(Photo courtesy of: NPR) “”Resident Evil 4″ has been remade.”
Brian Mullen
Connector Contributor
“Resident Evil 4” is a remake of the survival horror classic Resident Evil 4, originally released in 2005. The game was developed by Capcom and was made available for the Gamecube and the Playstation 2. This is a survival horror game with a lot of gore and body horror so those who are sensitive to horror may want to veer away. Resident Evil (2023) is available to play on PC via Steam, Playstation 5, Playstation 4, Xbox Series X/S, as well as MacOS and IOS.l.
The game follows Leon Kennedy who is a U.S. special agent tasked with rescuing the president’s missing daughter who was kidnapped by the Los Illuminados cult from rural Spain. The gameplay style is that of a third-person shooter with an over the shoulder perspective that leans heavier into action than survival horror in gameplay feel.
There is a whole arsenal of weapons to find, buy and upgrade over the course of the game that the player can spend in-game currency on through finding treasure and completing challenges. There is also a demo available called the “Chainsaw Demo” which takes place right at the beginning of the game during one of the most memorable action set pieces in gaming history.
The gameplay blueprint is laid out for the player in this segment. There is a tutorial leading up to the set piece teaching the player the rules of the game and how they can interact with it. As a trained special agent, Leon is equipped with a handgun and his trusty tactical knife. There is a basic combat tutorial showing the player how to shoot and parry with Leon’s knives.
The game also teaches players that Leon can use his knife to destroy boxes and similar items queued to the player through yellow paint on them to find ammo, meds and other items Leon will need on his mission. When Leon reaches the town where the set piece takes place, the main attraction of Resident Evil 4 is shown to the players: action set pieces that encourage player
creativity against seemingly unbeatable odds. Leon encounters the hostile villagers called ganados and is quickly overwhelmed by them, teaching the player that they can’t brute force their way through every encounter and they need to run away sometimes and try to pick off the ganados one by one.
The game is faithful to the original with updated graphics, visuals, story, controls and minor gameplay changes. There is plenty here for fans of the original as well as newcomers to the franchise. Even though this is the fourth mainline installment in the Resident Evil series, players can feel comfortable jumping in. Playing the prior games isn’t needed for the narrative as everything the player would need to know is in the opening cutscene of the game.
While the remake takes itself a little more seriously and changes some of the story beats to match that slightly more serious tone, “Resident Evil 4” is a B horror film through and through. It is a very over the top, campy ride that takes Leon through multiple different locations in the town and will encounter many frightening enemies and boss fights.
There are multiple difficulty options available for players to tailor their experience for what they want out of the game. There is an assisted mode available that is designed for players not familiar with action games or want an easier experience, that adds aim assist, makes the survival horror ammo and healing scarcity much more forgiving.
Once you beat the game there is another “professional” difficulty that is unlocked for a challenging experience, as well as other incentives to speed-run the game to unlock fun new weapons and costumes to use for repeated playthroughs. Another mode available once the game has been completed is the returning mercenaries mode that is similar to a horde mode type game mode for extra replayability. For anyone interested in playing an all time classic,historical game as well as any fans of survival horror and action, this is the most modern and accessible version to play.
Grade: A
