The Resident Evil 4 Remake is finally among us, throwing players into the shoes of Leon S. Kennedy, who unfortunately finds himself searching for the President’s daughter in a creepy village somewhere in Europe. There’s a lot of hype around this remake, and for good reason, as Resident Evil 4 is arguably considered one of the greatest games of all time in survivor-horror circles.
With the Dead Space Remake serving up a proper demonstration of how to craft a remake, Capcom is stepping up to the plate to prove this remake is more than just an HD coat of paint. Good news for returning fans or newcomers, there’s plenty here to prove the previous sentiment. With that in mind, here are eight things to know before playing the Resident Evil 4 Remake.
Remade in Some Areas, 1:1 Recreation in Others
If you’ve been following gameplay footage of the upcoming Resident Evil 4 Remake, you’ll notice some new and older segments populate the remake. Most notably, a portion covered by Game Informer over a month ago showed off the fifth chapter of the remake, and if you’ve played the original title, you’ll notice that both segments do not match up as Leon and Ashley find themselves reunited in the church versus the original title set on the island at the end of your journey.
When it comes to the Resident Evil 4 Remake, Capcom’s goal is to modernize everything and reimagine the story while retaining what made this entry so legendary in the upper echelons of gaming. Aside from comparing chapters, this idea bleeds into nearly every aspect of the game as the recent demo serves as a stark trip down memory lane for fans while adding a newer horrific color palette to make it feel fresh.
Much of what made Resident Evil 4 has been reworked, with Leon being fully mobile instead of standing in quicksand and aiming, and many more mechanics seeing various changes that we’ll go into more in-depth in the below segments showcasing the blend of new and old mechanics, visuals, and horror.
It goes to show Capcom isn’t afraid to take the liberty to inject some new life into Resident Evil 4 after the successes and failures of Resident Evil 2 and Resident Evil 3’s remakes, while also retaining what made this such a gamer changer. The Dead Space Remake is an important comparison here, as the remake introduced smart changes to widely improve a game widely considered nearly flawless 15 years ago. Capcom is looking to do just that, and it may pay off with a whole slew of games the studio is sitting on waiting for remaster treatment (Devil May Cry 3, PLEASE).
Knives Out
No, this isn’t a play on the mega-popular movie created by Rian Johnson, but this segment is a big point to mention. One of the many changes coming is to Leon’s combat knife, and it’s a sharp one.
Resident Evil 4 saw Leon equipped with various forms of weaponry, from his classic pistol to a shotgun, sniper rifle, and trusty combat knife. The knife itself was a tad clunky to use, but it served as a good backup as one swipe could open up a world of hurt for oncoming enemies and as a box opener. This time, it serves a similar purpose but will see a durability system attached to it.
At first, it seems like a crazy concept and almost like a nerf to a weapon that shouldn’t have been introduced. However, when you sit back and realize how powerful the knife is all these years later, with its function upgraded to include knife parrying, emergency stabbing options, and stealth annihilator, it sort of makes sense why it’s seeing such a drastic change.
The knife can be repaired at your friendly merchant, or you can purchase more to stuff into your attache case. I can’t wait for the “knife-only” runs to hit the web, so keep your eyes peeled for the brave soul who attempts said run.
Stealth Mechanics
When Resident Evil 4 was released back in 2005, stealth or taking down your foes with little resistance wasn’t an option. There were moments when you could take down the occasional baddie, but it was very rare as the game threw every opportunity to keep you enthralled in the madness. This time around it’s a little different, with the introduction of stealth mechanics.
While we don’t know the full extent of the stealth mechanics, what we know is that Leon can sneak up on foes and quickly end them with a swing of his knife. Keep in mind; Leon’s knife has a durability meter attached to it, so don’t expect to murder every single foe without repercussions. It has been said that some segments can be skipped, provided you are stealthy, which is a nice switch up to the core wall-to-wall action. You’ll also find a new crossbow weapon, which may aid the dreams of being stealthy until you mess it up with one missed bolt shot.
Stealth mechanics can be tricky to implement as the duality of game design can either make stealth a dream come true or a nightmare. It’s an interesting change, but given how aggressive the enemy behavior has become in the remake, taking advantage of stealth doesn’t seem like a bad design choice. As long as the remake doesn’t throw in forced stealth segments, then this could be a great change-up of the core formula.