Remake discourse has been tiring but this was such an incredible remake that it has to revive the conversation again. I'd argue that the gen 8/9 games that got remade in the recent remake resurgence have different philosophies on how a game can be remade, this falls between the recent Dead Space and FF7R in how it's incredibly faithful while changing and recontextualizing some of it's events.
I actually didn't really want them to change how some of the story elements are presented, but I didn't mind them in the end. I feel like there were no casualties aside from maybe Ada and Ramon, in fact I kind of loved the new Luis and Ashley.
The gameplay blueprint is practically the same which makes the remake practically as engaging as the OG although different in how it feels. People have criticized the new knife mechanics but it really falls in line with how the gasoline/crimson red system worked in REmake, if you liked that system then it makes absolutely no sense you'd hate the knife durability. The most mind boggling change thus far is the stealth which is easily ignored, but it's an option nonetheless if you wanna clear 2-3 enemies before eventually getting caught.
All in all it's a very good reimagined RE4, and I'm gonna be okay with it as long as I'll still have the original available unless Capcom decides to treat this as the replacement.