Resident Evil 4 (PlayStation 5)

Geoffrey Wright | March 31, 2023 | Review | No Comments

Thinking back there’s been so many ports of Resi 4. The original to PS2, infamous 07 PC port, enhanced for the Wii, HD edition for pretty much everything since PS3/X360, and more recently a VR port for the Meta Quest – I think there was even a mobile version. While all these can offer HD graphics or new ways to play, they were fundamentally the same game. Resident Evil 4 Remake draws a line under all those ports and instead offers a full revamp of the original game. Worth heading out on that journey with Leon yet again? Lets have a look.

Just as before you play as U.S. government agent Leon Kennedy on a mission to rescue Ashley Graham , the President’s daughter, who has been abducted by a mysterious cult. Heading out to a rural village in Spain, the last sighting of Ashley, it quickly becomes apparent that theres more than meets the eye going on and the mission will in fact me more difficult than expected. The story plays out like before, though there are some changes to cutscenes so not everything will play out as you remember – the intro will highlight that straight away as there’s additional story added before Leon’s car journey. The cutscenes are all done in-engine and look good, with plenty done to give the game a more of a horror vibe than before.

I suppose the only downside to it for me is that the Assignment Ada & Separate Ways additional content featuring Ada Wong is not included with this remake – she does appear throughout the remake more and is expanded upon, with a new twist at the end for her character but that’s all you get. The game does at least have plenty of extra goodies to unlock. As you play through the game you will earn credits that can be spent within an extras section of the main menu, you’ll find all sorts of things from items to help in game to costumes and concept art. These are all locked at first and you’ll get some unlocked as you progress, other will require you to complete challenges that also net you a credit bonus. Its a nice addition for fans of Resi 4 and could entice some to return if finished without unlocking everything.

There’s been plenty of releases for Resi 4 over the years, from enhanced Wii released and HD versions, all the way to the recent VR port to Quest 2. This remake differs from those in that it offers a full visual revamp of the game with modern features like raytracing chucked in for the latest consoles. The upgrade is massive of course, the detail and effects really bring the game into the modern age, but its all not just nice to look at. Straight out of the truck and the dense foliage and dancing fog give the game a more claustrophobic feel than before, fog is used throughout and looks great when first entering the church for example as it dances across the floor. With everything looking so much better, redesigned environments too look great but still feel familiar, the villagers etc stick out a little – upgraded sure but not quite on par with everything else.

Performance is a bit of a minefield with this one though. There’s two basic modes, framerate & resolution, with both having an unlocked framrate – avoid resolution if you want a predominately locked experience. The raytracing & fancy hair options reduce framrate even more, and there’s no 30/40fps option to lock with either unfortunately. I ended up settling on framerate mode with raytracing myself, though resolution mode could be used if you don’t mind the odd break below a TV’s VRR range. It’s also good to see Capcom putting the dualsense to work with radio chatter coming through the speaker and the light also changing depending on health status – well implemented haptics and trigger use round off the package.

To be honest not much has changed with regards to the structure of the game compared to the original, the puzzles are similar and enemy placement can be recognisable at times for those that have put the time in previously. There are some changes to the gameplay though that could be a little contentious. When aiming now you can move as opposed to the original that had you stood in place, bringing the game more in line with recent remakes. This makes the combat a little less tense, even with the rebalanced enemies, especially when factoring in the new knives. The trusty combat knife can now break, though can be upgraded and repaired at the shop, forcing you to use disposable knives as often as possible. They break quickly, but then they also can insta-kill downed enemies and even counter attacks, that does mean you have to be careful as you don’t want to enter a skirmish without any knife at all. You can use them in crafting too, so can be found often, as the crafting allows you to gather resources to create ammo and items you’ll need going forward.

Another obvious change to me was the weapon wheel. No longer do you need to bring up the inventory to change weapon, just a simple tap of the dpad is all that’s needed. This does have the combat feeling a little more fluid when combined with the movement, which makes things a little easier at first – though the balancing has made the enemies seem more aggressive. flip side to that is the balance later in the game seems a little less forgiving than the originals. Other things like Ashley has seen improvements, she no longer needs babysitting as much, with your interactions with her streamlined a little as well There’s a few more tweaks to the formula, but you’re probably getting the picture by now. While the journey, including locations and boss fights, will feel familiar – the game itself is less Resident Evil 4 you remember and more in line with the recent remakes, for better or worse.

Resident Evil 4 Remake offers a huge visual upgrade over the original and revamped gameplay mechanics, with tweaks to the story delivery that change the vibe a little, and a healthy amount of unlocks rounding off an impressive package – Fans of recent remakes from Capcom will slot right into this one as it shares many aspects of those. Personally for me it’s not quite the definitive edition, that would be the Wii version given the superb controls & additional content (including Ada’s missions) not found here, but this is probably the best way to play Resident Evil 4 outside of that as it also keeps continuity with the recent remakes of 2 & 3.