"This time, it has to be different"

Six years after the traumatic event that scarred Leon Kennedy for life, he receives a mission directly from the United States president to rescue his missing daughter, Ashley Graham, in a rural area of Spain. With no other choice, Leon takes the mission and goes to Spain with no backup. This supposedly simple mission takes a turn for the worse after Leon finds out the kidnappers are part of a cult called the Los Illuminados.

Resident Evil 4 (2023) is the newest instalment in the Resident Evil franchise. It's a remake of a 2005 video game that goes by the same name. The original is known as the game that revolutionized the third-person shooter genre and inspired future games in the genre, such as The Last of Us, Gears of War, Dead Space, Uncharted, and many more. The original was already ahead of its time. Back then, no game could compete with it. Resident Evil 4 reinvented the franchise's gameplay formula by adding more action and a different inventory management system. The previous Resident Evil instalments were focused mainly on the horror and survival aspects. However, Resident Evil 4 created an action-horror hybrid experience for players which gave new life to the franchise.

Remaking a game with a big reputation like that is not an easy task. Before the release, some people thought, and perhaps still do, that this remake was "unnecessary" and would "ruin the original Resident Evil 4". I understood where they were coming from but, on the other hand, I was curious how this game would turn out with modern gaming mechanics. It’s not that the original has outdated mechanics, but it would be nice to see a modernized version of it.

When the first trailer and gameplay reveal were released, I was crazily excited! Every time they released something new about the remake, I got more excited and optimistic that this game would be faithful to the original. When March 24th hit, the Resident Evil franchise shined again in a great way. The remake received so much praise, and I barely saw anyone being disappointed. Honestly, I was pretty satisfied just seeing people happy about the game because my prayers were answered. And last week, I was finally able to experience it myself.

If this game were a woman, I would arrange the wedding right now instead of writing this review. It’s gorgeous! As I said, my prayers were answered. Most things in the game exceeded my expectations. This game managed to be different but still recognizable and faithful to the original. The main plot stays relatively the same, with a few minor changes. Those changes didn’t ruin the game or the characters. Instead, they improved the lore and enriched the characters, especially Luis. In my opinion, the most recognizable change is the tone of the game. It’s much darker, grittier, and serious. The original is notable for the many cheesy one-liners; the remake doesn’t have a lot of them. There are still a lot, but the cheesiness and quantity of those lines aren’t as high. I’m completely fine with this change because old fans can also experience this game for the first time in a way. It wouldn’t be as fun and exciting if they kept everything exactly the same as in the original.

The first thing I want to talk about is the modernized gameplay mechanics. The remake didn’t remove anything from the original but rather improved upon them. There are several things that I’m very happy to see in the remake, such as the knife combat mechanic. In the original, you use a knife to slash boxes, chains, and enemies, but the downside is that it’s not that convenient. The animation is slow, and you are very open to enemy attacks when you use it. In the remake, the good ol’ knife slash is still there, but now you can perform other actions such as knife parrying, counterattacks, and stabs. They are fun additions to play with. Knife parrying becomes your number one protection to avoid any incoming hit. With a perfect parry, you can counter the attack, which can give you the upper hand during a fight. You can also use this knife as a finisher to prevent the enemies from transforming. This mechanic sounds broken, and to balance it, they removed the indestructibility. But don’t worry, the knife can easily be repaired and upgraded. These changes to the knife mechanic make the knife the second-most important weapon in the game for me.

Alongside the knife changes, you can now switch your weapons without having to open the inventory. This change makes the pacing of the gameplay better. It increases the tension during combat because you don’t pause just to switch weapons. The weapon switch is also very quick and satisfying to do if you're skilled enough. Speaking of weapons, they removed some from the original and added new ones like the bolt thrower (a.k.a. the crossbow). Even though the removed weapons might be a bummer to some, I have no problem with them. I enjoy the new weapons, even though I don’t use them as much. What I love about the weapon variety in this game is that no weapon overshadows another. Each type of weapon is useful to overcome obstacles in your journey. My tip for you is to keep at least one weapon for each type because at some point you will need them (unless you are doing a certain challenge, like the knife-only challenge). Ammo has been changed with the player being able to craft it using specific items you find along the journey. You can still find ammo lying around, but the advantage of this is that you can choose which ammo you are saving for later. It helps you gain the ammo you need, but the items will take up your inventory if you aren’t smart at managing them.

