It's hard to fault 'Ethan Winters and The Great Spooky Coochie' for drawing inspiration from RE4. Not only is 4 one of Capcom's best selling titles, it's flat out one of the best action games of all time!
But 'The Winters' Winter Holiday' constantly bungles its attempts at emulating RE4, robbing the game of any tension or tactical depth.
At its best, RE4 would put you in elaborate, multi-level jungle gyms with enemies slowly approaching on all sides, testing your ability to traverse tricky environments while applying precise and effective crowd control.
You could target explosive enemies to efficiently clear groups without wasting ammo. Risk closing the distance in exchange for powerful melee attacks. Abuse context sensitive obstacles like ladders, bookshelves, and bear traps to limit enemies' range of movement.
Or maybe it would put you in a tiny enclosed space where split-second decisions and exaggerated hit-reactions were your only tools. Snap target enemies' limbs to slow them down or disable their attacks, giving you baaaarely enough room to breathe in these claustrophobic encounters.
'Spillage Village' levels are mostly simple roundabouts where you can endlessly kite tiny groups of enemies in circles.
Apart from pushing bookshelves and distracting enemies with flour, most of the tactical options in RE4 are gone. No more risky suplexes. No more abusing hit-reactions. No more statregies beyond 'run in circle shoot in head.'
There's one big elaborate fight towards the end, introducing some much needed verticality and enemy density, but at that point Ethan is so powerful that it feels closer to a victory lap than a challenging gauntlet.
Inventory is so big you can pick up everything you see without worry. Currency is so abundant you can buy nearly whatever you want. Chase sequences are too linear and easy to be scary. 'Regenerators' are susceptible to all ammo types, undermining the risk/reward present in the original.
Whatever complexity RE4 had going for it was stamped out in favor of hokey setpiece-fights that are too linear and predictable to arouse any feelings.
But it's not all bad! The snowy village and its surrounding dungeons are absolutely gorgeous, providing what might be my favorite setting in the series, even if it's not very original.
Booby lady and Hammer daddy are cool as hell, with the supporting cast being weird and compelling in their own ways!
And hell, some of the emotional moments were strangely potent, especially in a series known for B-movie cheese.
If 'Dommytrescu's Daunting Donkaroos' (Diggeri-daddy's Despicable Date?) leaned into its vibes and storytelling instead of being a half-assed action game, this might've been a unique entry in the series that stands on its own 2 merits! Right now, it's just a bland mess that makes me want to replay 4 instead.
But 'The Winters' Winter Holiday' constantly bungles its attempts at emulating RE4, robbing the game of any tension or tactical depth.
At its best, RE4 would put you in elaborate, multi-level jungle gyms with enemies slowly approaching on all sides, testing your ability to traverse tricky environments while applying precise and effective crowd control.
You could target explosive enemies to efficiently clear groups without wasting ammo. Risk closing the distance in exchange for powerful melee attacks. Abuse context sensitive obstacles like ladders, bookshelves, and bear traps to limit enemies' range of movement.
Or maybe it would put you in a tiny enclosed space where split-second decisions and exaggerated hit-reactions were your only tools. Snap target enemies' limbs to slow them down or disable their attacks, giving you baaaarely enough room to breathe in these claustrophobic encounters.
'Spillage Village' levels are mostly simple roundabouts where you can endlessly kite tiny groups of enemies in circles.
Apart from pushing bookshelves and distracting enemies with flour, most of the tactical options in RE4 are gone. No more risky suplexes. No more abusing hit-reactions. No more statregies beyond 'run in circle shoot in head.'
There's one big elaborate fight towards the end, introducing some much needed verticality and enemy density, but at that point Ethan is so powerful that it feels closer to a victory lap than a challenging gauntlet.
Inventory is so big you can pick up everything you see without worry. Currency is so abundant you can buy nearly whatever you want. Chase sequences are too linear and easy to be scary. 'Regenerators' are susceptible to all ammo types, undermining the risk/reward present in the original.
Whatever complexity RE4 had going for it was stamped out in favor of hokey setpiece-fights that are too linear and predictable to arouse any feelings.
But it's not all bad! The snowy village and its surrounding dungeons are absolutely gorgeous, providing what might be my favorite setting in the series, even if it's not very original.
Booby lady and Hammer daddy are cool as hell, with the supporting cast being weird and compelling in their own ways!
And hell, some of the emotional moments were strangely potent, especially in a series known for B-movie cheese.
If 'Dommytrescu's Daunting Donkaroos' (Diggeri-daddy's Despicable Date?) leaned into its vibes and storytelling instead of being a half-assed action game, this might've been a unique entry in the series that stands on its own 2 merits! Right now, it's just a bland mess that makes me want to replay 4 instead.