Anyone else in the room who hasn’t played Resident Evil 4? Not only is it one of my favorite games of all time (I still have my copy of game dice and the intact memory of the one that messed up before and after its launch in the mid-2000s), but also one of the titles ported to most platforms in video game history, with Doom’s permission. And that was the most exclusive of the Capcom 5! Since then it has been available on all generations, on all machines and even on smartphones and recently also in VR.
If Christopher Nolan says there was no talk of reboots before Batman Begins, we’ve seen over the years that Capcom is perhaps the company that knows best how to repurpose its classics, either with multiple ports or, as in the present one Fall, with updated remakes through to modern graphics and mechanics, as has been the case with Resident Evil since… well, since Gamecube.
To put it in perspective, we have to remember that RE4 marked a turning point for the series and for all third-person action games with its cool moves Leon S Kennedy he was able to perform while the camera followed him closely at shoulder height. It transformed survival horror, transformed what could be Resident Evil, and transformed shooters, and for that reason it’s an undisputed classic today.
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While the key number lines have continued to progress with the recent RE7: Biohazard and the eighth installment of Village, Capcom has gone through with it RE engine the most obvious deliveries. As I said, Resident Evil 1 already opened the season in these 2000s, so the Resident Evil 2 chosen in the last few years (oddly enough I played it two weeks ago and as you know begins the story of Leon and Ada, the combines perfectly ) and Resident Evil 3. Now, the Resident Evil 4 remake aims to update its then-rigid graphical pointers and introduce a handful of mainstream mechanics to be more varied, fun, and maybe more realistic.
“Resident Evil 4 lacks a little care to perform as a remake both in graphics and gameplay”
Now that I think the RE 2 and 3 remakes hit the nail on the head in both aspects (graphics and gameplay), and after a stroll around the Europe
But let’s get started The best of Resident Evil 4 Remake. First off, it’s still thoroughly hilarious, and some of the new features really improve on the original experience. The weapons are varied – although their effect leaves a lot to be desired on many occasions – and improving the arsenal, managing briefcase space and customizing fighting style all work very well. For example, I’ve enjoyed one of the new weapons for their discretion and impact, or with a mythical model of the fully upgraded original.
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On the other hand, most of the new character models are a big step forward. I especially like them Ashley, Luis or Mayor Mendez; Everyone has improved their expression and costume design, including Ada, although she looks very plastic next to the others. The same goes for the enemies, although they are repetitive as always, or for specific details such as some lighting effects or the camouflage of insects.
Capcom has also worked hard to improve the gaming experience. Sections are expanded, changed or reduced, almost always for the better. Exploration is dynamic and, although there are walks and trace back sometimes a bit clumsy, mostly the level design has evolved. The way the game’s side quests and rewards are integrated Buhonero (for example in the lake, which is freely navigable despite these ugly waters) remind God of the war, and that’s always good.
But every facet I’ve praised has its buts, and then there are many others. It’s noticeable that this remake was mounted on an RE engine primed to modernize Resident Evil 2 and 3, but perhaps not so much on an RE4 that came out of the corridor interiors and increased the scope and exploration. The same level of detail is imperceptible and does not reach the same level of delicacy, and it is clear that going out for the old generation of PS4 and Xbox One is a heavier ballast for the PS5 and Xbox Series versions than the one that pulled the original through the ‘Betrayal’ for PS2.
You can always tweak it, yes, and while I don’t expect this game to reach the visuals of The Callisto Protocol or The Last of Us: Part I (something a classic-sized remake deserves), at least that Update They can and should fix various problems. Namely, there are problems with the transition of night lighting from inside to outside (an abrupt change is noted and the blacks are broken), paused in the Leon model (why set a photo mode when the protagonist’s face is damaged and light slips through the cracks) , when loading textures with actions as simple as pausing the game or reading a document, in sections that for some reason remain in low resolution as if they were still there from the original, in the cut scenes without adjusting the equipment… With what could be done here, it’s a bit sad that Capcom hasn’t shown that they’ve upgraded their engine and results to a level worthy of the current gen.
The overall product is also not very polished. In a particular fight against one of the bosses, there are parts of the stage that protect Leon from his attacks … but that the villain did not hesitate to cross him to give him a quick and unfair death. On the other hand, Capcom needs to clarify: can the cracks and gaps be used for rifle shooting or not? It’s logical and the player expects it to work, but in many cases the game will deny the shot between two boards or poles and in other cases it will allow it.
In this sense, in relation to what the game invites the player to do, the game also limits their expressiveness and creativity in certain sequences, blatantly cheating the appearance of enemies or their immunity. If I planted an explosive to protect Ashley’s back, the first captors who go for her won’t be immune or magically appear from behind the trap. These situations are disappointing and achieve the opposite: you don’t want to try different things, you don’t think a bit of gameplay will emerge. For example, when an enemy smoothly opened a physically locked door, or when an inhuman monster opened another that required an ID. Again, most of these things are solvable…
Something similar happens with confidentiality. The new mechanics of Knifeincluding the ‘parry‘ or block, they are very good and mostly increase confrontation with you-know-who, but order recognition fails too often, especially on ‘finishers’ or silent executions. And the same thing happens: Why should I be close to finishing it with a knife when it can miss and cut the air, exposing myself? There are sections and enemies to enjoy while crouching without making noise (the Garrador!), but in the end the game wasn’t prepared for it either, which takes the fun out of failures. But hey, these glitches can also be fixed.
Then he has his share errors and glitches. Especially things that get stuck, and while most of them are anecdotal in that they don’t disrupt the game, they again take away the illusion. Of course you know what I’m going to say: they should be removed.
I’m not going to complain about that random enemy who needs an entire magazine on his head just because, or about that other one who pulls endless axes or dynamite out of his pocket…not even those who have a “Cholazo” one Get snipers” and remain stunned without moving and wait for the second one, because I think it’s part of the joke of what Resident Evil itself is, and not a flaw or lack of polish. There are genuinely gripping encounters and where you can improvise if things don’t go as planned, and that’s where RE4 Remake shines because it has also managed to preserve the big differentiating feature of the original very well: swapping fear for tension, the fear of being overwhelmed , the anxious walk through the hectic race.
By the way, I won’t end without kudos to the audio work. The soundtrack is fantastic, from the clanging of weapons to the monks’ prayers to the music itself, all in premium surround sound. In addition, Capcom has again bet on it for those of you who can enjoy it Dolby Atmos with a height channel, something that had been abandoned in recent installments. Imagine friend Isidro…
In general, this criticism is not about the typical question of whether a remake of Resident Evil 4 was needed or not. We’re also not talking about the great effect the Wii version control had back then, or stepping into Leon’s shoes like never before in the Quest version. Things could have gone well given how Capcom had evolved, and given today’s technology, this was the ideal time. In fact, I had a great time with it overall, and it certainly updates Resident Evil’s goofier, more defining fun, which blended the mansion puzzles of the early games with the combat prowess of the later ones. But it ironically remains at the gates, not knowing how to finish the graphics or gameplay. I recommend all fans to play it, but maybe in a few months when it’s more polished.
If you’re more into numbers, check out my note and think this game easily deserves an extra point as long as it fixes most of the issues and bugs mentioned and a few others. It’s doable, the classic deserves it and I promise to update this review and the final rating if it happens.
