So, the big question for every Resident Evil fan: Will Resident Evil 4 Remake be worth buying? Although I’m not a clairvoyant, I can 100% predict that Capcom will again deliver on another Resident Evil game.
Resident Evil 4, the game many consider to be the very best the franchise has ever produced, will be getting a long-awaited remake coming out in 2023. However, in the past, some of the Resident Evil remakes (Resident Evil 3 Remake) have been poor reiterations of the beloved originals.
Nevertheless, with how fantastic and critically acclaimed Resident Evil: Village turned out, I have high hopes for the Resident Evil 3: Remake. I believe that Capcom has learned its lesson from the Resident Evil 3 and will provide a game not only true to the story of Resident Evil 4, but also expand on its shooting/survival mechanics and graphics.
With the Resident Evil 3 remake, the game deviated way too far from the classic horror and jump-scare elements that have defined the Resident Evil franchise. The game felt too open (which makes sense as it took place in an open city arena), while the classic “hallway scares” or “claustrophobic stairway” moments were stripped entirely.
(Capcom-Resident Evil 4 Remake-Announcement Trailer)
Now, I have to say that the original game also took place in an open city (Raccoon City). Yet, Resident Evil 3 Remake felt a little too much like a Call of Duty or Battlefield game, which I can’t say the same about the original game. The heavy focus on shooting and overpowering enemies with bigger and more impressive guns reminded me a lot of Call of Duty Zombies, not so much Resident Evil.
Perhaps that is the fault of the games original design, or maybe it is solely down to the developers “mainstreaming” the remake. I don’t know.
What I do know is that I didn’t get that same feel while watching the Resident Evil 4 Remake trailer.
The new trailer had the same feel as the original game did. The gritty, survival, jump-scare filled nightmare rural Spanish wilderness looked even more impressive in the new gameplay trailer than I had hoped. Plus, seeing Leon Kennedy with the new generation graphics was great too.
Moreover, the nature of the story of Resident Evil 4 means that the gameplay elements will be nothing like Resident Evil 3 Remake. Rather, the story/gameplay will be much more similar with Resident Evil Village.
In Resident Evil Village, Ethan Winters journeys to an isolated Eastern European village, where he must save his baby from Mother Miranda and her mutated “children”.
In Resident Evil 4, Leon Kennedy must travel to an isolated Spanish village, where he must save the President of the United States’ daughter from the “plaga”-spreading Los Iluminados cult.
With the success of Resident Evil Village, it only makes sense that Capcom will update Resident Evil 4 Remake to emulate its predecessor as closely as possible (in terms of gameplay).
Resident Evil 4 Remake will be a success, I have no doubt about it. When the game finally comes out, I just hope that its success will show Capcom why they must keep the horror/survival focus for Resident Evil 9 (or whatever it will be called), as they did/will with Resident Evil: Village and Resident Evil 4 Remake.
Images Source: Featured Image: (Capcom) (Resident Evil 4 – Announcement Trailer – YouTube)
In Text Image 1: (Capcom) (Resident Evil 4 – Announcement Trailer – YouTube)
