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Resident Evil 4 Remake Review: Whaddaya buyin’, stranger?

Capcom offers a safe and more intense remake of RE4, but is it worth buyin' over the original?

Resident Evil 4 (2023) is a faithful, much darker, intense and challenging remake of Resident Evil 4 (2005), but one that’s very risk-averse. On the scale of its predecessors, reimaginings of the PS1’s Resident Evil 2 and RE3, RE4 finds itself somewhere in the middle. It doesn’t make drastic cuts, like the latter, and it mostly hits the right notes. But it’s nowhere near the revelation of RE2R, and it’s much closer to the source material than either of those. As a new game, it’s a good third-person Resident Evil instalment. As a remake of an iconic genre-defining game, which is still playable on modern hardware, it plays it very safe – at times too safe, as it’s reluctant to improve the most dated aspects of a nearly 20-year-old game.

While structure, story and gameplay are largely preserved, Capcom has made sweeping changes to Resident Evil 4’s aesthetic yet retained its unique identity. Resident Evil 4 always felt special, and the remake has recaptured most of that sense, at least in its environments, despite looking quite different.

The GameCube exclusive-turned PS2 bestseller introduced a new generation of fans to Resident Evil; for many of us RE4 is Resident Evil. It introduced tropes into the third-person shooter and horror genres still prevalent today, and its drastic shift proved even the most iconic series can reinvent themselves to high acclaim. In approaching a remake, Capcom has acknowledged the original game’s sacrality and has been careful to preserve that experience – warts and all.

Leon S. Kennedy’s lone hero quest to rescue the US President’s daughter follows the 2005 structure very closely, with deviations in atmosphere and one-liners more than story, which is largely left untouched. The opening hours remain shrouded in mystery, even though the zombieless twist is well established and no longer a surprise.

For returning players, it delivers a very familiar experience. Leon remains blissfully unaware of the true nature of the Ganados infected with the Plagas parasite, spending the opening hours remarking how the locals are strange – then promptly murdering the weirdos. As one of those who’s dabbled in Leon’s story many times before – on way more platforms than I care to admit – I appreciate Capcom’s faithful retelling. For newcomers, there was an opportunity to recraft and better convey one of the best Resident Evil narratives, but the setup remains aloof.

RE4 remake has lost some of the cheesy self-aware dialogue, but it hasn’t replaced it with more personality or added clarity. It’s just taken away and darkened the tone. It’s no easier to follow than the original game, and Leon has lost some charm — but still has his banging jacket.

It’s those opening chapters where I felt back at home with Resident Evil 4 – even though it looks very different. The brown haze is gone, replaced by a dark and moody recreation of Resident Evil 4’s quintessential landmarks; from the hunter’s cabin and the village to the church and the castle. It’s a strong recreation, and more in-line with how I saw Resident Evil 4 as a teenager. It’s ominous, and while Leon still plays the overpowered action-hero, Resident Evil 4 has never been so intense.

The remake swings the balance more towards action – it’s now firmly an action-survival-horror game – but it’s the scariest, tensest version of Resident Evil 4.

The added tension is delivered through a darker environment teaming with more aggressive Ganados. Leon still moves like Roger Moore in the latter half of his Bond career; there’s a lack of hustle and he’s halted by the smallest of obstructions. But with the ability to walk while aiming, it’s no longer a distinct choice between fight or flight. Taking influence from the increasing pace of combat in Resident Evil 5, 6 and 2 remake, Leon is more dextrous in motion, but so are his opponents, and must rely on more than popping headshots.

The knife has been reborn. It’s become critical to Leon’s arsenal and is balanced by limited durability. Haphazardly stabbing at a Ganados who snuck up behind you is the most effective way to avoid a nasty axe to the neck. While the world is still mostly tight corridors, the cranky locals sneak up on you from 360 degrees. The knife is also used as a last resort to limit damage when one of them lunges at poor Leon, or to silently take them down, in the rare instance you’re able to approach unseen. Stockpiling and saving blades is just as crucial as conserving ammo. That is unbalanced at times, as the most action-heavy segments can be too light on ammo drops, almost trolling you with loose change in your moment of need.

It’s a same-but-different mindset to Resident Evil 4 (2005), where the knife was mostly a crate-busting tool. The more aggressive Ganados, both in speed and intent to cause grievous bodily harm, are upon Leon considerably quicker; despite his newfound ability to wander backwards. It’s no longer a matter of picking your preferred gun and taking aim. You’ll need to play more defensively. Success is predicated on knowing when to parry, block or evade, when to take a swing, and when to shoot with the right weapon – and then when to run away.

The Resident Evil clunk is still there, in-line with the recent remakes, so it doesn’t really feel like a modern game – well, not a 2023 game. But it’s meant to be that way. Go back to Resident Evil 4 (2005), and the remake’s intentionally limited movement is considerably more accessible, even if it’s harder to take down enemies.

Much of that is down to game design. Unfortunately, the challenge is also attributed in part to issues with aiming, at least playing on console. While movement is much better, with faster and more deadly opponents, the combat control scheme hasn’t had the modernisation we were expecting.

