The Resident Evil franchise has always been a personal favorite and I loved being able to experience the remake of Resident Evil 4. As someone who has played every installment of RE4, from the GameCube to the Quest 2 version, being able to experience the new version was amazing.

The plot for Resident Evil 4 Remake has stayed the same, with special agent Leon S. Kennedy on an urgent mission to rescue the President’s daughter, Ashley Graham, who has been abducted by a mysterious cult. As he travels to an unnamed village in Spain, Leon comes across hostile locals that have pledged themselves to the cult, Los Iluminados. Not everything is as it seems, and the cult followers have all been infected by a mind-controlling parasite called Las Plagas. As Leon seeks out information on the whereabouts of Ashley, he is soon ambushed.

Gameplay has had a great overhaul, and a common trend with the Resident Evil remakes is the ability to craft ammo and items on the go. This is a very helpful feature in the series and I’m glad it came into the Resident Evil 4 Remake. As you progress, you will find gunpowder and resource bags, either labeled small or large, which can then be used to craft ammo or grenades. Another fun feature that I am super happy about, is that they introduced the ability for stealth kills. As fun as it is to go guns blazing, some enemies just deserve a good old stab to the neck.

Now, onto the part that many people are most likely wondering; Yes, they cut out a lot of the puzzles, or, for the ones they did leave in the game, they made them a lot easier to complete. Sadly, the laser room didn’t make it into this remake, which I can understand, as quick-time events no longer have a major impact in the game, and that would’ve been brutal without them. Some other segments from the original game have been cut down or removed, which I was fine with as some of them originally felt like they were there to simply extend gameplay, but now it has a nice flow of action and story throughout.

Another change that people will quickly see is tasks from the merchant. We all know the farmhouse blue medallion task, and this is still in it, it’s just been moved around, but tasks act as side quests that you can accept and get rewarded. The merchant has a tab named Trade, where, you guessed it, you trade spindles that you receive as rewards for finishing tasks, and you can exchange these for treasure maps, stocks, a light sight for the pistol, and many other fun things.

While you still babysit Ashley once you find her, she is, thankfully, not as vocal, so there is a massive improvement in that you’re not having to listen to “LEON HELP ME!!!!” every few seconds when an enemy just so happens to look in her direction. The new Ashley is great. She stays behind you at all times, takes less time to duck in case you need to shoot past her, and thankfully, no longer has a health bar, so you don’t need to worry about splitting herbs to keep her healthy, but this does not mean she has now become a human shield – Ashley can still get downed and die, but when she is downed, you can pick her up without sacrificing health items.

The combat for the Resident Evil 4 Remake has improved greatly since the original, and even the last remake installments, as Leon shows off his agility more than he did in Resident Evil 2, and after a lot more training from his first day on the job as a beat cop, he is more like John Wick as opposed to the original just point and shoot. You’ll notice Leon holds his gun in a different position when an enemy is close by, with his arms tucked in closer to his body; a recognized style of close-quarters combat, or CQC for short, that bolsters weapon retention and gives better speed when swapping targets in a tight spot.

Players will also notice the knife has a durability system, unlike the original version of RE4. This is because the knife has more ways in which it can be used, such as parry. If you time the parry when an attack is about to hit, you will deflect it and make an opening for a counter stab or slash, or if you are being grabbed, instead of mashing to break free you can use the knife as a countermeasure. The base knife can be repaired and upgraded when you visit the store, so as you play, you will find weaker knives that can be used to fill the slot between repairs.

The graphics for Resident Evil 4 Remake are amazing, with certain enemies benefitting from a new design, either by adding extra armor or just more details. This is first seen with the chainsaw enemies as their red bloodshot eyes are now more visible with the bag over their heads. Salazar is one of the main changes, and they have gone away from the child-like look he had and have made him look a bit more ridiculous. Chief Leader Menendez has also had a nice new overhaul, and while he’s still a tall unit like Mr.X or Nemesis, he now sports a hat that makes him look like the Undertaker.

Saddler has also had a new design for both the base look and boss style. The village and castle areas are definitely more detailed, but they don’t feel as big as they used to, especially the castle, so making it from point A to B is a lot easier, and you spend less time getting lost or being turned around.

The audio is still as accurate as it has always been, with the ability to hear enemies around blind spots when they mutter or silently chant, and even the new dialog changes and interactions that have been added in was a nice change. I felt there is a lot more from Luis this time around, and some extra open dialog and conversations with the merchant and Ashley helped make the world feel a little more alive.

Resident Evil 4 Remake is an incredible remake of a game that was already so amazing. When I first heard of this remake, I was thinking other titles could have used it more, such as Code Veronica, or a modern-day version of the Outbreak Files since online is now more accessible by everyone, but I am glad they did do 4. Cutting out certain segments and performing an overhaul of how gameplay works have breathed new life into a classic title, creating a fun and exciting experience.

Written by: Shane Walsh