Gun rhymes with fun for a reason, stranger.
I’ve never liked Resident Evil.
I remember when the first game came out on PlayStation and while I thought the vibe was cool, I just couldn’t get into the tank controls. As the series progressed, and made its way to various other platforms, I was always interested, but never enough to spend more than a few minutes with them. I had to try Resident Evil 2 on Nintendo 64 because it was a technical marvel, but it didn’t catch me. I was dazzled by the action sequences in the trailers, so I picked up Code Veronica on Dreamcast, but it didn’t catch me. I was floored by the visuals in the Resident Evil remake on GameCube, but you guessed it, it didn’t catch me. No matter how cool they seemed, something about the way they played always turned me off.
But then, along came Nintendo’s 2004 E3 presentation. Maybe it was the hype of finally seeing Nintendo fire on all cylinders with new games from Metroid, Star Fox, F-Zero, and various 3rd parties, or the introduction of Reggie as their new spokesperson, but when I saw Resident Evil 4 in action during their press conference, I couldn’t believe my eyes. I approached cautiously, having never properly enjoyed a Resident Evil game in the past, but this looked too amazing not to at least give a go.
It absolutely did not disappoint.
MSRP: $49.99
Platforms: Switch (reviewed), XBOX, PlayStation, PC
Price I’d Pay: $49.99
The original Resident Evil 4 is a game I consider to be a genuine masterpiece. Even on the GameCube, the system it was created for, it still looks and plays great to this day. It’s the first game where the tank controls made a degree of sense to me. It was tense, terrifying, and the plot and dialogue were so stuffed with cheese they could put Pizza Hut to shame. I couldn’t not love it. It even made escort missions tolerable, a feat that’s nothing short of miraculous.
I played it again on PlayStation 2 just to see how it looked (Worse. The GameCube version is better). I bought it again on Wii and played it all the way through with its brilliant motion controls.
Then Resident Evil 5 came out. I got a few minutes into the game, and I was immediately right back out. Perhaps RE4 was just a fluke, and the series really wasn’t for me.
All this is to say that Resident Evil 4 has a specific magic to it. It’s hard to put my finger on, but that one’s just special. No Resident Evil game before or since has had anywhere near the same impact on me, which is why when they announced they were remaking it, I was more than a little apprehensive. Like I said, RE4 is a masterpiece, and you don’t mess with perfection.
I remember downloading the demo on my PlayStation 4 with no small amount of cautious optimism. I had heard so many great things about the more modern Resident Evil games, but those older RE games had a ton of room for improvement, while 4 was so much more modern to begin with. Winning me over with a remake of a game I held in such high regard was always going to be a big ask, but I was ready to give it an honest go. I played a few minutes of the demo, couldn’t get used to the new controls, and noped the heck out. Someone even showed me that the dog you can save in the beginning of the original is dead already in this new version!
No thanks. I’ll stick to the old one.
And yet, here we are. Recently, the fine folks at ZTGD presented me with the opportunity to review the Switch 2 version of Resident Evil 4. They knew I was a huge fan of the original, and were kind enough to set me up with a review code. It was an offer I couldn’t pass up. After all, I had heard so many glowing reviews of all the modern Resident Evil remakes. There must be something I’m missing, right?
That brings us to today. I’ve played through almost the entire campaign of Resident Evil 4 on Switch 2, and I can confirm that I am indeed a fool. This remake is bloody brilliant, and I should have played it years ago.
If you’re like me and haven’t tried any of the newer Resident Evil games, the controls take a bit of getting used to. After all, they’re no longer tank-style. They actually make sense! My bullheaded response to this a few years back was that it somehow took away from the tension. That the original’s obtuse controls were somehow a selling point, and while I still maintain that there’s a degree of truth to that, freeing the player up to things like moving your character more like an actual human being really does add to the experience. Shocking, I know.
What was wild to me, though, was just how much better this remake looks than the original, partially because the original still looks so darn good. Just to be sure, after playing through the opening village section with that chainsaw wielding jerk, I booted up my Switch 1 version of the original RE4 and did a quick comparison. It really does still hold up remarkably well, but this new iteration is just that much better. There’s so much detail on everything, and it’s less brown and muddy. People’s faces are still just a bit off, but like in the original, that adds to the overall unsettling ambiance of the game.
