By Sam Coles:
Video game remakes seem to be rather ubiquitous these days, especially if you are a horror fan, with the recent Dead Space remake, the upcoming Silent Hill 2 and of course the subject of this review Resident Evil 4. A remake that most were not really asking for, and I was one of those skeptics as I thought it didn’t really need a remake, but I was very wrong after playing it. I feel that Resident Evil 4 is the gold standard of how video game remakes should be done. It is a great experience, so without further delay let’s get into it.
The story retains the same context, where it is set 6 years after the Racoon City incident, and you play as Leon Kennedy working for the US Secret Service looking for the President’s missing daughter in Rural Spain. It is the same setup, however the characters act more like human beings in the story, and they flesh out a lot of the backgrounds with each character making the world feel more believable. Leon is still snarky and cynical, however it is realistic given the ordeal he went through in Racoon City so having a dark sense of humour is a given. For one, Ashley is a likeable character in this game, yes, she still shrieks in horror when she is grabbed, but it is the quieter moments. She has some nice moments with Leon, she can be funny and as the story progresses, she becomes braver in the scenario it is a nice character ark. Overall loved the changes to the story, as they made it more engaging.
Now let’s get into the gameplay, which I was very nervous about how much they were going to change it, but they have maintained it but tweaked it to make it feel more like a survival horror game. You can aim, shoot and do location-based damage however you can now move while aiming and shooting. However, this added movement comes with a caveat as the enemy A.I. is far more aggressive in the remake compared to the original game. They are faster, have more tactics and will swarm you if you stay still. You can still thin out the crowd with melee attacks, which Leon’s roundhouse kick is incredible in this game, but they can grab you from behind now and will hold you for their allies to repurpose their pitch forks into your abdomen.
Shooting has been tweaked and feels more realistic, with more recoil but the feedback feels amazing which enhanced by the excellent sound design. The starting pistol feels like it can do damage, compared to the pitiful noise from the original and the shotguns my lord the shotguns, I feel like I need to hip thrust with each trigger pull. Sorry I lost my trail of thought with the shotguns, anyway my point being is that the weapons and Leon’s melee attacks feel meaty and have a gory and juicy outcome. It is still an action game, but I do feel that ammo and items are sparser as I felt there were moments where I barely escaped combat encounters compared to the original, so picking the right shot is still key.
Leon has more weight to him in terms of how he controls, everything in general has more weight to it. Leon no longer feels floaty, he moves realistically, and you really feel his struggle throughout the game as he is being swarmed as well as every axe, pitchfork, knife or mace that embeds into Leon’s shoulder or face. Leon no longer brushes off axe blows, you feel it when they land their attacks, it is brutal!
They have also changed how the knife works; it now degrades over time until it breaks. This adds a layer of tension to fights, as you can now parry melee attacks from enemies which keeps the combat flowing, but you can also stab them in the throat if they grab during a fight. I know weapon degradation tends to be met with eyerolls, but the combat knife lasts for a while, it can be repaired and if it is broken you can find spare knives throughout the game to help you out before you get to The Merchant.
Speaking of The Merchant, he is back, and the economy has been tweaked in this game which makes you spend your money wisely. Treasures such as Spinel and Velvet Blue gems are rarer in this game compared to the original which were everywhere, they are now given to the player more sparingly, but enemies do tend to drop money more frequently. I did notice that items are more expensive, such as weapon upgrades, but it just makes you be more careful with how you sell certain treasures as you can earn certain gems to put in more elaborate pieces to sell them for high prices.
One of the most notable things you will notice first booting the game up are the visuals, and they look superb, and I am playing this on a standard PS4. Considering I am playing this on 10-year-old hardware, it looks amazing, everything looks dark, oppressive and juicy in terms of the blood and gore. This game is extremely violent, the death animations have been ramped up, the kill from the chainsaw man is no longer a quick decapitation, but a slow drawn-out stab into the chest as he thrust the chainsaw up your torso. The visual feedback from the violence is extreme, and made me turn away a few times, but it adds to the relentlessness of the game.
The game tries to run at 60 frames per second like other RE Engine games, but it doesn’t quite hit that target, a 30-fps mode would be greatly appreciated in a later patch for PS4 users. I did notice texture pop in here and there on certain objects, however it didn’t happen too often, so it didn’t hinder my experience, I am just super impressed that this game looks so good on PlayStation 4, it is quite a triumph.
The remake of Resident Evil 4 is a fantastic experience, Capcom have done it again with another remake of a classic. They took the foundation of what made the original game great, and then elevated it to new levels to satisfy both old fans and newcomers to this game. If you have or have not played the original, I highly recommend this game, and dare I say it is better than the original. A must play!
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