Resident Evil 4
Resident Evil 4
The Resident Evil 4 remake isn’t new. It came out a few years ago, and I’d already played it back then, I just never got around to platinuming it.
That matters to me more than it probably should. I like to earn the platinum trophy of a game I love before I put it down for good, never to touch it again. It’s how I keep the memory intact, a proper goodbye. I’ve done it for almost every Resident Evil game, the only exceptions being 7 and 8.
So RE4 had been sitting there as unfinished business. After Resident Evil Requiem reminded me how much I love this series, I decided it was time to pay the debt.
Coming Back to an Old Favorite
I’ve played the original Resident Evil 4 more times than I can count, on PS2, on PC, on PS3. It’s a huge game, and it’s just so satisfying to play. The remake keeps the best of what made the original special, only changing things slightly here and there.
The castle section plays a little differently this time, and the dungeon fight against the blind enemy is genuinely interesting compared to how it worked in the original. A few parts are a bit annoying and can stir up some real frustration. Luckily, I found out that my Ashley still had the armor suit equipped on a save I’d left there years ago, which brought the difficulty down quite a bit.
The Soul of Resident Evil: The Speed Run
One of the trophies requires a speed run, and honestly, that’s right up my alley. Speed running Resident Evil is one of my favorite things in all of gaming, planning the route ahead, managing your inventory carefully, squeezing efficiency out of every room. That, to me, is the heart of these games.
I remember getting genuinely frustrated with the RE4 remake a few years back. Maybe it was just the sheer size of it. It’s not like 2 or 3, which you can clear in two or three hours. But coming back to it now, after dropping it for so long, I still had the muscle memory left over from Resident Evil Requiem, and this time I managed to pull it off.
Big, but Never Bloated
The game feels great overall, and it’s easily one of the longest Resident Evil titles out there. What impressed me is how natural the scene transitions feel. Everything flows and makes sense.
It’s the complete opposite of something like Resident Evil 6, where the story was torn apart into chapters split between different characters I lost track of and never formed any attachment to. RE4 knows exactly where it’s going and takes you along for the ride.
Capcom’s Remake Magic
Capcom has done a fantastic job with these remakes, Resident Evil 2, 3, and 4 alike. They understand when to add modern touches for that extra spark, and just as importantly, when to leave the classic stuff alone because that’s exactly what people love.
Another one off the list, another platinum earned, another Resident Evil memory put to rest the right way.