RE4 R is a safe, unfinished, inferior re-imagining of one of the greatest games ever made that has unnecessary monetization (day one DLC plus more added after reviews) and doesn't need to exist. However I still really enjoy it and recommend it.
The crazy level of mainstream praise this game has received is bad for the future of the medium. The dismissal of the original, the claims that the original needed modernizing and that this new version of RE4 is better or on par with the original is awful. I thought video games were a medium deserving respect. Doesn't the gaming community get pissed off anytime someone from TV or film makes an ignorant comment about games. So why are we treating one of our classics like this because there is a shiny new but inferior version out. Could you imagine this happening to a classic film, TV show, book etc? Are video games disposable toys that we get rid of when new ones come out or are they art?
The way the original plays is so good. The combination of the way Leon moves/controls, standing your ground, accurate shooting, melee attacks, knife, repositioning when needed and using the environment to your advantage with the way enemies move/attack/behave/react, enemy variety, level design, the weaponry and set pieces just works so damn well. It doesn't have any right to be this good but it is. It is near perfect. This re-imagining takes this gameplay and tries to modernize it, make it more realistic and play similar to other modern 3rd person shooters. In doing so they upset the near perfect balance. So they tried adding new things and re-balancing to get it near perfect again but failed. What we are left with is a game that is good to play but less fun and more frustrating than a game made almost 20 years ago. Nearly every part of the gameplay needs adjusting. But I think with further tweaking it could play different but maybe as good as the original.
The re-imagining does do a better job with the story and lore but loses so much of what made the original special. The characters have more depth now but lose almost everything that made them so entertaining. Why focus on these changes? It's not what RE4 needed, this is RE4 not The Last of Us. The original story and characters were about fun and entertainment and serving the gameplay. There is so much cut from this game and none of the changes or additions make up for it. The pacing is also worse. How did this re-imagining drag on longer than the original when it has less content? Why do the merchants side missions and back tracking for treasures feel like unnecessary bloat?
It does look quite good after turning off lens distortion and chromatic aberration but I still prefer the originals art direction by far. The original was surreal, bleak, unnerving and gruesome. The re-imagining is overtly 'horror,' dark and clichéd. The original character and enemy designs were better too. I do like the new brute enemies swapped for JJ though, this was a good idea. It runs well and I only noticed a little jankiness and the frame rate only dipped a little when things got busy in the rain. There was a little pop in too.
Why was Mercenaries not at launch and why does that mode feel underdone? Why are there little things I need to pay extra for? (Like the original soundtrack) Why have they added more little things to pay for? Are these going to make the game easier? Did they deliberately make the game harder/more frustrating/grindy hoping to push some to buy these? (Please don't buy them). Why wasn't all this at launch during the review window? What dlc is coming and how much are they going to charge for it? Why are so many people just okay with this?
Why am I already tired of this game while looking forward to continuing to replay the original for another 18 years? It is just such a huge missed opportunity. Capcom took something brilliant and instead of remaking it, building on it, trying to improve it and leaning more into what made it one of the best ever they decided to make it something different. But not different or bold and fresh enough to stand on it's own.
This game and the original are not survival horror, stop calling every horror game survival horror. It sucks seeing one of your favourite genres being erased by mislabeling and wilful ignorance.
This is a re-imagining not a remake. A remake is the same again but hopefully better. A re-imagining is a reinterpretation or adaptation which is very familiar but different.
Now this re-imagining exists it means there will never be an official remake or high quality remaster.
The original Resident Evil 4 is affordable, available everywhere and comes with all the content and no microtransactions.
I'm still giving this game a high 7, even though this has been a pretty negative review, because even an inferior re-imagining of RE4 is still RE4, which is unbelievably good. There's still plenty of fun to be had here, there are some good moments and ideas and it's a pretty polished game.
So go play the original if you haven't or replay it again if it's been a while. But still check out this new version just don't take the mainstream reviews seriously, keep your expectations reasonable, enjoy it for what it is and it'll be a good time. I paid full price day one, got the platinum trophy on PS5 and I don't regret it.
