“Resident Evil 4 Remake” played: Dead live longer

“Resident Evil 4 Remake” played: Dead live longer

“Resident Evil 4” is considered a classic in video game history. It was released exclusively for the Nintendo GameCube in 2005, with other versions following for almost every platform. So the game was revolutionary when it was first released. Not only the leap to fast-paced third-person action, but also game elements such as quick-time events, context-based controls or role-playing elements made the game an influential cult hit that received numerous awards. Games like “Dead Space” would hardly be conceivable today without “Resident Evil 4”. With the remake, Capcom is consistently continuing the new edition in the series “Resident Evil 2” and “3”.

Die Hard

About six years have passed since the events of “Resident Evil 2”. Policeman Leon. S. Kennedy is now working for the US government and is on a sensitive mission: Ashley Graham, the President’s daughter, has disappeared somewhere in Europe and Leon has to find her again. As soon as Leon arrives, he falls into the clutches of a mysterious cult that turns villagers into slaves and wants to sacrifice Ashley in a ritual. In short: Leon is once again in the wrong place at the wrong time and has to use all his experience from the fight against the Umbrella Corporation to free Ashley.

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Spectacular, exciting and bloody: With the remake of the cult classic “Resident Evil 4” a dream comes true for fans. (Image: heise online)

The ingredients of this story are well known: Possessed villagers, disgusting monsters and a lot of blood – “Resident Evil” fans know that well enough. They also know that the story doesn’t exactly shine with profound character sketches and logic. Even if the characters look a little more realistic and a few scenes have been expanded, the remake delivers the usual mix of horror trash and action bang from the shoulder perspective. Nothing subtle here. Instead, the bloody show values ​​that are a bit more spectacular and bloody in the remake count.

Proven recipe for success

In terms of play, everything has stayed the same. Leon shoots his way through villages or cemeteries, fights endurance battles with the possessed and defeats huge fish monsters with the harpoon. To do this, he uses a stately arsenal of weapons from a simple handgun to a rocket launcher. He can equip a bolt gun with explosives to kill several enemies at once.

The shooting force is also necessary because the villagers prove to be surprisingly persistent. They counter melee attacks, dodge shots, or transform into some sort of tentacle monster. That’s why Leon tries to avoid them and kill them with the knife from an ambush. If they’re only briefly stunned, he can KO them with a roundhouse kick. Brand new in the remake: Leon can parry the attacks with a knife.

In practice, this leads to sweaty fights in which Leon cannot hide but is constantly on the move. He often ends up in a kind of kill zone, which he has only survived when all opponents are dead or a certain time has elapsed. It’s exciting and challenging, but becomes monotonous over time. Only later chapters offer a successful variety through varied locations and challenging boss fights.

Defeated enemies always leave some loot behind. With this, Leon fixes the chronic lack of ammunition or heals himself with herbs. Various components can also be combined in the middle of a battle to brew particularly healing medicines or craft new ammunition. With the coins that are also lying around everywhere, Leon buys new weapons from a mysterious dealer and improves them. It is saved automatically or, as always, in series at a typewriter.

Technically up to date

In addition to the shooting and splatter scenes, our main character sometimes solves small switch puzzles to unlock new paths. Leon also keeps finding blue order slips. Then he goes in search of medallions or hunts snakes. There is then a special currency from the dealer, which he can exchange for particularly valuable weapons or items. Later in the game, Leon meets helpers who will assist him in battle or through which he can reach distant ladders.

As in the original, this mix of horror and action plays as fast as usual, but the new edition is technically up to date. The remake offers more visual details with the in-house RE engine and consistently smooth enjoyment on our PS5 test version. The ravages of time are only playfully gnawing at the once revolutionary flagship title. Where in the remakes of the second and third part the gaming experience was almost completely changed by the jump to the agile shoulder perspective, the remake of “Resident Evil 4” plays exactly like the original. The fans are happy about that, but the once revolutionary game principle fades a bit.

The free DLC “The Mercenaries” is planned to increase the gaming fun even after playing through the extensive story campaign, which will probably be based on the game mode of the same name of the original. Capcom will announce more information about release dates and content soon

Conclusion

With the remake of “Resident Evil 4”, Capcom stages a gripping mix of action and horror, which technically fits seamlessly into the high quality of the remakes of the predecessors. Despite some cosmetic and content changes, the “aha” effect is missing: after more than 15 years, the playful ideas of the original have now been refined and further developed by other games. The remake of “Resident Evil 4”, on the other hand, offers standstill at a high level. It is therefore above all skilfully implemented fan service that plays just as fast as the original and offers some useful additions. Thanks to a crisp level of difficulty, even genre professionals should have a few beads of sweat running down their foreheads. Exciting, spectacular, but also a bit old-fashioned.

“Resident Evil 4 Remake” will be released on March 24, 2023 for Windows, PS4/5 and Xbox Series. It costs around €70. USK 18+. For our text, we played the game on the PS5.

(dahe)

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