8 Things You Should Know Before Playing Resident Evil 4 Remake

Resident Evil 4 Remake is finally among us and puts players in the shoes of Leon S. Kennedy, who unfortunately finds himself in a spooky village somewhere in Europe in search of the President’s daughter. There’s a lot of hype surrounding this remake, and with good reason, as Resident Evil 4 is arguably considered one of the greatest games of all time in survivor horror circles.

With Dead Space Remake providing a fitting demonstration of how a remake is made, Capcom steps up to the plate to prove that this remake is more than just HD paintwork. Good news for returning fans or newcomers, there’s plenty here to prove previous opinion. With that in mind are here Eight things to know before playing Resident Evil 4 Remake.

Remade in some areas, 1:1 replica in others

If you’ve been following gameplay footage of the upcoming Resident Evil 4 remake, you’ll notice that a few new and older segments populate the remake. Most notably, a segment covered by Game Informer over a month ago showed the fifth chapter of the remake, and if you’ve played the original title you’ll find that both segments don’t add up as Leon and Ashley reunite are in the church against the original title set on the island at the end of your journey.

When it comes to Resident Evil 4 Remake, Capcom’s goal is to modernize everything and reinvent the story while maintaining what made this entry so legendary in the upper echelons of gaming. Aside from comparing chapters, this idea translates into almost every aspect of the game, as the current demo serves fans as a sick trip down memory lane while adding a newer, horrific color palette to keep it feeling fresh.

Much of what defined Resident Evil 4 has been reworked, with Leon being fully mobile instead of standing and aiming in quicksand, and many more mechanics seeing various changes that we’ll detail in the following sections to help the mix showing off new and old mechanics, visuals and horror.

It shows that Capcom isn’t afraid to take the liberty of breathing new life into Resident Evil 4 following the successes and failures of the Resident Evil 2 and Resident Evil 3 remakes, while maintaining what has made it such a gamer-changer . The Dead Space Remake is an important comparison here, as the remake introduced smart changes to vastly improve a game that was widely considered nearly flawless 15 years ago. Capcom is trying to do just that, and it could pay dividends with a whole host of games the studio is sitting on waiting for the remaster treatment (Devil May Cry 3, PLEASE).

knife out

No, this isn’t a play on Rian Johnson’s mega-popular film, but this segment is an important point to mention. One of the many upcoming changes is Leon’s combat knife, and it’s sharp.

In Resident Evil 4, Leon was equipped with different types of weapons, from his classic pistol to a shotgun, sniper rifle and trusty combat knife. The knife itself was a bit clunky to use, but it served as a good backup as one swipe could open up a world of injury to oncoming enemies and as a crate opener. This time it serves a similar purpose, but will have a durability system attached to it.

At first glance it seems like a crazy concept and almost like a nerf for a weapon that shouldn’t have been introduced. However, when you sit back and realize just how powerful the knife is all these years later, with its functionality expanded to include knife parry, emergency stab options, and stealth annihilator, it kind of makes sense why it’s undergoing such a drastic change.

The knife can be repaired at your friendly dealer, or you can buy more to slip in your briefcase. I can’t wait for the “knife only” runs to hit the web, so keep an eye out for the brave soul attempting said run.

stealth mechanics

When Resident Evil 4 released in 2005, stealth or defeating your enemies with little resistance was not an option. There were moments when you could take down the occasional villain, but that was very rare as the game offered every opportunity to drive you insane. It’s a little different this time, with the introduction of stealth mechanics.

While we don’t know the full extent of the stealth mechanic, we do know that Leon can sneak up on enemies and quickly finish them off with a swing of his knife. Keep in mind; Leon’s knife comes with a durability meter attached, so don’t expect to murder every single enemy without repercussions. It’s been said that some segments can be skipped provided you’re stealthy, which is a nice switch to core wall-to-wall action. You’ll also find a new crossbow weapon that can help dreams of stealth until you mess it up with a missed bolt shot.

Stealth mechanics can be difficult to implement as the duality of game design can make stealth either a dream come true or a nightmare. It’s an interesting change, but considering how aggressive enemy behavior has become in the remake, taking advantage of stealth doesn’t seem like a bad design choice. As long as the remake doesn’t throw in forced stealth segments, this could be a great change to the core formula.

