Then, once you’ve busted more kneecaps than a debt collector, they start coming back to life with deadly whipping tendrils sprouting out of their shoulders. Just as you’re comfortably pulling off headshots, they start wearing helmets to force you to target their legs. No matter what difficulty you choose, a major strength of Resident Evil 4 is that enemy types are continually shuffled so that you can never really settle into a one-size fits all strategy. Thankfully, a new checkpoint save system minimises any arduous backtracking from your last manual typewriter save should Leon perish – but purists should take note that the unlockable Professional difficulty mode removes that safety net if you prefer a more punishing run the next time through. Resident Evil 4 may well give you a more expansive toolset to aid Leon’s survival, but you still need to keep your wits and reflexes sharp – because losing your head amidst a crowd crawling with a murderous mind-controlling parasite can swiftly result in Leon literally losing his. They’ve also learnt a few cunning new tricks to trip you up with, like the sneaky way the homicidal villagers will lay down bear traps in the middle of a fight to keep you on your toes while you’re busy flexing your trigger finger. Meanwhile, enemies move in dangerously erratic ways and have a tendency to quickly overwhelm in numbers, so you still have to make snap decisions when it comes to prioritising targets. (‘Standard’ and ‘Assisted’ modes are included if you want an easier time of it.) The added benefits of the knife are balanced by the fact that it takes damage with each use, so you can only rely on it sparingly – otherwise it will break like a tiny Master Sword and must be repaired at a merchant before you can resume stabbing. This newfound freedom of movement makes you better equipped to really make the most of the immensely satisfying area-specific damage effects blowing kneecaps out to expose an enemy to a melee finisher, blasting sticks of dynamite held in the hands of attackers before they have a chance to throw them, or simply reveling in some of the grisliest headshots in the history of video game shotguns.Ĭrucially, though, this overhauled control setup makes combat more enjoyably fluid without compromising any of the challenge when played on the Hardcore setting recommended for returning players. Luxuries like simultaneous twin-stick movement and targeting mean that you can cautiously back away while still keeping your gun trained on the advancing hordes, or side-step out of the way of an incoming crossbow bolt without having to remove your eye from the scope of your rifle. Not unlike the recent Metroid Prime Remastered, this Resident Evil 4 remake plays like a 2023 game. By modern standards it’s absurd, and would absolutely put off a lot of newcomers before they could begin to understand why this game is so highly regarded. The movement of main star Leon Kennedy felt ridiculously restricted he struggles to get around as though he’s wearing an old pair of skinny jeans that haven’t fit him since his police academy days, and is immobilised anytime he gets his gun out as though he’s incapable of independent control over his hands and feet at the same time. In preparation for this review I returned to the original game for the first time in years and was shocked at how badly this remake was needed. Its influence has subsequently been felt in countless other third-person classics like Gears of War, Dead Space, and The Last of Us, and now its original DNA has been extracted, synthesised, and injected into a state-of-the-art host game, mutating it into a menacing new monster that's breathtaking to behold and immensely intimidating to encounter. At the time it was a big deal for Resident Evil to switch from the series’ traditional fixed-camera perspectives to a then radical over-the-shoulder viewpoint that brought us uncomfortably close to the gore and put the emphasis on reflexes and precision targeting, and as a result Resident Evil 4 was an action-horror epic without peer. However, considering it came out back when we assumed that Episode III would be the last Star Wars film and iPhones didn’t even exist yet, I should probably give it some context. The original Resident Evil 4 is a landmark installment in Capcom’s seminal survival-horror series that, for many, would need no introduction.
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