Resident Evil 4 review: exactly how a remake should be done

The more I played, the more I came to realize how modern games would not be where they are today without the original. In 2005, the action-heavy gameplay was a massive departure from the slow-paced survival horror of the Resident Evil series. Now, it’s almost become a template for what an action-adventure game looks and feels like. That’s made even clearer by a modernized remake that feels more like the games it would eventually inspire. With smoother gameplay and its early 2000s quirks ironed out, it feels like I’m playing a campier version of The Last of Us.

Every upgrade or change that’s been made here feels like it’s acting in service of that idea. Take its story, for instance. While I won’t go into specifics (most of the remake’s fun comes from discovering its new twists for yourself), there are some important tweaks that add much more detail to what’s a somewhat basic damsel-in-distress story by today’s standards. Characters have been more properly fleshed out to give the saga more emotional pull. Leon is more sincerely lovable this time around, shedding some dated writing and acting that made him more of an ironic himbo icon. Ashley benefits from that the most, as she’s no longer just a helpless buffoon who runs into obvious traps like a teen slasher victim. With more depth, it’s a lot easier to see how Leon and Ashley ran so Joel and Ellie from The Last of Us could … also run.

Several locations have been significantly redesigned too, replacing some of the original’s more generic corridors with detailed spaces that feel more like modern game set pieces. When I break into Los Iluminados’ castle in the remake, it feels more like I’m storming the gates of Elden Ring’s Stormveil Castle. It’s a more intense sequence with swaths of cultists, fireballs smashing through the scenery, and a controllable cannon that I can use to blast enemies. It’s the series’ most thrilling moment to date. Other scenes have been reworked from the ground up entirely to make certain enemy introductions, like the infamous Garrador, much more dramatic. Whenever I review a remake, I always keep a YouTube video of the original up to compare them side by side. By the second half, they differed so much that it was almost like I was playing an entirely new game.

As with any game that has so many strong feelings attached to it, I imagine that the remake’s sometimes drastic changes will be a point of debate. Some may feel a little disappointed that it trades in a bit of its cartoon charm for more modern AAA sensibilities. It’s still delightfully weird, but it’s less Scooby-Doo and more Hollywood blockbuster this time around. Having played it all the way through, that instinct seems perfectly reasonable to me. The goal is to reexamine the original through a modern lens, better connecting it to a series that has changed significantly since 2005. A perfect recreation simply wouldn’t have made sense post-Resident Evil 2 remake or even 2009’s Resident Evil: The Darkside Chronicles. Every story beat and design tweak gives the 2023 version its own distinct identity, connecting the original to the games it would inspire.

You want the goofier version of Resident Evil 4? There’s no shortage of ways to play it, and it’s still a perfectly enjoyable experience. But this version does what any truly good remake should do: It reinvents the source material and allows us to understand it in a new way.

Knife fight

What I appreciate most here is that I never get the feeling Capcom is being too precious with the project. That confident approach allows it to step around all the dated pitfalls of the original and deliver new ideas that help the remake stand on its own apart from nostalgia. The best example of that comes in its combat system, which has been entirely revamped for the better.

In the original version, Leon would need to plant himself and stand still before shooting. It was a remnant of old Resident Evil games that seeped into the sequel’s DNA. That’s no longer the case here, as Leon can freely run and shoot now. That change alone makes gunplay much more exciting. The opening village shootout, for instance, is a more tense experience that had me trying to pick off waves of villagers while moving backward, hoping that I could clear them out before helplessly squeezing myself into a corner. Weapons can be switched very quickly too, which makes it easy to adapt to the changing power dynamics on the fly. If I ever backed into a wall, I could swap to my shotgun in an instant and deliver a desperation blast to cut my way back out.

The most impactful change, though, is an increased emphasis on melee combat. Leon can once again spin-kick stunned enemies, but knives are his most important weapon this time around. It’s a multipurpose tool that can be used to finish off downed enemies, save him when he’s grabbed, or parry attacks. In a smart modern flourish, Leon can even silently backstab unalerted enemies. It’s a surprisingly natural fit considering his new knife skills, one that feels like it was there all along. An added stealth element allows Leon to get the jump on an enemy or two, thinning out some thicker herds of enemies. And if you’re worried that might make the game easier, don’t fret. The remake throws significantly more enemies at Leon during encounters, creating some truly challenging fights.

In general, Resident Evil 4 does a much better job of allowing players to execute cinematic moments like that. This might be the only video game that ditches quick-time events instead of adding them, working the original’s massive button prompt sequences in more naturally. Anything that Leon could only do in interactive cutscenes can mostly be replicated in-game with a deeper combat system and more nuanced controls.

That approach can fight against the original game’s ideas just a touch. While escort sections where Leon needs to protect Ashley have been improved thanks to better AI, they can still be a hassle. With faster gameplay, it’s even easier to accidentally shoot her as she gets stuck in the middle of a busy fight. I got a fair amount of Game Overs from a stray bullet grazing her leg or a villager walking off with her because I was too preoccupied with a wave of attacking enemies. Leon’s movement speed feels a little slow for battles at times too, which makes trying to duck around enemies a little difficult (one boss fight had me dying a dozen times due to not being able to sprint away from a one-hit kill fast enough).

Those are nitpicks in the grand scheme of things, though. Just as the original did in 2005, the new version of Resident Evil 4 once again delivers top-of-the-line action relative to its era. I imagine it’s going to become a new standard for the series going forward, and that’s the part of this project that has me truly excited.

Shaping the future

Capcom’s forward-thinking approach here goes a long way. While some remakes simply feel like they bring an old game up to speed and stop there, Resident Evil 4 feels like it’s been made to stand the test of time. That’s most apparent in its phenomenal visual update, which brings new personality to old spaces. More dynamic lighting, starker contrast, and painstakingly detailed environments make classic levels like the castle feel both more ominous and lived-in. They don’t just feel like generic hallways to traverse. It’s one of the best-looking games of this current console cycle and I imagine it’ll remain in that tier for a while.

Several of its other improvements here, even small quality-of-life ones, feel like they’ll become Resident Evil staples for the next 10 years. Take something as simple as its crafting system, for instance. It trades in the old “combine” guessing game for convenient mini-menus that show each possible recipe for every item and let players craft on the fly from there. It’s quick, easy, and likely here to stay.

Other aspects didn’t need much overhauling at all to feel future-ready, just some nudges to reinforce the 2005 version’s timeless strengths. For instance, the original game’s structure is still a work of beauty. It bounces between radically different set pieces — the village, the castle, an underground lab filled with regenerating bio horrors, etc. — without any of those ever feeling out of step with the wider setting and logic of its universe. That still holds true here, as any seams between acts have been smoothed over, and some smart story tweaks and better pacing overall have been added. Not a moment feels wasted, and that’s revolutionary in an age of bloated single-player, open-world games.

I notice that especially when I compare it to 2021’s Resident Evil Village, a modern series installment that tried to copy 4’s notes with mixed results. While it has a similar structural approach, drawing on a “horror theme park” concept, it’s done without the consistency we see here. Village only nails half of its beats, but this version of 4 excels at everything it sets out to do. A knife fight with Jack Krauser, a harpoon battle with a parasite-ridden whale, or a deadly minecart ride — every left turn reminds me that there’s a good reason the original is still considered one of the best games of all time. It still outdoes games that had almost 20 years to catch up.

“Oh, by the way: Hope you like thrill rides,” a much more fleshed-out Luis says before one particularly wild sequence. I certainly do, pal. I certainly do.