By now, many Resident Evil 4 fans have had the chance to check out the demo for the upcoming remake, but what some may not know is that this small slice of the game has a hidden hard mode that can be accessed with a code. Given how misleading the Resident Evil 3 demo was by misrepresenting the final release, this taster of RE4 will hopefully be a sign of good things to come.
As one of the biggest horror game releases of 2023, possibly one of the most hyped games of this generation overall, Capcom is putting a lot on the line for the Resident Evil 4 remake. While previous reimagining's from the iconic survival series have been successful, especially RE2, there's a lot riding on RE4 as the original 2005 release is considered by many to be the best entry in the series. With such a reputation, fans are hoping that this modern take on the iconic game will be a big hit for older gamers as well as newcomers.
Fortunately, it looks like the Resident Evil 4 demo is proving popular at the moment, which bodes well for the full release. However, some may not be aware that it has a secret difficulty mode. According to a report from Eurogamer, there is a random chance that a "Mad Chainsaw Mode" can be activated, which makes the demo extremely hard. An embedded clip shows how easily the reporter succumbs to enemy attacks early on. While at the time there didn't seem to be a way to enable this super hard mode, players have since been able to activate it with a series of button prompts. As spotted by The Gamer, YouTuber 7rayD says this hidden difficulty mode can be activated on PlayStation by holding down L1 and R1, followed by pressing Up, Left, Down, Right, Square, Triangle, Circle, X, and then X again to start the demo from the menu screen.
Those on Xbox who want to access this newly discovered Resident Evil 4 demo feature can do so by holding LB and RB together, then pressing Up, Left, Down, Right, X, Y, B, A, and A again to start. Mad Chainsaw Mode can also be activated on the PC version by holding Shift and the Space bar, followed by pressing W, A, S, D, R, Tab, C, F, and F once more. However, the report goes on to say that those playing on Steam will need to disable the Steam Overlay first.
Despite concerns about the recent cancellation of GameStop's Resident Evil 4 Deluxe Edition pre-orders, many are still excited about this modern reimagining of an RE classic. Given how influential the 2005 release was, there's hope that the upcoming remake will do justice to the original while also making it more up to date.
Resident Evil 4 Remake is set to release on March 24, 2023, for PC, PS4, PS5, and Xbox Series X/S.