Resident Evil 4

A brilliant remake of Resident Evil 4 that ticks all the boxes. The few changes Capcom makes are clearly smart and much needed. This is a brilliant revision of a beloved game.

Resident Evil 4 Remake is a more mature and darker take on Leon’s Euro Trip that constantly plays with your expectations and prior knowledge. The core narrative stays true to the original, but it's not afraid to make some significant changes, while the new gameplay flow lends itself brilliantly for repeated runs for specific challenges that I'm already planning. I'm eagerly awaiting the Mercenaries mode as the hard hitting combat should be perfect for high score chasing, but in the meantime Leon is about to have a bad day all over again.

Back in 2005, I liked Resident Evil 4, but I didn’t love it. The remake hasn’t changed that. Unlike the Resident Evil 2 remake, which was revolutionary, Resident Evil 4’s glow-up is more of a faithful recreation rather than an overhaul. It changes just enough that, if you loved the original, I can’t guarantee this will leave you unperturbed. Meanwhile, if you didn’t like its first iteration, it’s not impossible that this will change your mind.

The Resident Evil 4 remake is about everything I could've wanted. But importantly, it doesn't overwrite its predecessor. If anything, this new version reinforces why the original Resident Evil 4 is a game people should still seek out, play, or at least watch and learn about. But as a love letter to one of the greatest games of all time, as a new historical artifact that reinforces why the source material was so landmark in the first place, this new trek through the Spanish countryside is as good as it gets and makes a great game that much better.

Its improvements over the original are too numerous to list, from simple quality of life changes to completely overhauled boss fight mechanics, and with the exception of the disappointingly diminished personality of the merchant, the team at Capcom has barely put a foot wrong. Whaddaya buying? Only the most relentlessly exciting Resident Evil adventure of all time that’s been rebuilt, refined, and realised to the full limits of its enormous potential. A wise choice, mate.

The Resident Evil 4 remake retains what made the original 2005 release one of the most influential games of all time, while also giving the whole experience a much-needed visual facelift. Smart tweaks have also been made to the core gameplay mechanics in the name of modernization. However, a few dated elements remind you that this is a remake of a nearly two-decades-old game.

Resident Evil 4 Remake improves on the visuals, mechanics, and moment-to-moment experience of one of the best games ever made, but the source material casts an inescapable shadow, both in its renown and its treatment of its leading woman.

Capcom has masterfully created a new version of a beloved game and continues to blaze a trail with its Resident Evil remakes. Like the Resident Evil 2 remake before it, the studio has used advancements in technology and design to modernize an iconic survival-horror and action game by placing emphasis on capturing the spirit of the original, and respectfully evoking the same sense of atmosphere and tone that the original developers aspired to.