Resident Evil 4 Remake (PS5) review: a swashbuckling experience rather than a horror game

I haven’t played the original Resident Evil 4 that launched back in 2005. While I had heard of the franchise, I wasn’t ready to dive into the horror genre just yet. My first foray into horror games was with the original Dead Space and I was hooked. By the time I realised that RE4 was the source of inspiration for Dead Space, the horror action-adventure genre had tropes that made the original RE4 feel like an old game with tank-like control. Having said that, I have loved every mainline Resident Evil game since RE7 – RE7, RE Village, RE 2 and 3 Remake (Yes, I liked the RE3 remake as well!). Now I’ve played the RE4 Remake and while there are countless videos on YouTube explaining the differences between the original and the remake, I’m here to give you the perspective of someone that is walking into RE4 absolutely fresh!

• Developer: Capcom
• Publisher: Capcom
• Platforms: PS4, PS5, Xbox Series X/S and PC
• Reviewed on: PS5

Story

The story of RE4 takes place a few years after the events of RE2. If you haven’t played RE2 then that’s okay as there is a quick recap that plays out as soon as you launch the game. Also, protagonist Leon is almost as oblivious as a new player to the zombie-like villagers attacking him. He does however recognise characters that made an appearance in RE2 Remake, so that may leave newcomers a bit puzzled, but nothing that’ll break immersion. Safe to say, new players will be able to relate to the story quite easily, while veterans of the franchise will have more than enough lore to engage them.

The story of the game is quite simple – rescue the President’s daughter from a fictional Spanish village. But as with every Resident Evil game, there is a virus that’s turned the residents into zombies, the villain has an ulterior motive, and you meet some new and familiar faces along your journey.

The story is littered with cheesy one-liners that the characters throw around and it’s kinda believable, just like a B-grade action movie bringing a smile to your face and making the overall experience a lot of fun.

Gameplay

The gameplay is where Resident Evil 4 Remake feels more like an action-adventure game and less like a horror game. RE7 was littered with jump scares and some genuinely terrifying moments making it one of the scariest games I’ve ever played even from a gameplay perspective. Resident Evil 4 Remake has enough guns, ammo, and action setpieces while keeping jump scare to a minimum and that’s okay as the gameplay in Resident Evil 4 Remake is a lot of fun.

Just like the recent Dead Space Remake (review), you can walk and shoot at the same time giving you a lot of flexibility. The enemies too in the game are quite diverse, from regular zombie villagers, to villagers whose heads explode releasing tentacles that attack you, to zombie dogs and even big blind ‘wolverine’ like characters that need a stealthier approach. There are some more enemy types and bosses that I won’t spoil here.

Leon has an arsenal of weapons at his disposal ranging from a handgun to a machine gun, rifle, shotgun, grenades, and more. But his most versatile weapon has to be his knife. It can parry almost any attack with a quick tap of the block button and is your weapon of choice to quickly take enemies down when they are stunned or when you are in stealth. No wonder the developers gave the knife a durability that can only be repaired at the shot – so use the knife wisely as it is also helpful to get out of sticky situations when a zombie grabs you.

Moving over to the rest of the gameplay, it is the tried and tested Resident Evil formula. Each area is a sort of hub with some Metroidvania-like elements – you need to find the right key to open the right door to progress. There are also some puzzles littered throughout the game and some of them are real headscratchers.

A new addition to the franchise is side quests in the form of blue notes posted throughout the world. They could be as simple as shooting all the blue charms hanging about in an area to clearing a room of rats to finding a golden egg – you get the drift. They are a welcome distraction and make add some motivation to explore the area’s a little more thoroughly.

Overall, the gameplay is a lot of fun, engaging, and definitely worth a second playthrough in New Game Plus.

Graphics and Sound

Visually the game looks extremely good! It has a performance (targeting higher frame rate) and resolution mode (targeting higher resolution) along with options for Ray-tracing and a new setting for more realistic hair. I found myself preferring the performance mode with Ray-tracing and the new hair effects turned off. While the image can look slightly soft and some textures low resolution, this is most evident upon close inspection. For the majority of my journey, I didn’t feel the game was lacking on the visual front.

From the dark caves to the castle you explore and even the open lake where you ride the boat, the game has diverse locations, each with its own unique feel, and is a treat to explore.

Where the game deserves special mention is its sound design. The voice acting from the cast is top notch especially Leon with his cheesy one-liners. The developers have made good use of the PS5’s DualSense controller’s speaker. Your radio conversations come from the controller’s speakers with static effects, some cutscenes vocals are depicted only through the controller speaker while my soundbar had the background score – the level of immersion with this was very good.

Even the background score deserves special mention as the game knows when to switch off the muck and lets you listen to the natural sounds around you giving you the feeling of absolute solitude. Needless to say, if you have a good soundbar, the bassy bangs and thuds of your weapons are going to sound even more immersive.

Verdict

Overall Resident Evil 4 Remake is a fantastic action-adventure horror game with replay value for those that want to experiment with new weapons or simply unlock everything the game has to offer. It looks great on the PS5, has an immersive sound design, and is one adventure you’ll remember for a long time after the credits have rolled.

Editor’s rating: 4.5 / 5

Pros:

• Fantastic gameplay
• Good story
• Great audio design
• Visually diverse environments

Cons:

• Some texture issues here and there

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