Review | Resident Evil 4 Remake

The year is 2005. You are a GameCube owner. You like Resident Evil series? Buy RE4. The story about the RE franchise evolution started with this title, and crawled its way up to the eight sequel in the series still holding to its roots, while introducing a breath of fresh air in almost every title (minus RE5 and RE6 if you ask me, although RE5 was kind of fun).

RE4 was first attempt in the action-oriented direction, and for many of you out there – the best title they’ve every developed. I’m not one of them, but I do love this game in my own way. I will try my best to give you a small comparison and then focus on the Remake. You can buy and play it on the PS4, PS5, Win, and XSXS, PlayStation VR2, and even on iOS, macOS - from December 2023. It’s interesting how the game outgrew Nintendo at this point, considering it was an exclusive title back in days.

Remake filled some story gaps, and there are many Quality of Life improvements from the gameplay point of view, alongside the obvious graphical overhaul. Ashley doesn’t have a health bar, and you can command her to be close of to spread out. There is also less sexual references this time around, and for some reason when you die the deaths are less gruesome. The neat upgrade is that you can shoot while moving, there is a weapon wheel for quick change of weapons, crafting system, and there are more side-missions from the merchant. QTO’s are gone (kudos!). You can also parry with Leon, and find hidden figures throughout the game, plus enjoy killing some new types of enemies. Without changing the game, these improvements are welcome.

Of course, you can play the game in performance or in graphic mode – both are working as intended.

Spanish parasites are the best! Said no one ever, and Leon agrees. Leon is probably angry because Ada had a voice-acting change, but that is understandable. Welcome to a mad village, filled with mad villagers and mad everyone else. It's a mad game.

I’m a bit late to the party, but there were other games and so many priorities before this one. Finally, I’ve finished it and I’m glad I did – it’s still one of the best action-horror games you can play. I’m a big fan of the first 3 games in the series, but RE8 really scored high on my personal favourites list. Guess what? That came takes so much from RE4 and its predecessors, no wonder why I’ve loved it so much.

Story-wise – Following the destruction of Raccoon City in 1998, Leon S. Kennedy becomes an agent for the United States government. Six years later, in 2004, Leon is sent by the president to rescue his daughter Ashley from a village in rural Spain. Soon after arriving, Leon finds his escorts brutally murdered by the villagers, who are being controlled by the parasite. Lucky Leon, he also gets the parasite, and Ashley as well! You can follow the story events more easily this time around as the developers expanded the lore, making some story parts more logical and non-random. I don’t think anyone expects a mind-blowing story experience from RE series at this point, so I will not focus much on the story parts. I did enjoyed the expanded bits and pieces, but Leon’s voice acting felt kind of cringe and weird, and my favourite character Ada is even worse. I will never forgive them for Ada, but at least she is still pretty.

The sound effects are awesome, especially the save room music (so good). The effects, the graphics, the character physics – all awesome. I don’t really have a minus so far, I’m almost completely satisfied with this version of the game.

That looks good! I've enjoyed my stay, thats for sure. Ashley is still irritating, but towards the end she is more badass than Leon. I mean, she's not. Leon survived Racoon City, that is a big deal!

The biggest downside of RE4 for me was its biggest selling point – the fun and fluent action segment. I just love the survival horror elements the series introduced, and this is the first game that took different direction. At the same time it feels so good when you kill dozens of enemies through the progression, but it also feels a bit too much for a RE title. Sometimes I felt overwhelmed with the combat and killing bunch of villagers and whatnot at every point in the game. I get it, but man, sometimes I just want to feel the chills down my spine when I explore dark corridors and hear weird noises in the distance. This has gore elements, but it’s not really a horror game, especially when you kill 1000 villagers in 15h of gameplay or so. The lack of puzzles also takes away from the overall feel if you ask me.

That is probably my personal nag, and many of you out there doesn’t feel that way. And I can agree, no worries. The combat, the gameplay, the progression, the loot; everything around that is pure perfection (almost). The areas are well-designed, and the enemies are always keeping you on the edge, both with ammo and the health. It’s so dynamic, and it’s never dull. The only problem you can face is aiming with the controller, but with assisted targeting option you can mitigate that problem completely. I didn’t, I wanted to aim like a pro. So, yeah, I’ve died couple of times.

It’s also worth noting that looting yellow resource boxes rewards you with ammo or health, so exploring and looting will always work in your advantage. Plus, it’s fun checking things out, shooting hidden objects, and selling loot so you can buy and upgrade your arsenal. I just love snipers, but I also love using guns and shooting enemies in the head. I also shot Ashely in the head, which resulted in Game Over. Yeah, don’t shoot Ashley after she joins.

Try stealth against chainsaw enemies. Or try backstabing ogres! It's cool to have options, but with such a strong and wide arsenal of weapons, you don't really need to be careful. 

When you’re not a killing machine, you can sell your loot and exchange completed side-missions for rewards. Merchant will sell new weapons, recipes, and upgrade your equipment. It’s advisable to upgrade the durability of your knife – it saves the bullets, plus, you can stab enemies when they grab you. I love how you can shoot enemies in their knees and finish them with knife, or simply WWF them and break their spine. There are a lot of ways to win.

Upgrading is important. Mixing yellow herbs increase your health when you consume the mix. Crafting is basic, but it gets the job done. Often I was missing bullets, but most of the time I’ve barely won. The game gives you what you need at certain moments. The most important takeaway is the fun factor – constantly I was enjoying my time. That is the most important part – even though I love the older titles (RE2 Remake was almost a perfect game), this one chained me and let me go when I was done. Ok, maybe the last location in the game sucked, but I don’t mind. I was expecting Dracula at that point, they went a bit overboard there.

It's a crime running through the game. Vape the game like you've never vaped, and of course, respect Ada. She cool.

Unlocking more weapons and bonus stuff, plus the mercenaries mode – they all work towards the replayability value. Simply because I don’t have time for NG+, I will not replay the game. Probably I will finish the DLC with Ada, but after couple of new titles which are on the horizon.

This remake is good as the RE2 Remake. For fans of this action direction of the series, this is probably the best RE title you can play, although RE8 is my favourite. In terms of remakes, it’s one of the best, truthful to its roots and probably better.

If it weren’t for bad Ada voice acting, I would be hyperventilating, but I’m not. I’m mad bro. But happy. Play RE4, you must.