I've been really excited about the Resident Evil 4 Remake, and couldn't wait to dig into the demo tonight. It looks great, but I wish I liked it more. The encounters feel sparse, broken up with cinematic, tension building exploration sequences that nonetheless feel like filler. There's a few more cutscenes, some of which trigger based on your behavior, like the chainsaw enemy cutting up part of the level as he chases you, which is a cool addition and again looks sick, but snatching away control as you're trying to fight off the village feels terrible and weirdly antiquated. The changes to the combat don't seem to be in its favor either--RE4R is faster than the original game, but also weightier, more animation driven, and as a consequence it doesn't feel half as good as the original game, which is slow, but snappy. Maybe I'll feel differently playing the full remake, as I adjust to these changes, though I feel like I'd just have more fun replaying the old game. There's also a surprising emphasis on stealth, which is the opposite of what I want from this game. I also encountered a bug where Leon got stuck on a corner and got killed, which made the whole experience feel even worse.

I booted up Resident Evil 4 HD immediately after playing the demo, and played through the village for my second time tonight. It's plainly so much more fun, so much more gamey. Enemies fell to their knees and Leon sent them flying, knocking down a group of enemies like bowling pins. I don't know how you modernize such an arcade feeling, perfect action game to modern standards without losing what makes it excellent. And unfortunately, it looks like Capcom doesn't either.