Review | Resident Evil 4 - Fresh Meat
At the village entrance, I spot the missing cop being set alight, howling agonal screams. I sneak briskly around the barn to a turned back and intuitively proceed to a silenced shanking. It doesn’t work. Frenzied Spanish screams bring axes and pitchforks intensely overwhelming from all sides. I stumbled and sprint around and through the cabins and paths, haphazardly shooting and stabbing and dodging, while weaving in and out of Spanish traffic. I’ve looped back around, and the barn’s ablaze with a flaming cow flailing away. I try to calmly shoot precisely but the horde’s overwhelming. Then the frenzied chainsaw-wielding bagman bursts through the gate. My looping circuit has been cut off and I have to take refuge.
If I were a Resident Evil protagonist I would simply stop winding up in areas full of zombie like monsters.
The cabin door I have barricaded is made short work of by the chainsaw as it grinds through the bolt with a sparking metallic grinding. I smash a glass display to get to the shotgun that was once the pride and joy of this home’s owner and brace myself. The chainsaw man charges at me. I send out a volley of shrapnel unloaded from their casing. I try, and try, AND TRY but he charges through, shrieking as I get impaled, by the motoring maw of metal and tossed aside like a pile of carrion. I take a second looking a the game over screen and then quickly realise that I could have easily parried his spinning blades with my knife, or used the multitude of new options at my disposal to get around him. Sorry, Leon, that’s on me. I panicked. We’ll get him next time.
I simple think; her.
The Resident Evil 4 Remake is an incredibly ambitious bold reimagining of the legendary original from 2005. Capcom is well positioned due to its fantastic new takes of the first three Resident Evils to reimagine my, and many others, favourite game. This remake is very in line with its two predecessors as a horror third-person shooter, focusing on fluidity in combat and movement instead of the tank controls of yore. Paired with rollercoaster set pieces throughout, high-fidelity graphics, and a great soundtrack. These games are also often infused with brand-new mechanics to bring these classic games into the modern era with an added flourish. The original was a much campier action game with near-perfect pre-Gears Of War shooting mechanics and levels designed around Leon and his inability to move and shoot.
HE WAS A SKATER BOY. SHE WAS MUCH MORE EMOTIONALLY MATURE AND CAPABLE AND GOOD AT HER JOB.
The most immediately apparent changes are the new options to the protagonist Leon’s movement and combat abilities. He can now sprint, shoot, dodge, weapon switch, and reload on the move. As well as his existing melee slashes, his (now breakable) knives can stab, slice, parry, execute, and perform sneak kills. These don’t sound too exciting but when the fast fluid nature of switching between all of these gives the gameplay a perfect sense of an intense scramble for survival. As you gain mastery over these abilities it all comes together with the grander Resident Evil lore to make it feel like Leon is transitioning into an action hero that tears through infected with the best of them*.
*” The best of them” being Chris and Claire.
The areas you make your way through are often a mix of extensively revamped levels that faithfully recreate iconic areas whilst elevating them with gorgeous graphics and a brooding atmosphere. Some of the weaker sections are given surprising new additions. These range from new enemies; such as parasites that jump on and puppeteer humans, to Capcom blowing out set-pieces in the original into much bigger spectacles. The quite dull minecart section from the original is now an Indiana Jones rollercoaster escapade with your buddy Luis offering wisecracks. It’s an absolute joy. While there are still some weaker areas and missed opportunities, the game still doesn’t feel lacking. It’s still about the same length as the original and there’s been a significant focus given to optional content, from side quests, treasure hunting, and shooting galleries. It gives a unique delightful charm to take your time instead of rushing to save the world.
Honestly, the new Luis is such a sexy disaster idiot in this game and it is amazing.
The story of the remake is at its core the same: Leon Kennedy has to travel to rural Spain to rescue the US President’s daughter, Ashley Graham, from villagers controlled by monstrous parasitic cultists. However, the remake takes a more serious tone and puts far more effort to tell a structured story with developed characters and interesting new lore surrounding the cult leaders and parasites. The secondary characters are much stronger, especially Ashley with her strong character development showcasing an independence missing in the original by expanding on her gameplay section. While the remake makes for an objectively better story, there’s quite a tonal difference to the camp shlock of the original. A good example is the tonal difference of Leon making terrible puns. In the 2005 game, it slotted right in with the game’s almost comedic tone, but here it’s very much emphasised as gallows humour and almost a coping mechanism for dealing with horrors he’s had to endure. It’s more interesting, but it’s not as fun as back-and-forth terrible puns between Leon and the next main villain he was about to obliterate.
Ok, but it is hard to not kinda miss parts like this.
The game isn’t without fault though, particularly compared to the original. That 2005 game focused on precise aiming with laser sights, and weighty guns with satisfying reloading and shooting. Standing your ground felt like a bold choice. In the remake, the animations are gorgeous but the guns aren’t as viscerally satisfying to fire and the aiming isn’t as tight. This is especially noticeable while moving, which feels like it makes the alleged superiority of moving and shooting redundant because it's just not as punchy. Frustratingly, because of the sheer freedom of expression in combat and movement, it means the level design has become a bit weaker and less focused, as to account for more playstyles. While this is not necessarily a bad thing, the remake just doesn’t attempt to focus on what made the original brilliant: a near mechanical precision to everything that guides the player through thoughtfully designed combat encounters.
Still, I absolutely adore this game. Almost everything new felt fresh and good without straying too far from familiarity. Both games have unique identities and almost need to be treated as such. The remake doesn’t try to replace the original and its perfected level design, but instead, it offers players more freedom and spectacle. I would say almost any other game this good would surpass the original but Resident Evil 4 isn’t just any game. But in overall quality, Resident Evil 4 Remake could still be considered the best remake of all time and it certainly makes as a strong contender for game of the year already.
