The Resident Evil franchise has had some pretty iconic enemies over the years. The original Resident Evil introduced the ghoulish Hunter, Resident Evil 2 gave the Lickers their debut, and Resident Evil 3's Nemesis is still one of the most intimidating foes in gaming. But being one of the biggest and longest Resident Evils out there, it's only natural that Resident Evil 4 has some of the most diverse enemy types seen in franchise history, and the recent remake takes things just a few steps further.
Throughout its 15-20 hour-long campaign, Resident Evil 4 players will come into contact with an array of horrifying monsters, infected and crazed villagers, and mutant bugs, all of which want nothing more than to kill main protagonist Leon S. Kennedy as fast and brutally as possible. But while long-time fans might think they have all the original's monsters memorized, Resident Evil 4 Remake shakes things up the perfect amount.
Resident Evil 4 Remake Adds Even More Enemy Variety Than the Original
The original 2005 version of Resident Evil 4 had a truly impressive collection of enemies to throw mercilessly at the player. These original enemy types ranged all the way from crazed Ganados villagers to the blind and armed Garradors to infected suits of armor. Each enemy posed a unique challenge, and when multiple enemy types were merged together in one location, the player's skill was truly tested. Resident Evil 4's array of enemies is still impressive to this day, but the Resident Evil 4 Remake may have just outdone it.
The Resident Evil 4 Remake retains the vast majority of the original's iconic enemy designs. Players can still expect to find Ganados galore, suits or armor, Garradors, and all the other iconic monstrosities. But rather than just recreate these enemies one-for-one, Resident Evil 4 Remake decides to shake things up a little, introducing even more variations of enemy types.
One of the best examples of this is the Ganados themselves. In the original, players could come across a wide variety of Ganados types, ranging from melee-focused villagers with pitchforks, cleavers, axes, and torches, to ranged Ganados capable of throwing dynamite. Resident Evil 4 Remake adds just a few more Ganados types to keep veterans on their toes, including a molotov-throwing villager, and a villager equipped with a shovel. The Novistadors are another good example of the remake expanding on the original's enemy types. Rather than just the standard type of flying bug, Novistadors can now come in a smaller and larger variation, with the bigger type needing a few more bullets to take down.
Resident Evil 4 Remake isn't content with just expanding on the original, however. Within the game's first few hours, long-time fans will likely be taken aback by the appearance of a brand new enemy type, a Brute. These hulking enemies wear the head of an animal and wield a gigantic sledgehammer, capable of wiping out Leon's health bar in just a few swings. Even the most seasoned Resident Evil players will be taken by surprise by this new foe, and that's exactly what the remake is going for.
This same philosophy extends to Resident Evil 4 Remake's redesigned boss fights. While many boss encounters retain the same essence as their original counterparts, the remake often switches things up by giving players a larger environment to fight in with a more aggressive boss. Very occasionally, whole boss fights have been removed and replaced with a sequence that uses the same enemy type, but in a new and exciting way, such as the El Gigante fight at the castle that tasks players with avoiding its ranged attacks while dealing with cultists. All of this comes together to create an experience with even more scary encounters than the original, with variety being one of the remake's many strengths.
Resident Evil 4 is available now for PC, PS4, PS5, and Xbox Series X/S.