Cognition Dissemination: I’m a Resident Evil 4 Remake Believer Now

The first significant look at the Resident Evil 4 remake was the biggest presentation as part of last week’s Resident Evil Showcase, for good reason. Capcom had previously only shown the game through a light preview of the story and a silent look at protagonist Leon Scott Kennedy walking through a dark environment, the latter of which barely qualifies as a teaser. October is the time of the year to partake in horror works across the entertainment spectrum, so it was, thus the time for Capcom to show what the development team was changing or maintaining from the original experience.

To my heartwarming surprise, the remake will be more identical to the original than I expected. The new showcase featured Leon running through familiar environments remade in the most pristine sheen possible through today’s technology. All of the Resident Evil remakes have focused on drumming up horror levels that have either aged poorly from older games (like the pre-RE4 titles that relied on jump scares) or were barely there (RE4). The mere thought that this version would have darker environments during nighttime in wider outdoor areas had me trembling a bit, in both excitement and for the potential frights it will offer. This is what I was hoping for with the Resident Evil 3 remake, before I realized many encounters were too scripted. I’m sure Capcom won’t make that mistake again.

The gameplay video shows plenty of outdoor environments from early locations. An earlier leak reported by sites like the now-largely-defunct Fanbyte mentioned how parts of the game that occurred in daytime would now take place during the night for more a survival horror feel, like the village introduction set piece. The videos show how this is not the case. It’s unlikely that this would have been a quick adjustment between the time those rumors were reported (February 2022) and the current time. This was the first clue that the development team is keeping this game more identical the original than expected — or perhaps feared.

That detail being inaccurate has me wondering if another one is correct or not, one that specified how Ada Wong’s campaigns, Assignment: Ada and Separate Ways, would be included as part of the main campaign. Adding them would be such a good idea that I hope it’s true, but that may not be the case with Capcom confirming that the overall game’s length will be identical to the original.

But those elements aren’t the ones I was most concerned about. I had two top fears about the RE4 remake. One involved the team changing how combat worked, to potentially make it more similar to the prior remakes. To my surprise, it looks more action-packed than the original game, by bringing back melee attacks and adding special stabbing attacks and counters using the knife. I wasn’t the only one who got a “Rules of Nature” Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance feel from Leon using the knife to counter the chainsaw-wielding enemy.

Another element that I’m glad has returned are the one-liners. The original RE4 stood out from other RE titles by being fully aware of how ridiculous the franchise’s overarching plot was and didn’t take itself seriously. This was an easy concern to have considering subsequent RE games have taken themselves too seriously, and Leon in Resident Evil 6 was a no-fun facsimile of his RE4 self. I have hope that other legendary lines will be replaced with similarly-great ones, and I’m hopefully not putting too much faith in the team here.

The original RE4 was the only game in the franchise to offer a good balance between the action and horror the RE franchise has historically offered. Some games have either leaned further into the horror, which is fine. Others have leaned into action, with inconsistent results like RE6. The Resident Evil Revelations games came close, especially the second game, but faltered a bit in both areas. Capcom remembered how to do good horror again with Resident Evil 7, but since then, I’ve been hoping for another game that offered a good balance between them. I probably shouldn’t be surprised that the RE4 remake is the title looking to offer what I’ve been awaiting. I have faith that the next brand-new RE title could offer a similar fusion, and I couldn’t possibly be disappointed.

For as much as I’m looking forward to the RE4 remake, it wasn’t a good idea for Capcom to skip over remaking Code: Veronica. If there’s an RE title that needed the remake treatment the most, it’s the one in which the player needed to manage their resources extremely carefully to prevent the game from being overwhelmingly difficult to complete. Not to mention the bad fixed camera angles, worse than those from previous RE games. Capcom mentioned that they have no current plans to do it, but they’re not ruling it out. I hope they go through with it, though if they do, I’ll forever wish that they tackled it before getting around to RE4.

It’s an open question as to whether Capcom plans to provide further RE remakes after the RE4 remake or the possibly-eventual CV one. Titles in the franchise made since RE4 are perfectly playable these days, so this will depend on whether Capcom’s developers want to re-remake earlier games like the original Resident Evil and Resident Evil 0, or give this treatment to the Revelations games (the first Revelations game was made for 3DS, notably). Until that time, though, I will happily lap up the RE4 remake at my earliest convenience.