Game Review: Resident Evil 4 (2023)

Reflecting on my love for the horror genre across multiple forms of media, it’s funny to think of how much I hated the very idea of horror back when I was a kid. Growing up, I was such a timid and frightened child, the very idea of watching anything remotely scary was absolutely terrifying to me. I often remember cowering away whenever I saw my dad or brothers watching a horror film or playing a scary video game. I think as a kid I was very afraid of the idea of the things I saw in horror films or games happening to me. I know it’s very silly to consider I’d be visited by Freddy Kruger in my dreams or be caught in a real-life zombie outbreak, but that’s just what young Jack’s paranoid brain would often spout when he saw this stuff.  I’m addressing this because I remember distinctly the moment where that mindset began to shift ever so gradually and I found a new appreciation for horror which would end up making it one of my favorite genres of media currently. That moment was Christmas day in 2007, when my parents had got me a brand-new Nintendo Wii and had bought me a copy of Resident Evil 4 to play on it. I remember being really scared to even consider playing the game, but after enough time and deliberation I did end up treading the waters and found myself actually enjoying it. After several playthroughs, I ended up loving Resident Evil 4 to a point where I consider it one of my top video games of all time even to this day. With such a personal attachment to this entry in the series, it’s fair to say I was cautiously excited to pick up the 2023 remake and see if it could live up to the legacy of the original. After several playthroughs and a platinum trophy on top, it’s fair to say the Resident Evil 4 remake does a phenomenal job on all fronts.

Developed and published by Capcom, the duty of remaking this iconic entry in the Resident Evil franchise fell at the feet of both Kazunori Kadoi and Yasuhiro Anpo. If you recognize these names, it’s because they are credited with working on the Resident Evil 2 remake from 2019; which was also touted as an incredible revision of a much beloved past entry. For Resident Evil 4, Kadoi and Anpo decided to split the development of the game’s key three areas across three teams, allowing each team to focus specifically on building up the design and function of each major section of the game. Resident Evil 4’s legacy often stems from its inherent charm which many fans were keen not to see left behind in the wake of the new vision the development team had for the game. With the game being a remake, it was clear the team at Capcom wanted to not only bring back this entry in a way that respected the original but also brought it more in line with the survival horror focus the new entries in the series has stuck so close to. It was a tall order to not only bring back something which many people already considered perfect, but to be able to revise it in a way which wouldn’t compromise any of that quality in a way that could only add to it. It’s why I was cautiously optimistic in my own case, because I know Capcom have had a brilliant track record over recent years but the original game meant so much to me and I just wanted them to get it right. 

The narrative of Resident Evil 4 follows a familiar face from Resident Evil 2; Leon S. Kennedy as he is enlisted on a special mission by the President of the United States of America to venture to rural Spain to go save his daughter who has been kidnapped by a sinister cult called Los Iluminados. As soon as Leon arrives in a remote village community, he notices all too quickly things are not right here, as the villages attempt to kill him in a savage fashion. As he explores the village’s wide region, he soon learns that the residents have all been infected with a sinister parasite known as Los Plagas which is controlling them all in a hive-mind sort of fashion. Leon’s journey to save the presidents daughter will have him encounter a collection of characters both new and old who will seek to either aid or falter him on his mission. Some of these characters include Luis Serra, Ada Wong, Ashley Graham and Bitores Méndez. The stakes of the mission grow even higher as Leon finds himself travelling to the treacherous castle of Lord Ramón Salazar and Los Iluminados’ sinister island facility thereafter. Each of these three distinct locations will challenge Leon in very different ways as he seeks to put an end to the Los Plagas threat and complete his mission in saving the presidents daughter before their time runs out.

The remake’s narrative structure does a very good job in following the core strengths of the original, all the while offering a subtle enough deviation to help give it an individual flavour.  The premise of this game is all kinds of bonkers and what I appreciated about the original game is it took that silly aspect and treat it with a good combination of campness and seriousness. In the remakes case that goofy nature is still embedded in some aspects of its delivery but for the most part the game does a good job in translating into the slightly more mature tone and style that the new run of Resident Evil games is trying to deliver. That added maturity doesn’t wash away what I love about the original game too as I found it simply redefined what aspects of the narrative it felt appropriate to tread on. Character definition is far more interesting this time as a result. Luis Sera who I found to be a minor aspect of the original game, is given some much appreciated development and in turn is incorporated into the game narrative in a more interesting way. That new direction is found not just within his role either, I found a lot of the supporting cast of this game were given a similar form of treatment. It all meshes together in a wonderful way that delivers on all the key strengths which I loved about the original games story but allowing it to stand on its own in light of it’s noted revisions. 

On the gameplay end, Resident Evil 4 looks and acts in a very similar fashion to the Resident Evil 2 and Resident Evil 3 remakes. You control Leon in a third person perspective as you traverse through the games three central locations. Each environment you are placed in has a number of items and treasures tucked away within them. Exploration is a key element which this game is out to constantly reward and challenge you for doing. Some of the games most valuable items and treasures are often locked away behind some very meticulous puzzles which will require you to come back to certain locations once you have obtained the relevant key item. I appreciate the idea of backtracking in games is often a tedious proposition but I find in this game you never really feel any tedium from it. A lot of key items you have will come into play as you come back through certain areas, as the map is designed to accommodate, your navigation through it regularly.  Each area has its own sense of scale and density too and it often never outstays its welcome as you move onto the next big location. This variety in environments is what helps make the game feel considerably memorable as well because they are each distinct in form and function.  