At the time of publishing, aiming is more frustrating than it should be playing on Xbox Series X. Combat is designed to reward perfect headshots or incapacitating a limb to buy time. Even with the ‘snap’ aim assist enabled, it’s sluggish and out of time with the speed of combat. Enemies soak up far too many bullets, not because they’re bullet sponges, but because you keep aiming at their head and shooting them in the shoulder.

It’s a shame. Nailing the perfect headshot in Resident Evil 4 (2005) is one of the great joys in gaming. It was satisfying and carried a sense of relief; though often short-lived following the split-second of unknown, as you awaited the kill to be confirmed or the Plagas to emerge from a Ganados’ decapitated body. That still happens, when you eventually make the kill. But the satisfaction of perfect headshots is few and far between in Resident Evil 4 remake. An hour or so into each play session, you do adapt and start nailing some, but it never feels as sweet as firing the perfect shot should in Resident Evil 4. Hopefully it can be adjusted post-launch.

With the balance shifted towards more action, but still closely following the survival horror essentials of the original, this is a more challenging version of Resident Evil 4. By default, it offers assisted, standard and hardcore difficulties. Strangely, standard exclaims it’s for players new to RE4, while hardcore is recommended for those who have played before. Maybe I’m losing it – maybe I never had it – but I disagree.

As an experienced player, I dipped into hardcore and found it frustratingly difficult. Everything I later enjoyed when I restarted on standard wasn’t there. It just wasn’t fun at all and the controls aren’t tight enough. I’d encourage all players to start on standard difficulty, which is still harder than the original game. It puts up a tense challenge, but with far fewer deaths – and minimal that weren’t my foolish fault.

The opening hours of Resident Evil 4 remake remain my favourite, as they were in the original. The village segments and unravelling the mystery of the Plagas is fantastic – and it’s essentially a shot-for-shot remake early on, right down to the catchy tunes playing as Leon solemnly arrives in the back of a police car. Without as many witty remarks or the self-awareness of its absurdity (and Salazar’s smart hat), it has lost some of its unique charm, replaced by the typical AAA checklist and styling. Although, new players may prefer the more serious tone and darker nature.

My nostalgic infatuation began to wane in the mid-sections, when RE4 starts to feel like it’s more focused on ticking boxes and doing what it has to, rather than making the best remake possible. The same outdated sections that stick out like a sore thumb when revisiting the original game are barely changed. The lake monster boss fight is straight out of 2005, while the tweaks to Ashley’s lengthy escort segments make little difference when she gets taken away repeatedly.

Some clear opportunities to improve and modernise gameplay in the most dated areas have been left untaken, as Capcom elected to play it extremely safe; preferring to leave these sections in the early-2000s, rather than risk any backlash for changing too much. Capcom, making the big calls is why Resident Evil 2 remake is so great.

Despite bouncing between pure nostalgia and wishing it had been modernised further in some areas, the mid-late sections won me back; and I realised this mirrors my feelings towards the original game too. Every time I replayed RE4, I always felt my interest dip when it starts to get very culty, very quickly.

As I progressed and upgraded my arsenal, I continued to grow into the combat and finally gelled with the aiming system – although I standby it should be better. Most of the bosses and tougher enemies beyond the early villagers are genuinely terrifying, and that’s knowing what’s to come; good luck going in blind. It’s these bosses where you’ll find the biggest changes to gameplay to match the new approach to combat.

A greater emphasis on collectibles, with more medallions to hunt and quests for the merchant pad out the skippable extras, but they may be more of a burden for completionists. I ducked in and out for the extra perks on-offer from everyone’s favourite ocker salesman, and I’m pleased to report the soothing tones of “whaddaya buyin” remain a relief – with his purple signage illuminating a safe area and typewriter to save.

The Resident Evil 4 remake is a darker, more intense and faithful remake of one of the greatest games of all time, but plays it very safe. It’s the best way to play for new players with updated controls and a modern styling, despite some aiming foibles. It avoids the missteps of RE3 remake by staying very true to its source material – so close that it’s reluctant to make improvements for fear of changing too much. As a remake, it could have done more, but that’s holding it to the highest esteem compared to Resident Evil 2 remake – one of the great games of all time being remade and compared to one of the greatest remakes of all time is a tall order.

It’s still a good version of Resident Evil 4, and with both a greater challenge and more accessibility, it’s the version for newcomers and most returning players – even if RE4 devotees will miss some of Leon’s original cheesy charm. Just don’t expect it to replicate the prestige of Resident Evil 4 in 2005.

8 out of 10

Resident Evil 4

24 March 2023
PC PS4 PS5 Xbox Series S & X
 

Resident Evil 4 remake was reviewed using a digital retail code on Xbox Series X, as provided by the publisher. Click here to learn more about Stevivor’s scoring scale.


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About the author

Ben Salter

Ben has been writing about games in a professional capacity since 2008. He even did it full-time for a while, but his mum never really understood what that meant. He's been part of the Stevivor team since 2016. You will find his work across all sections of the site (if you look hard enough). Gamertag / PSN ID: Gryllis.