Yakuza like a Dragon, I'm not running to tell people about the experience.

It's a solid game with great acting animation and gameplay. It's possible there are just too many games like this now as the original sort of set a lot of standards for third person action games. I kept myself up at night thinking how the original inspired Uncharted and design of those games fed back into this one. More with the presentation than moment to moment gameplay.

It's worth it to play if you have the time and can find it for pretty cheap I do wonder where they will take the franchise rebooting from here. I

Leon Kennedy is back and better than ever in the RE4 Remake. I was a bit weary of this after the way RE3 Remake was done, especially with the loads of cut content and underwhelming presence that RE2 had.

Happy to say that the talent behind RE2 at Capcom was behind the wheel on RE4! They really delivered a faithful yet improved experience of the much beloved game entry in this series.

With amazing visual fidelity it really builds the presence for the games world somewhere in Europe. Leons VA put in work in really giving us a character that was evolved and actively present in the events of the game.

9/10

I didn't enjoy it as much as I would've liked to simply because I've beat the original four times already. However, RE4 Remake more or less the same game, so it deserves the same rating. There are some noticeable improvements such as:

• Graphics (duh)
• Shooting Gallery (I can actually win this time)
• Customization options for case and weapons
• New weapons like the Bolt Launcher
• More side quests
• Overall better horror vibes
• Enemy variety (You won't fight the same 4 villagers each time)
• Better Ashley controls (though they don't make much of a difference)

There's a few downgrades too, in my opinion:

• One of the major bosses is missing
• I don't like the Merchant's new VA
• Your knife can break (seriously wtf)
• No cool one-liners, including the ballistics line (I can see why they removed this line, but it's one of the best lines in gaming history)
• Cut down on the B-movie vibes to make it more "serious" (even though the original was plenty scary)
• The Water Room is way too easy

The original will always hold a special place in my heart, but this remake will be a great way to introduce one of the greatest video games of all time to a new generation

RE4 R is a safe, unfinished, inferior re-imagining of one of the greatest games ever made that has unnecessary monetization (day one DLC plus more added after reviews) and doesn't need to exist. However I still really enjoy it and recommend it.

The crazy level of mainstream praise this game has received is bad for the future of the medium. The dismissal of the original, the claims that the original needed modernizing and that this new version of RE4 is better or on par with the original is awful. I thought video games were a medium deserving respect. Doesn't the gaming community get pissed off anytime someone from TV or film makes an ignorant comment about games. So why are we treating one of our classics like this because there is a shiny new but inferior version out. Could you imagine this happening to a classic film, TV show, book etc? Are video games disposable toys that we get rid of when new ones come out or are they art?

The way the original plays is so good. The combination of the way Leon moves/controls, standing your ground, accurate shooting, melee attacks, knife, repositioning when needed and using the environment to your advantage with the way enemies move/attack/behave/react, enemy variety, level design, the weaponry and set pieces just works so damn well. It doesn't have any right to be this good but it is. It is near perfect. This re-imagining takes this gameplay and tries to modernize it, make it more realistic and play similar to other modern 3rd person shooters. In doing so they upset the near perfect balance. So they tried adding new things and re-balancing to get it near perfect again but failed. What we are left with is a game that is good to play but less fun and more frustrating than a game made almost 20 years ago. Nearly every part of the gameplay needs adjusting. But I think with further tweaking it could play different but maybe as good as the original.

The re-imagining does do a better job with the story and lore but loses so much of what made the original special. The characters have more depth now but lose almost everything that made them so entertaining. Why focus on these changes? It's not what RE4 needed, this is RE4 not The Last of Us. The original story and characters were about fun and entertainment and serving the gameplay. There is so much cut from this game and none of the changes or additions make up for it. The pacing is also worse. How did this re-imagining drag on longer than the original when it has less content? Why do the merchants side missions and back tracking for treasures feel like unnecessary bloat?

It does look quite good after turning off lens distortion and chromatic aberration but I still prefer the originals art direction by far. The original was surreal, bleak, unnerving and gruesome. The re-imagining is overtly 'horror,' dark and clichéd. The original character and enemy designs were better too. I do like the new brute enemies swapped for JJ though, this was a good idea. It runs well and I only noticed a little jankiness and the frame rate only dipped a little when things got busy in the rain. There was a little pop in too.

Why was Mercenaries not at launch and why does that mode feel underdone? Why are there little things I need to pay extra for? (Like the original soundtrack) Why have they added more little things to pay for? Are these going to make the game easier? Did they deliberately make the game harder/more frustrating/grindy hoping to push some to buy these? (Please don't buy them). Why wasn't all this at launch during the review window? What dlc is coming and how much are they going to charge for it? Why are so many people just okay with this?

Why am I already tired of this game while looking forward to continuing to replay the original for another 18 years? It is just such a huge missed opportunity. Capcom took something brilliant and instead of remaking it, building on it, trying to improve it and leaning more into what made it one of the best ever they decided to make it something different. But not different or bold and fresh enough to stand on it's own.