If for some reason you’re unfamiliar with the Resident Evil franchise, they were famous for being zombie survival horror games, and true pioneers in the realm of horror video games in general. What made RE4 so different at the time was that it took place from an over the shoulder 3D perspective instead of using dynamic camera angles presented over status pre-rendered backgrounds, and it was no longer about zombies. These weirdos that attack you weren’t shambling and trying to chew your flesh. These folks are active and intentionally murderous. I’ll never forget the first time I played the game, pointed my gun at a guy and he moved out of the way, so I ran away to try and find more ammo, and out of nowhere BBBBZZZZZGGRRRRRRRRRR! A chainsaw guy came up behind me and chopped my head off. Startled the crap out of me, which is usually something I hate, but I couldn’t stop laughing. It was so intense, completely terrifying, stressful, but most importantly fun, that genuine laughter was the only natural response I could come up with. Pure video game magic. Fortunately, this new version is also chock full of those same kinds of experiences. Enemies will gang up on you, and if you aren’t great at aiming with an analog stick (like me) you will probably die often. It’s so much fun though, that it never became much of a frustration. I’d just get my wits together, and try again with a different strategy, just like in the original. I wasn’t great at that game either, but it was so absolutely riveting, I couldn’t stop trying until I got it right.
Also like the original, it’s really easy to lose time. One of my favorite memories of playing the GameCube game was getting to a save point, looking at the clock and realizing that I should go to bed, then saying to myself “I’ll just check and see what’s around this corner so I know what I’m getting into tomorrow” and then realizing that another hour had passed before I even noticed. The same exact thing has happened to me numerous times with the remake. It’s ridiculously hard to put down.
But let’s get to the nitty gritty of it all. How does the Switch 2 version hold up to its big brothers on beefier hardware? Well, it’s not perfect, but it’s pretty darn close. I’d be lying if I said I didn’t notice the occasional texture pop-in while walking through the woods, but unlike Indiana Jones and the Great Circle, these hiccups never felt too egregious. Sure, they’re momentarily distracting, but the rest of the game runs so smoothly and feels so cohesive that the technical limitations were never enough to take me out of the experience. Similarly, if you look at direct side by side comparisons, yes, the other versions of the game look better. But while you’re playing, I can’t say I’ve ever had a single issue with the graphics. Could I do without a close up of the grotesque details on Salazar’s freaky face? Absolutely. But that’s an artistic choice. And on that note, uuggghhh. How did they make that freaky little creep even creepier?
The bottom line is, the game performs great on Switch 2.
As for the gameplay, there are lots of accessibility options that I must admit I eventually caved in and availed myself of. October’s a crazy busy month for me, and as such, my time to play games has become somewhat limited. After dying repeatedly in this one area where this weirdo in a red robe kept sending tons of guys after me, I decided in the interest of trying to save some time, I’d try out the assisted aiming mode which the game gives you the option to turn on after you die a bunch of times. It took a decent amount of pride-swallowing, but once it was turned on, it really did make the game a whole lot easier without making it a complete pushover.
But that does call to attention my one major issue with this game. Why on Earth is there no option to use motion controls? I’m not even saying it needs to have full dual Joycon support, but using gyro to fine tune the aiming like in Splatoon or Breath of the Wild would have made this entire experience so much better. The motion controls in RE4 Wii Edition were an absolute revelation, so their absence here is nothing short of mystifying.
Outside of that, though, I can’t say I have much of anything else to complain about with the exception of not having enough time to dedicate to playing every inch of additional content this game has to offer. Heck, I’d rather be playing it right now than writing this review!
Resident Evil 4 continues to be a high watermark in the pantheon of horror video games, and this remake even managed to turn me, a staunch supporter of the original not even needing a remake in the first place. I’ve enjoyed this game so much that if I can find the time, I’m hoping to give the other remakes and maybe even the all-new games a genuine shot someday. If you’ve got a Switch 2 and have ever possessed even a passing interest in this kind of game, give it a go. It may have more cheesy one-liners and over the top voice acting than the FDA’s recommended dosage, but it all comes together beautifully. It’s brilliant-looking, controls like a dream, and more importantly than anything else, is incredibly fun to play, especially during the Halloween season.
Oh, and you DO still get to save the dog! It just happens later in the game. Well done, Capcom!
Review copy of game provided by publisher.