Following a lengthy period of rumors and the apparent direction of the franchise, the Resident Evil 4 remake has finally been announced and revealed. The tone of the remake’s teaser surprised most fans as it seemed far removed from that of the original, but it still maintains a lot of the nostalgic imagery that players will remember from their first Resident Evil 4 experiences.
Because this will be a remake similar to Resident Evil 2 and Resident Evil 3, there are a number of features and mechanics fans may be able to anticipate from Capcom’s latest remake. Some things will be different, or presented from a new perspective, while some things will remain respectfully the same. However, the remake’s tone appears much more centered around horror than its original counterpart, which may be an indication that Resident Evil as a franchise is determined to distance itself from the cheesier or more whimsical interpretations of its earlier installments.
Resident Evil 4 Remake is All Chills in Its Reveal Teaser
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Resident Evil is known for its earlier survival-horror entries as much as it is known for its later action-driven entries. The benefit of Resident Evil having such a diverse catalog of genres in its franchise is that there is likely a single entry to complement anyone’s preferences, whether they prefer one style of gameplay over another. Resident Evil 4 did not abandon the horror genre entirely, but it certainly absconds from it in fairly significant ways.
For instance, Resident Evil 4 is much more tongue-in-cheek with its dialogue, and its rural European setting lays the foundation for some truly bizarre and surreal enemies. Leon S. Kennedy is a wise-cracking, suave investigator, and almost every interaction with a primary antagonist features a corny one-liner. That is not to say Resident Evil 4 is devoid of horror; some scenes can be particularly disturbing, but they are often followed by another sassy character interaction.
Rather, Resident Evil 4’s remake announcement teaser is dripping with the chilling tone and atmosphere players should expect from it, which from a visual standpoint is already much different from what fans may remember. There may still be corny quotes taken from the original that appear in the remake, but based on this teaser alone, it looks like Capcom wishes to plunge it wholly into survival-horror.
Its dark, atmospheric shots of Ganados and Zealots in candlelit corridors represent Resident Evil 4 in a much more eerie tone than before, and such a tonal shift will either be appreciated as an innovation or depreciated for how it strays from the original. Regardless, it is a remake after all, and such a monumental change certainly earns that definition.
Resident Evil 4 Remake is a Direct Continuation of 2 and 3
Further, Resident Evil 4 distanced itself slightly from the traditional survival-horror fans knew in favor of a more action-oriented, arcade atmosphere. Tank controls are still a core part of the gameplay, but players have access to much more military-grade ballistics and have many more options in combat to rely upon, as well as close-quarters-combat QTEs.
In general, Resident Evil 4 is more melodramatic in a cheeky, corny sense. Still, players can feel the essence of survival-horror when ammunition is low, and they are being pursued around a village while bottlenecking enemies and barricading themselves into tiny homes.
This style of gameplay, however, is arguably outdated in terms of contemporary third-person action games. Even survival-horror has transitioned away from tank controls to modern camera controls. Games such as Dead Space and The Evil Within deserve credit for that successful and popular segue. It is also arguably why the remakes for Resident Evil 2 and Resident Evil 3 are third-person shooters with modern camera controls.
It only makes sense, then, that a remake of Resident Evil 4 follows the reimagined efforts of those titles, and that is clear from the teaser alone. The only thing fans need to see to confirm this is the fact that Leon sounds as if he is being voiced by the same actor, and the same character model from Resident Evil 2’s remake is used as well. In the announcement teaser of Resident Evil 4’s remake, Leon is much more pensive, as he was in Resident Evil 2’s remake.
By doing this, Capcom can create a salient narrative thread between Resident Evil 2 and Resident Evil 4, through both story and gameplay. The gameplay from Resident Evil 2’s remake will likely be reprised with the same controls, but it will be interesting to see if any other mechanics are added.
Resident Evil 4 Remake is Hopefully More Akin to 2 Than 3
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It is no secret that the remake of Resident Evil 3 was received unfavorably, which is disappointing because Resident Evil 3: Nemesis is one of the most iconic titles in Resident Evil history. Upon its announcement, fans were elated to see Nemesis after how profoundly impactful Mr. X was for the remake of Resident Evil 2.
However, after learning how much influential content had been cut in the remake’s iteration, such as the entire clock tower sequence, fans were understandably upset. This remake was compared to DLC for the remake of Resident Evil 2 and not its own title due to its underwhelming length and scope, while some fans appreciated it for the moments it did have against Nemesis and for its modern interpretation of Jill Valentine.
Still, Resident Evil 4’s remake cannot afford to undercut its content and offer players only half of the game it is retelling. Nearly every sequence in Resident Evil 4 is memorable for one reason or another, and fans will undoubtedly feel shortchanged if any of their favorite moments are disregarded.
The remake teaser shows that new sequences will be added, as should be expected, with a redesigned Ashley Graham. This will help to perpetuate its new emphasis on horror, but new scenes will hopefully not overwrite that of important sequences unless the sequences they overwrite fail to fit the remake’s tone. Such choices will always have either a positive or negative impact on dedicated fans, but the remake is more than likely going to take these tonal risks in order to present something new to fans of the original Resident Evil 4.
Resident Evil 4 launches March 24, 2023, for PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X.