Resident Evil 4 Remake Review

The Resident Evil 4 remake has finally arrived and sold 3 million copies in the first 48 hours of its launch. About 80% was on the PlayStation platform. As a fan of the game, there was a lot of doubt about the remake and how good it would be.

 

Now after finishing the game in hardcore mode. It took 19 hours to finish the story, along with 12 out of 19 side quests, exploring the whole map, and searching for treasures.

 

The Story (Spoiler to those who didn’t play the Original RE4)

The story starts with the main character of Resident Evil 2, Agent Leon Kennedy who was asked to go on a mission in Europe to save the daughter of the US President Ashley Graham, and when he arrived in the village to look for her everything began to collapse. 

 

People in the village got infected with a virus called Las Plagas that turned them into creatures like zombies but in a very aggressive way. The secret behind the virus is a religious cult called Los Iluminados. While Leon was looking for the president's daughter his contact with the rescue team got cut off and he got trapped in this village trying to accomplish his mission. 

 

Leon met Luis Serra, a researcher of the virus that hit his village, and Ada, who was believed to have died in Resident Evil 2. We also meet Major Krauser who used to train Leon and now he’s his seems to be his biggest enemy. After Finding Ashley they went to the castle and then to the Island in an attempt to find a way to return safely.

 

Remake Differences 

The story stayed as it was with every boss in the remake. There was a slight modification to make the story more realistic and keep it away from total fantasy like any movie about an apocalypse. Some things happened in the remake just as in the original story but with changes in the characters' actions. We can say that the remake is loyal to the story and the elements of the original game. 

 

 

Why Did They Remake RE4?

Some may think why should I play a game I’ve already finished, just for better graphics? First, you have to know the differences between a remake and a remastered one. Remastered is a modification of the original game's graphics only.

 

 Remakes on the other hand, at least the one we saw from Capcom, it was a complete recreation of the graphics and the engine. Even the story wasn't copied and pasted because all the dialogues were re-recorded and the environment was completely different, and because I am a fan of the original game I have seen new places in the remake that I didn't recognize because their arrangement was changed significantly, especially at the end of the castle and the island.

 

Strengthses & Weaknesses 

The remake surprised us with how good it is, not because we had low expectations for the remake, but because the original game was a masterpiece that is loved by everyone. The remake obviously outdid the original game in terms of graphics, storytelling, and the use of modern technology of artificial intelligence, and new combat techniques. 

 

The only negative thing about the remake was that it’s shorter than the original and has a missing sub-boss. Although I agreed that most deleted places and things had no use for the story, I missed some places from the original game. 

 

Also, the fact that Ashley doesn't follow the instructions is annoying, like when you tell her to stay in the locker, she comes out after two minutes by herself.

 

The Characters and The Wiritng: (Spoilers)

The characters of the original game all appear in the remake but their appearance differed a little, as the leader of the cult Saddler, in the original game he appeared a lot. Unlike the remake when we don’t see him except on the island, which suits the flow of the story better.

 

In the original game, Ashley's reactions were exaggerated in the original game and sometimes feels out of place. However, her character in the remake is very understandable and closer to reality. Leon on the other hand, didn't change from the original character, with his jokes and his show-off moves. Luis' death affected us much more than in the original game because Krauser killed him in the remake instead of Saddler. 

 

The first meeting with Ada in the original was weird because no one talked about how Leon thought that she died. In the remake, they fixed this strange conversation and it turns out much better. 

 

In general, the characters and the cutscenes are the most wonderful thing that happened in the remake. Also the development of the characters before certain events are very noticeable, Like when Luis was avoiding the answer to Leon's question  "Why help us?" He answered this question before he was killed and this made his death have a much deeper effect than the original. The plot of the story has become better, even the missing pieces we asked about are in the files that are distributed on the map.

 

 

Enemies & AI:

Enemies are one the most impressive things in a remake or at least for people who have played Hardcore, and also the standard because you will have more time to kill every enemy in front of you. The level of violence varies depending on the level you choose. You’ll notice on the island, that the level of violence has risen dramatically and the behavior of the Ganados has become more violent.

 

On the other hand, Ashley’s AI has become more annoying than ever. Maybe it’s intentional to make her act more realistic. We all know that we cannot order her to wait like in the original game, but that is not the issue, when you tell her to keep close she might come in front of you which can mess up your aim, and when you try to stealth she will not come behind you, unlike the original game where when you shoot she will immediately go behind you. 

Weapons & Combat:

The combat was presented differently in the remake, in the way of parrying and the stealth kills which was an unexpected addition to the game. The stealth kills help players save up bullets, especially in hardcore mode.

 

 Although the stealth option almost disappears at the end of the village until the island. However, there were two new weapons in the remake, but the rest of the weapons were the same as in the original game. 

 

Any Deleted Contents? 

Most fans were skeptical about the remake and doubted that it would be shorter than the original as Capcom did in the remake of RE3. This time they did their best to keep the game as it was, except for the island part which was longer than the original. 

 

Everything on the island looked completely different than before except for the boss fights that remain the same as the original.

 

Rating: 

Our rating is 9.5 out of 10, A very enjoyable experience that is worth the hype. Do we wish it was longer? Of course, but its current length is excellent. We recommend you play it whether you’ve played the original game or not.