Resident Evil 4 Remake (2023)

Remake of Resident Evil 4 (2005) 2005. The story takes place in 2004, six years after the events of Resident Evil 2. Leon Scott Kennedy, a government agent, is sent on a mission to Europe. He must rescue Ashley Graham, the daughter of the President of the United States, who has been kidnapped by a mysterious cult. A trip to a rural village in Spain turns into a meeting with its bloodthirsty inhabitants.

Resident Evil 4 Remake (2023) - a third-person action game, but with ao greater emphasis on the survival elements and horror atmosphere characteristic of the Resident Evil series. Capcom avoids talking about the 2023 game as a remake, calling it "another version of Resident Evil 4" that brings the concept of the original to a modern level.

The new game borrowed the outline of the story, characters and setting, and all the content - levels, artwork, models, sounds, etc. - was new. The game mechanics are modern, but adapted to look and function like the original. The geometry of levels, objects and models has become more realistic, locations are rich in details and decorations (with limited interactivity).

The atmosphere and feeling were influenced by a change in visual style. A minimum of light sources made literally everything around darker and darker, allowing us to hide a lot of jump scares. Such typical solutions as dense ominous fog, distant screams, bloody rituals, an abundance of “ketchup” and dismemberment also work. The color palette was changed from yellow-brown to realistic.

RE4 takes place in an alternate reality, somewhere in the mountains of Spain. The world is divided into 3 large regions: village, castle and island, each with unique features. There is no open world, but each region is represented by a single seamless level, available for backtracking for a limited number of chapters, after which the narrative moves on to the next region.

The village and castle were reworked most meticulously, the island did not change much. The levels have become more spacious, voluminous and branched, but their design is still corridor-like. The structure has changed: many new sections, and some old ones have been removed entirely (mostly intestinal ones). The most famous places, however, are easily recognizable. The buildings have been qualitatively improved. In addition to expanding the layout with new rooms, passages and floors, they worked on the interiors, furnishings and decorations.

Locations, as a rule, are full-fledged arenas for exploration, searching for secrets, solving puzzles and collecting resources while simultaneously exterminating opponents. There is a lot more of all this, but the shortage of cartridges forces you to use environmental elements placed everywhere against enemies: traps, traps, explosive barrels, etc. An inattentive player can get into them, which will complicate his situation.

The simple story about rescuing a damsel in distress, who is also continuously kidnapped as it progresses, has not changed in general, but has received many adjustments in details that affect the perception of the plot.

The dialogues of Leon have been reworked, removing or replacing out-of-context and simply unsuccessful sentences, grotesque phrases, and witticisms. His behavior has been changed to make him appear less like a persistent womanizer. Playing the role of a seasoned government agent, Leon even speaks, commanding respect and not afraid to throw in a strong word or two.

The image of the teenager Ashley has become more mature: she confidently chats with Leon but remains submissive and calm, wary of everything around her. Luis's role has been significantly expanded, turning him almost into Leon's partner and a generator of amusing scenes. The dwarf Ramon has become closer to stereotypical evil villains rather than the caricatured psychopath from the original.

All gameplay scenes have been redone, a couple of fresh scenarios added, the order slightly changed, and a number of significant moments removed (the escape from the giant dwarf, the cable car, several chases, a couple of trap rooms, the battle with U3, the fight with Ada Wong). The narrative has become more cohesive. The production has been executed at a modern level, cutscenes are spectacular and dynamic, while also serious and realistic. The time slowdown of several seconds has been cut.

Throughout RE 4 Remake, players are accompanied by a modest set of characters, most of whom are clearly enemies, but some can be interacted with. Thus, at the local merchant's shop, you can buy new weapons and upgrades for them, recipes, and consumables, as well as sell unnecessary items. The character progression is also tied to it upgrades.

The dynamics of the game have significantly increased. Leon has become sharper in his movements, learned to aim, run, and crouch, although he still cannot roll or jump. He can deflect flying axes and arrows with a knife, parrying melee attacks. The model and animation have been updated — how Leon handles weapons, uses a flashlight, reacts to explosions, hits, and grabs.

Players are still required to shoot a lot from pistols, revolvers, shotguns, rifles, and several types of submachine guns. Shooting and aiming have been implemented anew and will provide completely different sensations. There is a rudimentary stealth mechanic: enemies can be killed from behind to quietly move forward or take a more advantageous position before an attack.

The physical model skillfully calculates collisions, allowing one enemy to knock another down and deal damage to the latter. Shooting at a projectile, for example, an enemy with a torch, will cause a detonation.

Game design allows players to complete three-quarters of the game in various ways thanks to different play styles, combining hand-to-hand combat, close, and ranged fighting. The final quarter remains a shooter, where all found arsenal comes into play. QTE moments in battles have been organically replaced with timing events.

There are now additional quests — find, kill, bring, break, etc. For these, players receive gems, and can find in-game currency on the level. All of this is needed to purchase new items. There are more puzzles now, almost all have been redesigned, new ones added, and some of the least successful old ones removed.

Enemies are now more aggressive, quicker, and more vicious. All of them migrated to the remake from the original with updating or partial reworking of the models, and a couple of new subtypes were also added. This was done in order to introduce new and new monsters all the time, and the player changed the fighting style to suit them. Each enemy has vulnerabilities, combining which you can gain an advantage.

Fast and weak, strong and slow infected are delivered to the arenas in such a combination as to balance each other well. Enemies with a chainsaw, hammer and other dangerous objects have been upgraded to the rank of mini-bosses; they are stronger and more durable and will cause problems. Artificial intelligence now tries to surround the player, drive him into a corner, come from behind and does not wait for Leon to shoot his charges.

The game features a dozen bosses, all have been updated, some radically, but they are still unique in terms of appearance, behavior and set of attacks. Fighting them doesn't feel easier or harder than before, it just feels different.