THE original Resident Evil 4 launched in 2005, and in the 18 years since, it has remained the most popular game in the long-running series with fans.
As Leon S. Kennedy took his bloodied journey through a rural European village, the third-person shooter genre changed forever.
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The new over-the-shoulder perspective brought gamers closer to the action than ever before, and allowed you to aim with deadly accuracy.
Part of what makes this so exciting is how you could change up your tactics by hitting enemies in different body parts.
You’re still rewarded for getting up close and personal, shooting enemies in the head and then knocking them down.
The new intro cutscene even fleshes out Leon’s back story, letting you know how he became a zombie-killing expert.
While playing the intro you can make comparisons in your mind to the scenes from the original, but some sections feel entirely new.
The entire first section feels brand new as you push through a narrow pathway before stumbling upon a familiar cabin.
However similar it looks from the outside, the inside has completely changed and is much larger than the original.
The game is, undeniably, different from the original, but retains so much of the personality that made it memorable and beloved.
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The path towards the village isn’t exactly the same either. You’ll still find bear traps ready to chomp at your leg, and crows will still drop grenades and ammo.
While it retains all the weirdness that fans love, and it still plays that goofiness with an entirely straight face, everything is definitely different.
When you enter the village and see the Ganados wandering around, it’s up to you whether to run in guns blazing or not.
The basic gameplay mechanics have been changed up significantly. Leon can crouch and take down enemies with stealth.
Crafting has also been added, with the downside that your knife can now break and needs to be rebuilt.
Stealth isn’t a guarantee of success. Enemies can still spot you, and alert others to attack with knives and throwing axes.
Items have been moved and shuffled around, and there are new ways to enter previously locked areas.
The environment reacts to objects differently, whether that’s setting a cow on fire with an oil lamp, or having the tower destroyed with a chainsaw.
There are enough changes that even the most hardened and experienced Resident Evil 4 players will inevitably find something new.
The village’s largest building still holds a shotgun at the top, but it’s more difficult than before to reach it.
Your knife can be used to parry attacks, but with new durability, it can also break in these encounters.
The remake feels darker and moodier than the original, but it still has the same heart beating at its core.
You can expect the same goofy humour, with Leon remaining as cheeky and quippy as ever.
It’s a shockingly good blend of modern horror and gameplay mechanics with the old camp and over-the-top action aesthetic.
2005’s Resident Evil 4 may have changed gaming forever, but 2023’s is set to do the same all over again.
Written by Dave Aubrey and Georgina Young on behalf of GLHF.
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