Resident Evil 4 remake review: Capcom reinvents its survival horror classic

It was 2001. Resident Evil 4Capcom realized that the Resident Evil series was in trouble before it was even released. Hiroyuki Kojibayashi stated that Resident Evil had been stuck in the same mold since its conception. “The whole concept of RE4 was to reinvent the game,” he said. “We wanted to give the gamers something new.”

It was an action-oriented reboot that reexamined the survival-horror roots of the series, including pitching. Resident Evil 2 co-star Leon S. Kennedy as an international action hero on a mission to save the U.S. president’s daughter from a cult. Resident Evil 4The masterpiece was celebrated as an inspiration, bringing new life and excitement to the franchise. Continue reading action-focused in ensuing sequels — ultimately prompting yet another reinvention of the series with the back-to-basics horror game Resident Evil 7 Biohazard.

Capcom’s remake of Resident Evil 4 reimagines the series’ most beloved and highly influential entry with lavish detail, modernizing the game from top to bottom. Developers have reframed Leon’s adventure through the lens of other recent Resident Evil remakes, bringing new levels of beauty and squishy gore to Resident Evil 4The story was also updated. This is an obvious demonstration of how developers have a deep understanding of the source material and are eager to bring out all its potential.

This game strongly suggests that Resident Evil might be in dire need of an overhaul.

Capcom Image

Resident Evil 4’s core elements are present in the remake. Leon S. Kennedy, now a dashing government agent, is dispatched on a covert solo mission to Spain, where he searches for a target codenamed “Baby Eagle” — real name Ashley Graham, the daughter of U.S. President Graham. She was kidnapped by a group of cultists in an effort to infect her and make her their puppet. Leon begins his search for Ashley when he comes across a rural, overrun village. Its angry residents — and a series of ultra-powerful men and monsters — stand between Leon and his rescuee.

Leon is not the same rookie cop as his predecessor game. He no longer has to deal with shambling zombies and is now in a much better position. He is now well-armed and ready to fight, as well as facing Ganados, an army of infected, armed humans. Resident Evil was a game about managing resources and avoiding ammunition shortages. However, the Resident Evil series had a different gameplay. 4, players concern themselves more with crowd control and — specifically in the remake — parrying attacks from all sides. Resident Evil 4This new challenge presents an entirely different type of problem: Surviving against all odds.

The dance to escape death in the remake can seem daunting. Leon is easily surrounded by Ganados and burly men who wield giant hammers or chainsaws. Leon is capable of evading or parrying almost every attack. After kicking or punching bad guys in the stomach, Leon is able to finish them with a knife through his skull. You can either approach the encounters by stealth. He will sneak up on unsuspecting opponents and execute a silent execution. Each combat encounter is exciting because of all these possibilities. Sometimes they can also be frustrating. The game throws in waves upon Leon, making it feel like Leon must solve a puzzle by trial and error.

Capcom Image

Leon has to protect Ashley in short, but crucial, segments. Ashley’s vulnerability is apparent in these situations, so Leon has to fight not only for his survival but also hers. This time, she’s a far less complicated babysitting assignment; her health system has been greatly simplified. Ashley’s presence was a famously divisive element of the original, but she’s less of a nuisance here, and can be commanded to stay close to Leon (during chase sequences) or to keep her distance (during combat). The two work well together, and it’s fun to watch them flirt.

There’s plenty in between RE4’s action-heavy set pieces is a series of puzzles, many of them inscrutable and ornate in the classic Resident Evil style, along with fetch quests. These lock-and-key tricks still take a back seat to the combat, and after all this time, still feel perfunctory in the grand scheme of the game’s design — even the puzzles specific to the remake feel like an afterthought on the developers’ part.

The Merchant is a magical, always-present merchant that offers an enormous array of upgrades, weapons, armor and repairs. Leon’s players will likely spend more time trying to decide how to best equip Leon. (The Merchant quips, as fans would demand him to, “What are ya buyin’?” but only sometimes, in a great and rare display of restraint from the designers.) Capcom has added a new layer to Leon’s upgrades in the remake, letting him not only increase the size of the attaché case that stores his items, but also the case itself, with variants that offer varying perks, and attachable charms that offer even more buffs. Players can earn these charms at the shooting range minigame, an amusing, highly replayable diversion that appears at several locations in the game — I lost far too much time there trying to unlock the best charms in RE4RNG is the basis of these calculations.

Capcom Image

Resident Evil 4In its linearity, it differs greatly from other games. There’s very little backtracking to do here, as the game aggressively pushes Leon forward to new areas and new scenarios. Although the sequence of events has been kept the same, overall momentum and flow have been changed and tweaked. Capcom made a wise decision to remove or redefine the silly elements of the original game. The original quick-time events, in which Leon had to overcome boulders or a mechanized giant sculpture, were retextualized. The most striking and welcome example is how Capcom recast the central character of Ramón Salazar, who comes across less like a bleached Chucky doll and more like a distinguished but decaying old man.

It smooths out all the imperfections. RE4The same trick is pulled off by the other. RE2In 2019, it made a historic, but still relevant game feel like a new one. But after four Resident Evil games in as many years, even the current incarnations of the franchise are starting to feel a bit familiar — there are hints of the cookie-cutter mold that Kobayashi set out to shrug off more than 20 years ago, even in Capcom’s slick and gorgeously produced remakes. This isn’t an anomaly.

Resident Evil 7 Biohazard VillageShown, exactly like the original RE4Capcom is able to adapt and reinvent itself. Once completed 4The most obvious question that the remake left was, once more: They want to go where they are now.

Resident Evil 4On March 24, it will be accessible PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, WindowsFor PC and Xbox Series X. The game was reviewed using a final “retail” PlayStation 5 download code provided by Capcom. You can find additional information about Polygon’s ethics policy here.