What adds notable challenge to the exploration of the game’s terrain is the enemies you will encounter within them. Each of the three major environments have their own distinct collection of enemies to face off against. The village will present you with the resident Ganado’s who while easy to dispatch on their own, will use every tool at their disposal to try take you down and can become quite a threat if they can overwhelm you. The castle will have you fighting off against the zealots who serve under Los Iluminados and Lord Salazar with their array of scythes and morningstars. On the island you will go up against far more equipped militia soldiers, who are capable of dispatching Leon with an array of military grade weapons. The level of combat escalates gradually with the game and there’s a nice progression in challenge within each encounter you run up against. Some of my favorite enemy encounters come in the form of the games grandiose boss fights. There’s a nice sense of strategy layered into each of the boss fights you go into and no single fight ever really feels similar to another. It’s a nice sense of variety that really adds to the unique feel of each area and the challenges they present you. 

In terms of how you will be able to dispatch your enemies, the game presents you with a wide array of weapons and tools to utilize throughout the course of the game. Pistols, magnums, shotguns, rifles, submachine guns and rocket launchers serve as the games catalogue of weapons you can equip for your survival purposes. The nice thing about the weapon arsenal in this game though is its varying offerings and upgrade potential. All those treasures and currency you collect throughout your time in the game can be used at arguably one of the games best features; The Merchant. Serving as your primary shop and upgrade facilitator, The Merchant is a cocky, quippy gentleman who you will encounter as his stall throughout multiple sections of the game. On top of offering you a vast array of weapons to buy and upgrade, he also offers you additional resources to buy like storage increases for your inventory and crafting recipes. While serving as a vendor, he also provides you with requests you can complete too. These requests will vary on requirements but the end result of doing them is spinels. These items serve as exclusive currency to his more exclusive store; where you can buy treasure maps and weapon modifications. The Merchants presence throughout the original game was nothing short of iconic to me, so it’s nice to see his inclusion here in the remake is given just the same amount of relevancy.

When it comes to visual design, the game excels really well too. I noted how the game is mainly comprised of three the three distinct locations. Well, the visual team did a brilliant job in realizing the full extent of these environments on so many levels. The village is a dreaded and decrepit place. Showing signs of weathering and age, you get a clear impression from the way the buildings and surrounding areas are presented that this place has seen far better days. The dreary brown palette of the village and the unkempt design of its brainwashed villages show you all too clearly how low this once peaceful place has fallen. The castle offers a nice contrast to that initial vibe though, as its ornate structure presents you with very elegant design. The way each hall and room in this massive structure is given a very clean and maintained feel only makes the unease behind it all the more noticeable. You don’t feel safe despite the order and design of this location because you know its inhabitants are truly lost with their shaved heads and tattered robes. As for the island, you get the feeling that this was the birthplace of the cult and its parasitic ways. Facilities litter the rocky terrain with scattered notes and rusting framework. You see this place is where the madness began and thus the horror that began there still remains soaked into the walls.  There’s just so much to admire about the visual design of this game, it’s filled with so much care and attention and had me stopping to admire it whenever I wasn’t being attacked.

Audio-wise the game also delivers the goods phenomenally. Ambient audio is a big thing I’m trying to pick up on lately as I play games and one thing I noticed about this game is how it doesn’t just present the horror behind it’s game visually but also audibly. You hear the wind piercing the empty shell of a village, you hear the distant chanting of the villages as you enter their vicinity, the sound of distant chainsaws will draw you into a fright so easily. Sound is used at nearly every opportunity to keep you on your toes but also embed the aura of the situation into you. I love it when audio design is used in such an intrinsic fashion like this because it makes the overall feel of the game way more effective. Even on the soundtrack front, Kota Suzuki absolutely nails recapturing the score of the original game while also adding to it and redefining it to play into the new vibe this game was going for. Some of my favorite scores from this game come from the boss fights, Salazar’s in particular is very noteworthy, it’s got a very Bloodborne feel to it I found.

So after all these paragraphs and words, am I content in saying the Resident Evil 4 Remake is better than the original? No. I don’t think that’s really an objective statement, but you have to understand the original game means so much to me and I was never going to be able to let go of my biased perspective of it. However, if you look solely at what Resident Evil 4 remake is on its own merits I will proudly sit here and say it is the best remake of a video game I’ve played up to this point in my life. Every aspect of the games core design and supporting functionality, from its narrative, gameplay, visuals and audio all stands tall in reflecting the best aspects of the original game while doing just enough new stuff with it to set a clear impression. It’s a game which recognizes the legacy of the content it’s recreated but never goes out of its way to rely on that legacy to get it over. It manages to cement itself as a credible contender for the 2023 game of the year with complete ease. If you’re a Resident Evil fan or just a fan of horror media in general, you really can go no better than to experience this game; it’s a true masterpiece.