Tons of side quests have been added to this game. They are fun to do and very rewarding. The rewards can make the main journey easier. The side quests aren’t hard to do, but they are missable because some areas can’t be visited when you reach a certain point in the game. These side quests might ruin the pacing for some people because they require you to backtrack, but they didn’t affect me. I love it because those side quests give me reasons to check previous areas again just in case there’s something I missed.

Another thing that I love about the remake is that they completely removed the dynamic difficulty system. That was my biggest complaint regarding the original. A dynamic difficulty system is a system that changes the difficulty if the players find it too hard. I get the purpose of it in the original, which is to make the game less stressful and more enjoyable for most players, but I didn't like it. I don’t want the game to help me reach my objective by changing the difficulty without my consent. I don't want the game to underestimate me. Not having this system made my journey, and eventual success, through those obstacles more satisfying.

However, not all changes or improvements are perfect. The very first thing I don’t like is running (In the game, I mean). The running feels so slow. It’s not just Leon; other playable characters feel slow for some reason. The running animation is cool, but the speed makes it super awkward at times. The score in the remake is great, but I feel like the original had a better score. The original score makes the game more immersive and inducing to play. The original made me even mute the game back when I was a kid because it was just too scary for younger me (it’s ridiculous, but that’s me). This game also cut many levels/areas in the original. It is a bit disappointing, but I understand for some of the cuts because perhaps they just don’t fit the tone of the remake.

It’s not a Resident Evil game without inventory management. Inventory management has become an identity for this franchise. The original Resident Evil 4 reinvented the management system and it's the best inventory management system in all of gaming for me. The remake has the same system, but they added one unnecessary thing, which is "auto-sort". I don’t like it at all because it kills the purpose of ‘inventory management’ in the game. It doesn’t feel like you are the one who manages it anymore when you have that automatic button. Sure, you're not obligated to use it, but having it as an option already ruins it for me. It’s like adding ‘easy’ difficulty as an option in Dark Souls games.

The bosses in the original Resident Evil 4 are one of the things that make the game so memorable. The four main bosses of the original game are Chief Mendez, Ramon Salazar, Krauser, and Saddler. They are still present in the remake but with some changes. Chief Mendez is the first main boss the player encounters. The remake gives more information about Chief Mendez's character before the game's events through the items in the village. You better understand why he became the man he is now. His boss fight plays out very similarly to the original. There are no significant changes besides the fact that he can throw things at you. Ramon Salazar has the most surprising change for me. In the original, my experience with Ramon Salazar's boss fight was nothing special. He’s just a bullet sponge, and it doesn’t take that long to kill him. However, in the remake, many improvements have been made. The arena is more alive because of how this boss fight plays out. The way you fight Ramon is different in the remake. He can move around in the arena and shoots acid from a distance. The one weak spot he has is difficult to aim and shoot at. These changes make Ramon Salazar more fluid as a boss. It keeps you on the edge of your seat for the whole fight! I’m very happy with this because his boss fight in the original is my least favourite, and in the remake, I see it as one of the best boss fights in all Resident Evil games. However, the buildup to this fight between Leon and Ramon wasn't as good. The interactions between Leon and Ramon in the original are the reason why Ramon is memorable to me. In the remake, they reduced Ramon’s screen time, ultimately not giving enough buildup and anticipation for the player. But, the added lore for Ramon, just like Chief Mendez, makes up for it a tiny bit if you are interested in Resident Evil lore. Krauser is, hands down, the best boss in the game, both in characterization and the boss fight itself. The first obvious change in Krauser, thanks to the new knife combat system, is the removal of QTEs. It’s exciting and satisfying. Overall, it gave me the best boss fight experience in the remake. Krauser as a character is also better in the remake. The game explains more about the relationship between Leon and Krauser. Thanks to the incredible voice acting, the conversation between the two is very distinct compared to others because it involves more personal matters between the two. Krauser was already a great boss fight, and he’s now my favourite boss fight in the game. It’s insane how much they improved it. Saddler is the final boss fight in both games. I like how the original handled the boss fight, but once again, I must give this one to the remake. The boss fight plays out similarly, just better. He’s more terrifying, and the amount of pressure is perfect. He suffers the same problem as Ramon Salazar. The physical interaction between Saddler and Leon was reduced to around 2 scenes. Before those scenes, Saddler only exists in Leon and Ashley minds, trying to control their body. Either that or in some form of a flashback. In the original, Saddler and Leon got a lot of interaction through the radios, and he was also the one who killed Luis when Leon was there. Because of those changes, the build up to Saddler Boss fight was not there anymore. I love the boss fight simply because it was fun to play, but I have no personal attachment to it since the game didn’t even give that to the players.

