Resident Evil 4 is next up on Capcom’s list of franchise remakes. Once again, you follow the role of Leon S. Kennedy who’s on a mission to find the current United States President’s daughter whom a lunatic cult leader has taken hostage. Leon must now race against the clock to save the President’s daughter and stop the cult before it’s too late. Along the way, he gets some help from some new and old friends.

Resident Evil 4 is a 2023 action horror game and remake of the 2005 original developed and published by Capcom. It is available on PC, Playstation, and Xbox and will be released on December 20, 2023, for iOS and MacOS.

Editor’s Note: Spoilers for Resident Evil 4 Remake, the 2005 original, and greater Resident Evil mythos may be present within this review. 

Leon and Ashley return in Resident Evil 4 Remake.

In 2004, the former police officer turned US Government Agent Leon S. Kennedy was sent to investigate a rural village in Spain. There he learns that the President’s daughter has been kidnapped by a cult known as Los Illuminados run by a crazed Priest. After interacting with and fighting several of the locals Leon discovers that the villagers have been infected with something similar to the T-Virus. Now he works to stop the cult leader and rescue the President’s daughter Ashley with time running thin.

Relive one of the greatest Resident Evil entries in franchise history.

THE GOOD: Sometime after Raccoon City’s events, Leon S. Kennedy exchanged his police badge for a job as an agent of the US Government. After completing his training with Jack Krauser he’s sent to Spain where he’s given intel on a cult that has taken control of the locals with a virus similar to the Tyrant outbreak in Racoon City. Using the guidance of Ingrid Hunnigan, Leon travels the village facing the infected villagers. He meets Luis Serra a former Umbrella Corporation employee turned rogue trying to make up for his past. Unbeknownst to Leon, Luis is also working with his old colleague Ada Wong who’s also working with Albert Wesker to take control of the parasite that has overrun the cult and villagers. Luis and Leon work together to search for Ashley but are captured by the village chief Bitores Méndez who has joined the cult.

Bitores infects Leon with the parasite and he separates from Luis. Leon soon finds and rescues Ashley who has also been infected and the two travel the village together looking to escape. The duo is chased by Bitores until Leon faces him in battle, killing him. Weather complications force a delay in their escape leaving Leon and Ashley to retreat into the castle where Lord Ramón Salazar captures Ashley. Once again on the hunt for Ashley, Leon meets up with Ada who attempts to get him to give up on Ashley but fails. Leon later reunites with Luis who gives Leon suppressants for the parasite while revealing some of his past.

Luis and Leon use the mining tunnel to reach the surface level of the castle, but Luis gets fatally wounded by Krauser who has joined Los Illuminados. Leon and Krauser fight and Leon can get the edge on Krauser forcing him to escape. Luis gives Leon the key to his lab as he dies and fights & kills Salazar before returning to his pursuit of Ashley. With some help from Ada, Leon follows Krauser and co. to an island where they’re keeping Ashley. Leon saves Ashley and they meet Osmund Saddler the leader of the cult who reveals he infected Ashley with the parasite so she could infect the President of the United States and gain control of the country. Saddler controls Ashely and Leon through the parasite, separating them again and Leon faces Krauser.

Krauser reveals he defected after his entire unit got killed during an operation and he grew frustrated with the US Government’s handling of it. Leon and Krauser fight again with the latter dying and Leon reuniting with Ashley again. Saddler attempts to control them again, but Ada intervenes and the two reach Luis’ lab where they cure themselves. Leon saves Ada from Saddler and the two work together to kill him and destroy the island, leaving all but a single sample of the parasite. Leon and Ashley escape with a jet ski while Ada on a helicopter decides to disobey Wesker.

Old friends are no longer strangers in the Resident Evil 4 remake.

Outside of the obvious improvements graphically, much of Resident Evil 4’s presentation is fairly the same. While some people may consider that to be a bit boring (and I get it trust me), I feel this is more a case of the old saying “If it ain’t broke, then don’t fix it”. There have been plenty of times when remakes and remasters have gone above and beyond to make a classic appear to be truly next/current-gen in look, play, design, etc. Then there are times when developers have overdone to the point where not only has the initial spirit of the original release felt lost, but it’s a bit of an overwhelming mess to play. To me at least, Resident Evil 4 is in a nice little middle ground where it’s very much the same experience for the most part but the changes that are made beyond the artistic are felt in a big way. I honestly struggled to find many negatives associated with the remake versus the positives and even negatives of the original release.

There’s some tweaking to make the gunplay a tad tighter compared to the original Gamecube release and Playstation 2 follow-up. Additional content such as new scenarios and areas have been added to the base game to help further spread the map out as well as treasure hunts for an easy influx of cash. Tweaks have also been made in regards to the movement where not only will Leon move as he aims his weapon, but Ashley is less reliant on player choice when it comes to what she does when coming towards and away from danger. Such as no longer requiring the player’s aid to get her to climb down ladders which is one of the many annoying issues from Ashley’s AI that didn’t carry over to the remake.

Some changes like the removal of QTE cutscenes will please fans as the original Resident Evil 4 release is often contributed to the rise of QTEs being featured in games rather heavily sometime following its launch. The much larger changes contribute to the actual player experience. For example, if you felt comfortable remembering certain traps from the original release Capcom also took the time to remember them as well. If you try to skip over a trapped bridge so as not to fall on a broken board the team simply added additional trapped boards to throw players off their game. There are situations like this spread out through the entire playthrough that act as a way to refresh the experience for those coming from the 2005 game. It’s a simplistic but unique way to screw with players and it works beautifully.

Take on a supernatural cult and rescue the President’s daughter again.

THE BAD: While much of the spirit of the original version of the game remains some argue that the lacking latter portion before the end is also much of the same. I don’t necessarily agree with this, but I do understand some people feeling a bit jaded by the final act.

Resident Evil 4 is another classic in Capcom’s ever-increasing list of remakes.

OVERALL THOUGHTS: Resident Evil 4’s remake continues to make a case for remakes of classic titles more than earning their place for a second lease on life in the modern gaming era. While it doesn’t do entirely too much to break away from its initial predecessor what it does is some creatively inspired stuff. Using a player’s comfort with familiarity against them is just brilliant game design not really seen in remakes and it just shows that even minimal effort can go a very long way with renewed experiences with these titles. It’s because of even minor changes like this that Resident Evil 4 both the original and remake will remain a legendary entry into not only its legendary franchise but gaming as a whole.