How to remake Resident Evil 4, an experiment that changed the way action games are created today? It is at best an unfair challenge and at worst an impossible task. So, instead of trying to reinvent the wheel a second time, the Capcom Developer has doubled the brilliance of the original design – fleshing it out and refining the experience. The result is a stunning Remake that will remind long-time Fans like me of its brilliance while introducing a whole new generation to a modern classic and one of the most important games of all time.
If you’re not familiar, the premise of Resident Evil 4 is simple: Leon S. Kennedy, the cool and handsome rookie cop who became the government agent you may remember from his antics in Raccoon City Resident Evil 2, was sent to rural Spain to find Ashley Graham, the not found daughter of the American president. Yes, it’s a “save the princess” Trope, but even 18 years after, its juxtaposition with the survival horror Genre serves as an impeccable setup for the game’s exaggerated settings. In this matter, the princess is in another castle, but it is a castle besieged by parasitic infections and mind-controlled cultists. So you have to go from a dilapidated village to a military island to get it back. While the fundamental pillars of the tense, close-knit plot and the careful management of resources remain welcome, the improvements in character development increase the story as a whole. Capcom is more conscious than ever of the tone and humor of the game, having had the impression of being random in the Original. This time it feels like Capcom is bending over and finding a good balance in the middle the thrilling horror and the noisy cheese.
This time Leon is not just a cool guy with fluffy hair and a cute jacket who sometimes says cool stuff, sometimes corny and does super cool stuff. He’s more than that: now he’s a cool guy with cool hair who does cool stuff and acts like a human too. This is a Leon carrying the trauma of the Raccoon City incident from the Resident Evil 2 Remake, adding weight to his character and serving as a compelling context for his Motivation to save Ashley Graham. This time it’s not just another mission for Leon – it’s a Chance for redemption for the lives he couldn’t save in Raccoon City. This narrative continuity is a common thread that connects the Remakes with an emotional weight, which makes this new era of the Franchise stronger and more unified than the originals.
Those who panic that this extra layer of humanity has changed Leon’s iconic action hero kitsch shouldn’t worry, because Leon is still an absolute one-liner. In fact, this aspect of his character has been taken up a notch. Through the chaos of the blood-soaked action in which he faces the masses of Ganados infected by the parasites, Leon always takes the time to throw memorable one-liners. And not just for jokes, because these moments are used to solve the agonizing tension of the action against the villagers by breaking them with much-needed ease. Narrowly surviving each experience feels like a relief, but when Leon casually throws in a “count me in for repairs after” after striking a lantern that goes up in flames, it seems almost triumphant. The world of Resident Evil 4 is dirty, covered in dirt and horrible, but it’s also the one where a government agent trying to save the president’s daughter says, “Not bad, is it?”for himself, after having suplexed a Ganado so hard, his head slams like a water balloon. Capcom managed to put me on the edge of my seat in a desperate struggle for survival, only to surprise me and make me laugh with a funny joke. His ability to do this repeatedly without disturbing the overall tone of the game is one of the successful achievements of Resident Evil 4 Remake.
Facing the Ganado is more stressful and terrifying than ever. Their frantic movements, unexpected pushes and vicious actions have intensified, making each experience a panicked waltz of crowd management as they action for breath and hope to have enough ammunition and health to survive the skirmish. They will often be outnumbered on all sides as they move away from their target and crouch, fumbling over each other to grab them and pushing them against pitchforks, sickles and knives swung by other members of the Horde. While the Ganados were just as tricky in the original game, this time their movements seem more tangible and heavier, which also makes the potential consequences of being squeezed or overwhelmed even more terrible. When he saw Dr. Salvador, the potato sack maniac wielding a chainsaw, walked through the crowd to tear Leon apart, the panic resurfaced that the repeated parts of Resident Evil 4 had long been blunted.
These scenarios are absolutely thrilling and despite the tousling tension, I couldn’t get enough of them because the action is so good. From the explosion of a wall Of enemies with a shotgun to the rapid defense of a smacking and fork-wielding ganado to a catchy round kick that repels a crowd, the Action of the Resident Evil 4 remake has a kinetic brutality that gives the impression of controlling Chaos in the most satisfying way.
Every action experience requires constant adjustment and tactical adjustments on the fly. Sometimes the Situation requires bravely running into a crowd of enemies to stick a knife into the hand of an oppressed cultist before rising up as a much more deadly and unpredictable creature. Others require a little creativity, such as sticking a well-placed long-range mine next to a number of enemies before switching to a shotgun to eliminate an enemy’s wooden shield, then watching everyone else boom. Be that as it may, there is a playground nature to actioning where you can manipulate the enemy’s movements to your advantage, for example by luring an enemy into his own bear trap or by parrying a Molotov cocktail on someone and letting a crowd go up in flames. It all sounds punchy, visceral and badass. This was the matter with the Original, but is further reinforced in the Remake thanks to a greater variety of enemies – some of which are completely new – while other recurring ones have been reinterpreted in a new scary way. Without saying too much, some enemies are now changing the dynamics of crowd behavior, often pulling the rug out from under my feet in the same way that I got comfortable in action, forcing me to struggle with a completely new level of Stress.
