Characters constantly drop quips and one-liners. There's no doubt the writing in the original Resident Evil 4 was bad, but it's also beloved. The designers also moved away from the original's reliance on quick-time events. While the first half of the adventure mostly plays it straight, the back half takes risks with altered enemy designs, reworked boss encounters (or, in one case, a boss that was removed entirely), and completely new scenarios. The developers rely on knowledge of the original game's beats to surprise and delight. Outside of some very specific gameplay additions and changes, which I definitely won't spoil, this remake is pure fan service. You might not even remember what's new and what isn't: it's that seamless. Added fog and darker lighting give the game more of a straight-up horror feel. The remake is substantially bigger, stitching together a world that feels more connected and organic. When the original Resident Evil 4 released, games didn't feel anywhere near as padded as they do today. I worried the remake would dilute that delicate alchemy. The game bursts with inventive ideas, enemies, and scenarios, and rolls them out relentlessly over roughly 15 hours. The magic of the original Resident Evil 4 lies in its pacing. It's almost reminiscent of The Last of Us Part 2, where realistic animations make combat feel dense and heavy, but still responsive when mastered. Aiming itself also feels weightier and more difficult. They'll rush to corner you, forcing you to always be on the move. In this remake, Leon is much faster and more agile, but so are his enemies. While that limitation never bothered me, it's become a sticking point for new players. But unlike those games, Leon can't move while aiming. Back in 2005, it popularized the over-the-shoulder perspective later seen in classics like Gears of War and Dead Space. It was clear a Resident Evil 4 remake would modernize the original game's revolutionary (but now dated) control scheme. They've succeeded not by playing it safe, but by taking big design swings that make it feel like a brand new game.

Resident Evil 4 is a victory lap for what has been called the new 'golden age' of Capcom. So this remake had to do the impossible: please fans of one of the most celebrated games of all time, while standing on its own merits.įor the most part, it does just that. Gamespot's Greg Kasavin called it 'probably the single greatest horror-themed action game ever created.' While a small minority of detractors believed it strayed too far from its survival horror roots, it went on to sell over 10 million copies and earn superlatives from critics. It's hard to overstate the noise Resident Evil 4 made on release. It was something new, something radical and exciting. I had never seen something so gruesome in a video game, never felt my muscles tense up quite that way. Whereas many games slowly teach you their mechanics, Resident Evil 4 begins with exposure therapy, overwhelming the player with an immediate challenge. Special agent Kennedy was on a mission to rescue the president's daughter from a remote village in Spain, but it doesn't take long before he's beset by hostile townsfolk and a chainsaw-wielding maniac.

It was 2005, and I was standing over the demo kiosk for Resident Evil 4. Nearly two decades ago, I watched Leon Kennedy's head get sawed off at my local Gamestop. Leon Kennedy gets new moves, and a more emo look, in the remake of Resident Evil 4.

Resident evil 4 remake review