A viral soap opera
The remake of Resident Evil 3, released last month, caused quite a stir in the gaming industry. Yes, most of the editors (including ours) praised this title as a great survival horror and a refreshing original. At the same time, there were clear voices from players dissatisfied or resigning from the purchase. Reason? For many, a barely six-hour campaign and re-enactment in the face of last year’s refresh of Resident Evil 2does not justify the standard price of around PLN 250. It probably affected the sale of the game. Capcom recently reported that it sold over 2.5 million copies in a month, which is really a very good result. At the same time, the previous game scored higher by 1.5 million copies, so we can probably talk about a publisher’s profession. I’m afraid the story may come full circle at this point as the situation is very similar to that accompanying the release of… the original Resident Evil 3 in 1999.
Due to the huge success of Resident Evil 2, the next game in the series was created at an express pace, which resulted in a very short time needed to complete the title and a clear recycling of assets and mechanics from the previous installment. Although the third installment met with mixed reception, it earned enough to give Capcom an excuse for the production of subsequent games in the series. In this way, until 2004, as many as five spin-offs were produced, each of which received worse and worse ratings, as well as a very good remake of the first Resident Evilfor the GameCube console. The brand thus clearly lost its power and perhaps her disappearance would only be a matter of time, if not for the great return of the series father, Shinji Mikami. Since 2002, he has been working on a full-fledged Resident Evil 4 . The game, released in January 2005, immediately became a huge hit and by the end of 2019 it sold over 7.5 million copies, and to this day remains one of the highest rated titles in history. Anyway, rightly so, because the last Resident created under the watchful eye of Mikami turned out to be a game in many respects a breakthrough …
Terror in Spanish
Over the years, the series lacked ideas for a meaningful development, so – like the original three parts – the plot of spin-offs also revolved around the sinister Umbrella corporation producing viruses that turn people into zombies and more. The stories of subsequent games began to form a confusing and not particularly interesting soap opera, and such a formula additionally deterred potential new recipients. The right decision was therefore to focus on the almost complete separation of Resident Evil 4 from the background of the previous parts. Admittedly, the main character is Leon S. Kennedy, known from RE 2 , but the action takes place six years later, and the hero has changed significantly. There is no trace of the inexperienced policeman from Raccoon City, and our protagonist is now often ironic, throwingone-liners special services agent. The main storyline is also changing. Umbrellas’ schemes and the zombie epidemic fade into the background, and Leon travels to a Spanish village to find the daughter of the president of the United States, kidnapped by mysterious cultists. Although they behave similarly to the good old zombies in the context of gameplay (although they can take up arms more often), such a change and distancing themselves from the rest of the series on the story plane brings a breath of fresh air.
Equally important is the different tone of the story. After all, while most of the games in the series can engage with expressive characters, the scenarios are usually dripping with kitsch and can be easily combined with B- or even C-class movie horror films. It is no different here, but Resident Evil 4 remains a self-conscious production in these nonsense, often wading into grotesque and specific humor. Because how can you seriously treat a mysterious shopkeeper who hides a real arsenal behind his puffer and waits for the player in the strangest locations. Leon’s adversaries also seem absurd – peasants with pitchforks, cultists in hoods with full-face covers, a great troll, or finally the main antagonist in the form of an elegantly dressed dwarf plotting how to conquer the world here.
A varied adventure
Older versions of Resident Evil developed a survival horror design typical of its time . There was therefore relatively little arcade action, and the games primarily forced the audience to slowly discover dark locations and solve more or less complex puzzles. Unfortunately, such a formula forced a lot of backtracking and it was used up due to the lack of more important novelties. Fortunately, it is at the level of Resident Evil 4 gameplayIt was saved as the most revolutionary version and to this day remains very playable, and can even be a model for designing action games from the TPP perspective. Well, since I have already touched on the subject of the camera, its change is visible at first glance. Instead of observing the hero from a static point in each room, the camera is located right behind the protagonist. The so-called Over the shoulder view (especially visible when aiming) has become the standard for immersion third-person shooters over the next few years, the best examples of which are blockbusters such as Gears of War, Dead Space , Uncharted or The Last of Us. This procedure had two meanings for the overall production. First of all, there are many more open locations in the game where a static camera simply won’t work.
More importantly, the new perspective is directly related to a different gameplay design concept. The creators put much more emphasis on linear action, and the player rarely has to return to previously discovered locations. At the same time, we managed to keep the perfect balance between the extermination of the hosts of adversaries and delving into new atmospheric locations. All this is interrupted from time to time with fairly easy environmental puzzles (fortunately not usually consisting in combining unusual items) and effective, scripted QTE sequences. The latter element is particularly interesting because it is actually Resident Evil 4 We owe the popularization of scenes that forced you to quickly press certain buttons, which in a way made cutscenes and automatic animations more attractive, or to intensify the tension when escaping from a powerful opponent.
Get away from death
All these novelties sound really interesting, but it may seem that they make RE 4 more of an arcade action game, focused on a sensational adventure than real horror. Not without reason – many orthodox fans of the series believe that this is where the twist towards blockbuster shootings began (which culminated in the sixth installment). I cannot quite agree with this statement, and despite everything, I believe that the fear in the fourth Residencyshe is present. The variety of locations is impressive, maybe not as graphically impressive as before, but they effectively introduce players to the stuffy atmosphere of an unpleasant place. The combat mechanics has also been resolved in an interesting way, based on deliberately inconvenient controls, which make the player more uncomfortable in the fight against numerous enemies. It may seem like a completely out-of-date solution, Leon is unable to move and aim at the same time, which in turn forces you to carefully assume your position. Each missed shot can make you shiver, especially when the prospect of direct contact with your adversary is imminent, which will most likely bring you back to a checkpoint, and these are scattered quite rarely. Despite sending hordes of opponents to the sand, fighting often requires a bit of tactics, which can be quite stressful at the most intense moments. This makes it, despite the much more dynamic gameplay and the lack of typicalThe jump scare game effectively raises the pressure of players with weaker nerves.
The legacy continues
While Resident Evil 4 has defined in many ways what modern action games should look like, it’s worth remembering that this title is an infamous pioneer of selling the same product multiple times. Suffice it to say that initially it was supposed to be exclusive to the Nintendo Gamecube console, and finally twelve different versions were released! Even within personal computers, two different editions of Resident Evil 4 have been released . The original version from 2007 was full of bugs (initially the shadows didn’t even work) and, worst of all, the control was only on the keyboard (yes, you could forget about pointing the mouse). In 2014, the improved port of Resident Evil 4: Ultimate HD Edition was released, based on Resident Evil HDwith PS3 and X360. The new PC version was the base for the port for the current consoles. There are many indications that these were not the last editions of RE 4 . According to unofficial reports, Capcom is already working on a remake of the four, which is to be released in 2022 for next-generation devices. However, I am not sure if this is the right direction. Sure, the graphics will look impressive thanks to the power of the new consoles, but I am concerned about the gameplay. After all, the success of the refreshed versions of Resident Evil 2 and 3 was based not only on the renovation of the audiovisual setting, but also on the transfer of archaic mechanics to more modern solutions, which in turn are the development of ideas from … Resident Evil 4. In the case of this edition, Capcom does not have much to improve, as long as it does not invent some revolutionary solutions in the context of the cycle.
Therefore, until we get to know more details about a possible remake, I can recommend one of the previously released ports with a clear conscience to everyone. Despite the passage of fifteen years, Resident Evil 4 can still impress, above all, with an extremely thoughtful level design and surprisingly modern gameplay. On the other hand, cutting off the main storyline makes it an ideal title to start your adventure with the series.