Alongside the main bosses, we have some others too. I feel like all of them didn’t have significant changes in terms of how you fight them, besides Garrador, because with the new combat system, you can sneak behind him. Verdugo is one of the mini-boss fights in Resident Evil 4, and both versions play out the same way. In my opinion, the original did it better. Sure, the environment and Verdugo character design in the remake is much better, but the boss fight is not as intense as in the original. In the original, you must wait around 4 minutes for the elevator. While waiting, a Verdugo is hunting you from the hallway. The objective is basically to survive. You must find a way to survive for 4 minutes from Verdugo. You can use the environment to help you defeat him. The remake is the same, but it’s way shorter, which makes it feel like you are less trapped than in the original.

The side characters are more fleshed out in the remake, mainly Luis and Ashley. Luis having more screen time is one of the changes that made me happy. His character was changed a bit because he’s way more open about who he is and his objectives. In the original, he didn’t say much and then dies at the hands of Saddler. The death of Luis feels more tragic and emotional in the remake. Ashley is also way better. In the original, she’s just an annoying little brat. Now, she's likeable and easier to sympathize with. She’s written way better because she acts like an actual character instead of just an "objective". Ada Wong got less screen time in the remake and I disliked it. They cut a lot of Leon and Ada’s interaction. Ada and Krauser’s interaction was also cut. It didn’t affect the major plot, but it did remove the mystery behind Ada’s involvement in this game. A lot of people were complaining about Ada’s voice actor in the remake and I agree, her voice isn’t as good as the original. I don’t think it’s the VA’s fault, but it’s more like she doesn’t fit Ada’s seductive character. We will get more of her content soon from the Separate Ways DLC and I hope it can make up for all of these bad changes on Ada’s character.

Just like the original, the remake has a mercenary mode too. Mercenary mode is a game mode where you fight as many enemies as you can with a time limit. In this mode, you can play as any of the available characters, and each character has different arsenals, animations, and abilities. To be honest, I didn’t play mercenary mode that much in the original. I did play it, but I didn’t have any memorable moments from it, so I can’t compare it to the original for this one. I played a lot of this in the remake, and I had so much fun. It feels different from the main campaign because this mode is pure action. You can waste as much ammo as you want without having to worry about it. My favorite character to play in this mode is Hunk. Well, he’s just the most OP character in the game, especially when you use his mayhem mode (a special ability). He blasts these enemies with his OP weapon with ease. It feels like a nice revenge after what you have gone through in the main campaign. The maps in this mode are from the main campaign, with a few changes to fit the mode. I like all of them, but the island map is definitely the hardest one. I think they are going to add more maps and characters for this mode in the upcoming DLC.

Being a great remake is not about completely copying the original, improving the graphics, and calling it a day. A great remake means reintroducing and modernizing the original game for a newer audience in next-gen ports while remaining faithful to the original. Modernizing means that there will be significant changes in the remake but still respect the original work. A good developer will use that advantage to give the old fans a new experience too. Resident Evil 4: Remake succeeds at that. As an old fan of Resident Evil 4, I’m more than happy with this remake. At some points, it doesn’t feel like a remake but like a brand-new game. Most of the experience that I got from this remake was positive. This remake also makes me appreciate the original much more because of how modern it was back in the day. To this day, the original still holds up. Playing the original after you finish the remake isn’t much of a problem because, despite having the same name and story, both give different experiences to the player.

Written by Nate
Edited by Abhi