Resident Evil 4, a remake to rediscover [Análisis]

resident evil 4 is back in the news, the game originally released in 2005 arrives almost 20 years later with a monumental facelift to the main current platforms. And it is that Capcom continues like this with the reissue of the games in the Resident Evil horror saga and, how could it be otherwise, now it is the turn of the fourth title in the series. Let’s see if this reissue lives up to what the game meant in its time.

We go back to 2005, when Capcom wanted to redirect its famous Resident Evil horror saga. With its fourth installment, the game evolved towards a more action-focused style, something more like a shooter than the previous titles. These were changes that, in general, were very well received. In fact, the game had several reissues later, reaping very good sales. Under this premise comes this Resident Evil 4 remake, with many improvements that go from the graphic section to the gameplay, without neglecting the content.

But before we focus on the changes let’s briefly review the argument. After what happened in Raccoon City in the previous games, where the T-Virus generated a wave of zombies and other beings, the United States government decided to sterilize the city. However, the President of the United States faces a new threat. Her daughter, Ashley, has been kidnapped in a town in Spain and she decides to send Leon S. Kennedy, who is recruited after escaping from Raccoon City and demonstrating her skill with weapons, to find her and bring her to safety.

Thus begins a journey in which Leon will meet a strange sect that claims to follow the Illuminati but, nevertheless, the villagers seem rather to be possessed and behave like the old zombies. This is how we will have to get away from the villagers to find Ashley and free her from the dark plot that surrounds her.

To carry out our mission we will control Leon in third person, who will be armed with different shooting weapons that we will find throughout the game, as well as a knife with which to kill the villagers. But it will not be easy at all, the ammunition that we will find will be very scarce and precious. We will have to use it skilfully and controlled, while we combine our attacks with the knife, which, as a novelty in this reissue, can be broken.

As help, we will have the usual herbs and sprays that we will find, which we will have to combine in the correct way to achieve their maximum potential and thus ensure our survival. But as we say, we will have to do a intelligent use of all our resources to escape the villagers alive.

Meanwhile, we will also have to search for certain key objects such as keys or solve puzzles throughout corridor-style settings. A corridor game, but, it must be said, the sensation is not such, since due to the moments of action and search that are presented to us, the game does not feel linear.

And of course, in addition to destroying the human cattle that we will find, we will also have to face different special enemies. As usual in the saga, this is one of the strengths of the game since they are quite varied, with different mechanics, and also on many occasions truly spectacular.

All the news of this reissue

Given that the game itself is the same, we are going to analyze the gameplay news. To start in combat, as we mentioned, now the knife can be broken, something to take into account when deciding which weapon to use at all times. In addition, we will be able to use amulets that will offer us different improvements, such as running faster or improving the creation of ammunition.

For his part, he mythical peddler, which is a character that we find during the game to buy, will now also offer us secondary missions. They are not a very original addition, but they will allow us to collect spinels, which will give us access to special items.

Another of the changes What we have found is that now, the phase of the game in which we escort Ashley. Now we can give her orders in a way that makes it easier for us not to be attacked and, also, if we get close to her, she will recover her lost life. This undoubtedly makes her company much more bearable than in the original edition. Finally, it is also important to point out that the quick time events that appeared in the attacks have practically disappeared, something that we also found to be a success.

A new graphic section

But not all the news are gameplay. And it is that the most striking is, without a doubt, that of the graphic section. Despite the fact that the structure of the settings and characters are the same, the game looks really awesome on this occasion. All aspects have been worked on, both the environments and the character models. And the truth is that for a remake it has been at a very good level. The environments have lots of well-worked details, the setting is very well carried out and, above all, the characters, have a really convincing finish.

Therefore we are facing a game that does not tarnish compared to the general line of this generation. Obviously we can’t expect a graphic finish at the highest level, but it’s more than enough to make us live this adventure again in this generation.

Of course, we must say that we have played it on PlayStation 5 and that, although it seemed like a good job, it is true that the fact of being multiplatform has limited it to a certain extent. In this in-depth performance analysis that we carried out at the time with the demo we give you detailed information about the impediments that the game has had to further improve its visual section.

Is Resident Evil 4 difficult?

In general, the Resident Evil saga always offers us certain moments of high difficulty. And in this installment it could not be otherwise. Ammunition management, the items that we carry in the briefcase, as well as the final enemies require that we take special care. Even so, we have three difficulty levels: one focused on the narrative, the intermediate and which we believe is the most appropriate to play it, and the difficult one. There is also a “New Game+” mode that you can discover if you feel like an even more intense experience.

How many hours does Resident Evil 4 last?

Beating Resident Evil 4 in normal mode can take you a few 20 hours of gameplay, a correct duration for a game of this type. Of course, this time if you want to enjoy all the new extras that the game includes, you will have the game for a few more hours. If we also enter the new “New Game+” mode, we already have a game for a while.

What platforms is Resident Evil 4 available on?

Resident Evil 4 is available from March 24 on PS4, PS5, Xbox Series X | S and PC.

A remake that invites us to enjoy Resident Evil 4 again

In short, we can say that this Resident Evil 4 remake meets expectations: re-live the game with a style and graphics adapted to current times. And since the original version was already a good game on its own, the only thing this remake does is improve it even more and bring it up to date.

Therefore, whether you have played it in the past or want to try it for the first time, we are sure that you will enjoy it. Perhaps, to put some but, we are left with the desire to live an extra chapter to make it even more complete.