• This game and the original are not survival horror, stop calling every horror game survival horror. It sucks seeing one of your favourite genres being erased by mislabeling and wilful ignorance.

• This is a re-imagining not a remake. A remake is the same again but hopefully better. A re-imagining is a reinterpretation or adaptation which is very familiar but different.

• Now this re-imagining exists it means there will never be an official remake or high quality remaster.

• The original Resident Evil 4 is affordable, available everywhere and comes with all the content and no microtransactions.

I'm still giving this game a high 7, even though this has been a pretty negative review, because even an inferior re-imagining of RE4 is still RE4, which is unbelievably good. There's still plenty of fun to be had here, there are some good moments and ideas and it's a pretty polished game.

So go play the original if you haven't or replay it again if it's been a while. But still check out this new version just don't take the mainstream reviews seriously, keep your expectations reasonable, enjoy it for what it is and it'll be a good time. I paid full price day one, got the platinum trophy on PS5 and I don't regret it.

7.8/10

Oh man, what a ride. I couldn't ask for a better remake of my favorite game of all time. Of course, I am extremely biased, so take my review with a grain of salt.

I admit that I didn't want this remake. The old RE4 was so good, and still felt great, so why bother. Better do a remake of Code Veronica! (I still believe Code Veronica deserves a remake). Then I started to feel excited about it, looking at trailers and stuff. Then I got to play it, the day before my birthday. What a birthday present!

Honestly, I loved everything about it. They kept the essence of what made RE4 special, and then made it even better. I do appreciate that they kept the characters very similar to the older version. I like this version Leon way better. Still has some sassy dialogue, but not as much as the older version, so it feels more realistc. Ashley isn't as annoying. The Ganados are relentless and smarter in a way, and the Regeneradors will give me even more nightmares. The merchant was ok, but I think I still like the older one better (it's probably nostalgia). Now, I didn't like the versions of Ada Wong and Ramón Salazar in this version. I never understood the Salazar boss fight...

The script was very well executed and they added more lore into the game, which I really appreciate. Combat was ok, although I feel it was a little bit clunky at times. Sometimes I had issues changing weapons, don't really know why. I like the added parry with the knife and the stealth kills. Best of all, they actually recorded voice acting in Spanish with the correct accent. I remember making fun of the old version because the Ganados sounded like Latinos in a game taking place in Spain. I appreciate the effort for making something more authentic.

I can't choose the remake over the old version as my favorite, because although very similar, they are different. They are definitely tied up there. And very close to them is Village. Capcom has been doing a great job with these new games. Now I need to play the remakes of 2 and 3. For some unknown reason I haven't done it!

One thing I hate in games is having to protect/escort an NPC, which is why the castle part of the game is such a downer for me with having cramped spaces where Ashley can be easily carried off, swarmed by stage B plaga or killed by my own damage.

Update: Once I got used to her it wasn't too bad, just got to be more tactical about my approach to combat.

Played the demo 5 times today. Unlike Resident Evil Village, Remake understands what made RE4 such a special game in terms of combat. All of the moment to moment combat decisions are in tact and the main enemies play into them rather than Village's Lycans' RNG. Even for a fan like me who knows the game very well, the remake still hits you with some surprises. (The tower you can climb up crubling down once you reach the top was a welcome one.)

So far, the only mechanic I know that is not in the remake is how doors work. In the original, if you pressed the interact button twice when opening a door, Leon would kick the door like an action hero. The benefit of doing such makes it so that opening doors is faster and can also stager enemies hit by the door. Doors were also destructible so using explosives or shooting the shotgun through the door provided risks. You could shoot holes through doors to give yourself an advamtage of seeing through doors. Remake doesn't have destructible doors so the strategy behind them is gone. Shooting doors i the remake does nothing to them. Funny how these dinky wooden doors can withstand shotgun blasts.

Yay, another action horror game that I never got around to playing has got a remake, after the dead space remake I'm actually starting to look forward to these types of games and it's not that long until it releases either.

Also gives me something to actually play on my ps5 because right now there is nothing I want to play.

Ok. If that was the way to introduce a Ganados, then I didn't like how it was handled with the first one being one with a parasite. I didn't like the build up here as already, you know things are not right. I liked how in the original, when Leon met the first Ganados, he mistook it for a human. Nothing was really off yet until after that encounter.

Dr. Salvador is really interesting to see here in the "remake". Already, he's more interactible with the environment and it could lead to some interesting group kills for Ganados under cut down environments. I really like it. Makes for the player to try to be familiar with the world around them.

I'm waiting until we see the limb damage system as that was what made Resident Evil 4 one of the very pinnacles of game design. Shoot a guy's hand, their weapon falls off, shoot their leg a few times, they trip over or kneel. Although Village had it with only ghouls, stuns outside of them were solely based on RNG. I've yet to review Village for what it does wrong as a spiritual successor to RE4

I'm still definitely going to play it out of curiosity as the original is one of my very favorite games of all time.

One more thing: THE REMAKE KILLED THE DOG! YOU MOTHERFUCKERS, CAPCOM!