Game Review: Resident Evil 4 (Remake)

The Premise: Viva Las Plagas

Brooding lone-wolf type and professional scowler Leon Kennedy returns in this latest Resident Evil 4 remake. However, after a seemingly endless deluge of Resident Evil 4 remakes, reboots and remasters, is it really worth handing over your hard-earned cash just to play a game you’ve presumably completed six times over? If you’re one of the dwindling few who have somehow managed not to play one of the 13 previous editions yet (yes, you read that right), or you’re wondering what has changed since your last playthrough, here’s what to expect.

As this is a Resident Evil game, you can safely assume that you’ll be encountering hordes of zombies or zombie-adjacent creatures, a few jumpscares and some wildly impractical door-locking mechanisms. The inciting incident on this occasion is the kidnapping of the daughter of the President of the United States, whom Leon is tasked with rescuing. Things predictably start spiralling out of control when Leon tracks her down to an unnamed Spanish village and discovers villagers afflicted by Las Plagas.

One thing that the Resident Evil 4 remake captures with startling accuracy is the oppressive ambience and sinister isolation of the rural Spanish village. Whilst the camp gothic horror of the first few Resident Evil games are reasonably impactful, the dark, rustic scenery and cultish overtones really set this title apart. In fact, the setting is such a departure from previous entries, that it’s vaguely reminiscent of folk horror movies, such as Midsommar or The Wicker Man, in parts.

Whilst the original game did a good job of creating a sense of atmosphere, the complete graphical overhaul of this full remake creates levels of eerie horror and unnatural terror that can only be rivalled by a stroll through Manchester city centre on a Saturday night.

However, the unnerving aura of the village is short lived and, towards that latter half of the game, that setting is summarily abandoned in favour of more traditional and cliché settings that, whilst still visually impressive, leave a little to be desired.

The Characters and Plot: Pantomime Panic

Make no mistake, this game is cheesier than fondue-dipped mozzarella sticks. The protagonist comes equipped with more one-liners than ammunition, the bad guys laugh maniacally after every other sentence and the mysterious English trader sounds like a cross between Jason Statham and Dick Van Dyke in Mary Poppins. The B-movie roots that inspired the original Resident Evil game are still alive and kicking, so if you’re into stilted voice acting and apparently earnest dialogue that borders on the parodic, you’re in for a treat here.

Without going into too many details in this spoiler-free review, some of the notoriously annoying escort missions, featuring a notoriously annoying character, have somehow found their way into this remake from the original game. However, the shrill shrieks and whiney nasality have been dialled back from the previously James Corden-esque levels of unbearability, although you will occasionally find yourself deliberately walking your escortee into walls or packs of feral enemies in order to vent your frustration with their constant need for babysitting. One nice feature the remake has added is the ability to order your tagalong to move closer or hang back, as the situation requires, so that you can move ahead and clear a path without worrying too much.

The occasionally interspersed ‘romance’ scenes are also a great addition. These wondrously overwrought mini-melodramas feel straight out of a steamy telenovela, and they always work like a much-needed release valve after a few hours of tense sneaking and panicked shooting. Whilst the chemistry between Leon and his lady in red is palpable, it’s also lacking any kind of real narrative depth, as is probably expected of a Resi-romance. You’ll soon forgive this shallowness, however, when the pair start throwing each other around like they’re performing a particularly passionate tango routine—who knew a zombie apocalypse could be so romantic?

This iteration of Resident Evil 4 has made some quality of life improvements when it comes to combat and action sequences too. Seemingly simple additions like the ability to move whilst aiming, parry incoming attacks and stealthily take down enemies are just a few of the modern gameplay staples that have been added to this game.

However, therein lies the problem with the Resident Evil 4 remake. The gameplay is seldom as panic-inducing as the visuals and sound design would have you believe. In fact, the combat is often downright boring. Largely, encounters consist of the player popping off a few shots at their advancing enemies before retreating to a safer distance and repeating the procedure. Even well-known general practitioner and tree surgery enthusiast, Dr. Salvador, lacks any real menace, as his attacks can simply be parried.

There are a few notable exceptions. Towards the end of one chapter, Leon is forced to take shelter in a small house and fend off the waves of enemies that enter. Here, the lack of space and close-quarter combat make avoiding the infected genuinely challenging. Additionally, later on in the game, a few new, more persistent variations of enemies are thrown into the mix, which does make things a bit more interesting.

On the whole, however, by adding the aforementioned modern gameplay features, Capcom have undermined their own selling point for the sake of convenience. They have deprived a new generation of gamers of the panic-inducing experience of spotting an approaching insta-kill enemy, holstering their weapon, performing an excruciatingly slow 180° turn in a desperate attempt to run away, accidently opening the inventory menu and frantically mashing buttons until the inventory menu disappears again, just in time to see Leon’s head unceremoniously parted from his shoulders…and I think that’s a shame.

If you’re a longtime fan of the Resident Evil series, or you haven’t yet played through the original Resident Evil 4, this will no doubt be a fairly substantial and enjoyable experience. With crisp graphics, a moody atmosphere and brilliant, am-dram dialogue, this remake has more than a few redeeming qualities—although, perhaps the greatest is the ability to play as the world’s greatest super agent and My Chemical Romance fan, Leon S. Kennedy.

If, on the other hand, you are looking for a generic horror experience and are more ambivalent toward Resident Evil, there are games that better fulfil this niche. In fact, you can even find better survival-horror remakes than Resident Evil 4, in the form of the fairly recent Dead Space and Silent Hill 2 remakes. Alternatively, for something completely new, you might like to try an indie take on the survival-horror genre with a game like Signalis.

Score: 7/10