No cutscene based QTEs

The release of Resident Evil 4 had a massive impact on the gaming industry, especially in the survival horror space, as many games took parts of Capcom’s blueprint to create a solid game. If there’s one thing Resident Evil 4 veterans remember vividly, it’s the infamous QTE, aka Quick Time Events.

There’s nothing wrong with quick-time events, but they’ve waned in popularity since 2005 as fans seek more immersive experiences. Capcom heard this feedback and chose to abandon the system entirely, although there will still be moments when you have to press a button to save your life. It’ll be interesting to see how the remake fares without them, as some of the game’s best moments involved quick-time events a la Krauser Fight, but removing them means a whole new experience is coming.

“What are you doing, stranger?” – The dealer

If you read the headline in the dealer’s voice, kudos to you, and if you haven’t, come back and read that headline again after you’ve beaten Resident Evil 4 Remake. A few changes go in that direction, and while none of them are massive in scope, they will keep collector hunters happy.

The upcoming remake will focus on side missions called “Requests” and give Leon a chance to do more for a higher reward. Some requests will task you with gathering items, while others will require you to hunt down special enemies. The payouts are unknown, but one can imagine that the rewards consist of speaking to the legendary merchant for pesetas to upgrade your gear and weapons.

You can also customize the briefcase, and while it’s nothing big, a little action on the keychain is better than no action. Nothing beats opening your case in the midst of death and seeing a small, friendly keychain reminding you that you have much to live.

Ashley could be way cooler this time

Resident Evil 4 was many things for gaming, and while almost all gameplay mechanics were overwhelmingly positive, Ashley Graham was the straw that broke the camel’s back. Yes, it was a rescue mission, but Leon barely managed to save himself, and Ashley made it that much harder. Capcom has been collecting feedback for 18 years, and the President’s Daughter will see some revisions to the gameplay loop: some positive, while others will need further experimentation to figure out how it plays out.

In the original title, Ashley Graham had a habit of screaming very loudly when she was in danger, also she had a health bar meaning you had to allocate resources to her. While it’s unclear if she’ll still scream at the top of her lungs, her health bar has been removed, meaning Leon no longer has to raise her with band-aids and mysterious healing spray. This point sounds incredibly harsh, but I urge you to go back and play Resident Evil 4 on PS2 and avoid stabbing Ashley as she is carried away by a cultist and yells “HELP LEON”.

Speaking of stabbing, Leon can now stab enemies in the head to avoid the previously mentioned issue. Ashley’s orders have also been reworked, albeit with vague “keep back” or “stay close” instructions, and Leon can give her instructions such as: B. opening a door to prepare for danger. The only concerns not yet seen are whether or not she can be placed in the Dumpster so Leon can focus on clearing enemies. It sounds harsh, but it’s a small price to pay for salvation.

Who knows, maybe Ashley will get a gun this time… please?

Mercenary mode returns

A fun little side diversion unlocked by completing the main game, The Mercenaries returns for Resident Evil 4, although it will be a free post-launch DLC.

Mercenaries mode is everything that brings the main game to 1000 as it plays like a Horde mode. The goal is to kill as many enemies as possible in a set time while earning points as players strive for a high score. Boss enemies will spawn in various places and will give you a big boost of accumulated points, and once the timer runs out, the run will be over.

The Mercenaries have been a staple in many Resident Evil games, and it’s always been a good time as players are thrown into different locations inspired by the game’s storyline. It was even more fun since there was a playable roster of characters instead of just playing as the protagonist. It’ll be interesting to see how Capcom switches the formula around this time, but we’re hoping that co-op will be implemented.

Baby Eagle missing prequel

One of the coolest things about how long it’s been since Resident Evil 4 came out to date is that developers can use new marketing strategies to build the hype and keep fans excited. Enter Baby Eagle is Missing, a text-based ARG (alternate reality game) prequel.

As mentioned, Baby Eagle is Missing serves as a prequel and presumably reveals where Leon begins his journey in Resident Evil 4. Players will engage in a text-based encounter as they flip through documents, search for clues, and solve puzzles that provide insight into the lore of the acclaimed game, with this ARG’s name a nod to Ashley Graham, the President’s daughter. It’s such a cool little nod and not meant to sound like a boomer, but this is a nice little hype experience for new and old players ahead of full launch.