The announcement of Resident Evil 4 VR may have come as a shock to many, at least in the surprise nature of said announcement, but Resident Evil 4 has appeared on so many platforms that it was likely inevitable. For the VR space, Oculus Studios, Armature, and Capcom made a number of changes, such as the removal of certain Resident Evil 4 game modes.
It was also reported earlier this month that Resident Evil 4 VR would have certain aspects of the game removed or changed, which the aforementioned studios and Facebook described as necessary “for a modern audience” to UploadVR. Now, exactly what parts of the game were changed for this have been more thoroughly detailed.
In short, much of the Resident Evil 4 content that sexualized Ashley and other characters in one way or another has been changed or cut entirely. Examples include Luis’ comments on Ashley’s chest, the ability to attempt to look up Ashley’s skirt and the resulting animation/dialogue, and Ashley’s proposal of “overtime” at the end of the game. Certain flirtatious and otherwise general comments between Leon and government agent Ingrid Hannigan have also been removed.
Overall, of course, none of this impacts the Resident Evil 4 VR gameplay experience. OpenCritic currently lists the game as “Mighty” with the top critic average being 85 and 100% of critics recommending the game, based on 10 reviews as of this writing. Given the general design and atmosphere of the series, it seems VR could be considered yet another home for Resident Evil 4.
Resident Evil 4, as many fans know, has had a lot of “homes.” It was available on the GameCube, PS2, and Wii all the way up to the PS4, Switch, and Xbox One. Now, it’s joined the Oculus Quest 2, and according to several reports, it doesn’t seem likely it’ll end there. Resident Evil 4 Remake is reportedly in development, following Resident Evil 2 and 3 before it.
Many may argue the game doesn’t necessarily need it and that it has aged quite well, and that may be true. Many hope that Resident Evil: Code Veronica gets a remake instead, but the simple truth is Resident Evil 4 has come to Oculus Quest 2, even with some content removed, because of its popularity. Remaking it and putting in on yet another generation of consoles might just make the most sense to Capcom.
Resident Evil 4 VR is available on the Oculus Quest 2.