7.8/10
The crazy level of mainstream praise this game has received is bad for the future of the medium. The dismissal of the original, the claims that the original needed modernizing and that this new version of RE4 is better or on par with the original is awful. I thought video games were a medium deserving respect. Doesn't the gaming community get pissed off anytime someone from TV or film makes an ignorant comment about games. So why are we treating one of our classics like this because there is a shiny new but inferior version out. Could you imagine this happening to a classic film, TV show, book etc? Are video games disposable toys that we get rid of when new ones come out or are they art?
The way the original plays is so good. The combination of the way Leon moves/controls, standing your ground, accurate shooting, melee attacks, knife, repositioning when needed and using the environment to your advantage with the way enemies move/attack/behave/react, enemy variety, level design, the weaponry and set pieces just works so damn well. It doesn't have any right to be this good but it is. It is near perfect. This re-imagining takes this gameplay and tries to modernize it, make it more realistic and play similar to other modern 3rd person shooters. In doing so they upset the near perfect balance. So they tried adding new things and re-balancing to get it near perfect again but failed. What we are left with is a game that is good to play but less fun and more frustrating than a game made almost 20 years ago. Nearly every part of the gameplay needs adjusting. But I think with further tweaking it could play different but maybe as good as the original.
The re-imagining does do a better job with the story and lore but loses so much of what made the original special. The characters have more depth now but lose almost everything that made them so entertaining. Why focus on these changes? It's not what RE4 needed, this is RE4 not The Last of Us. The original story and characters were about fun and entertainment and serving the gameplay. There is so much cut from this game and none of the changes or additions make up for it. The pacing is also worse. How did this re-imagining drag on longer than the original when it has less content? Why do the merchants side missions and back tracking for treasures feel like unnecessary bloat?
It does look quite good after turning off lens distortion and chromatic aberration but I still prefer the originals art direction by far. The original was surreal, bleak, unnerving and gruesome. The re-imagining is overtly 'horror,' dark and clichéd. The original character and enemy designs were better too. I do like the new brute enemies swapped for JJ though, this was a good idea. It runs well and I only noticed a little jankiness and the frame rate only dipped a little when things got busy in the rain. There was a little pop in too.
Why was Mercenaries not at launch and why does that mode feel underdone? Why are there little things I need to pay extra for? (Like the original soundtrack) Why have they added more little things to pay for? Are these going to make the game easier? Did they deliberately make the game harder/more frustrating/grindy hoping to push some to buy these? (Please don't buy them). Why wasn't all this at launch during the review window? What dlc is coming and how much are they going to charge for it? Why are so many people just okay with this?
Why am I already tired of this game while looking forward to continuing to replay the original for another 18 years? It is just such a huge missed opportunity. Capcom took something brilliant and instead of remaking it, building on it, trying to improve it and leaning more into what made it one of the best ever they decided to make it something different. But not different or bold and fresh enough to stand on it's own.
This game and the original are not survival horror, stop calling every horror game survival horror. It sucks seeing one of your favourite genres being erased by mislabeling and wilful ignorance.
This is a re-imagining not a remake. A remake is the same again but hopefully better. A re-imagining is a reinterpretation or adaptation which is very familiar but different.
Now this re-imagining exists it means there will never be an official remake or high quality remaster.
The original Resident Evil 4 is affordable, available everywhere and comes with all the content and no microtransactions.
I'm still giving this game a high 7, even though this has been a pretty negative review, because even an inferior re-imagining of RE4 is still RE4, which is unbelievably good. There's still plenty of fun to be had here, there are some good moments and ideas and it's a pretty polished game.
So go play the original if you haven't or replay it again if it's been a while. But still check out this new version just don't take the mainstream reviews seriously, keep your expectations reasonable, enjoy it for what it is and it'll be a good time. I paid full price day one, got the platinum trophy on PS5 and I don't regret it.
7.8/10
Snappington1
9 months ago