Resident Evil 4 Remake: Should I play through the original now?

A little while ago I first started using Resident Evil 4 started and right now Capcom is around the corner with the remake. Now, of course, I’m asking myself: Should I finish the original at all or should I rather wait for the new edition? That all depends on how Capcom revives the zombie action, because the original has a lot of nostalgia and atmosphere, but also a fair amount of dust.

Resident Evil 4 : Keep playing or wait for the reboot

To follow through or not to follow through, that is the question. Most will now say: what’s the problem, just play it again! But like many who work with games, I’m one of those people who, for lack of time, are happy if they even finish a game.

So now I have a played Resi 4 and see the great pictures of the remake and I am conflicted. We don’t need to talk about the fact that the new graphics are really impressive and could provide a much denser atmosphere than the original.

I’ll do it anyway, because: ratings handsome and ex-boyband member Leon S. Kennedy just looks wonderfully realistic from head to toe and the eerie, Mediterranean village setting could be a similarly gloomy feast for the eyes as the eponymous village from Resident Evil 8 .

So first impressions promise a definite tidbit compared to the 2005 original – not exactly surprising, but it’s still a source of anticipation.

Freedom for the camera – or not?

A famous element of Resident Evil 4 is of course the camera, which stubbornly sticks to the back of good Leon’s head as if it had gotten stuck on his hair gel. Of course, that should also contribute to the atmosphere: a restricted field of vision makes the threat from the outside much more intense, only seeing the dark corners around you at the last moment, when it’s already too late.

I would like a compromise for the new edition. A little more customization options for the stubborn camera would have been a blessing in the old game. How about a modern and a classic mode?

What’re you buyin?

In addition to optics and controls, the mood could also change a little, because the new trailer gives the impression of a horror focus rather than an action focus. More serious and scarier is definitely not a bad thing for a horror game, after all there are enough action games outside of horror that a Resi can dare to go a little more in the direction of goosebumps.

It’s still a tightrope walk for a coward like me, so maybe not too scary, okay Capcom? I know I have a lot of special requests. So Resident Evil 4 could be more realistic in the remake and therefore darker and scarier, but that begs the question: What about the cult?

I know this is a revelation now, but not everything in Resident Evil 4 was completely to be taken seriously, I mean: A pretty boy with the hair of a backstreet boy has to save his constantly screaming damsel in distress while being pursued by a very weird dealer, with the charm of an exhibitionist in the city park at night. All of this tends to ensure that the gloomy setting of an infested, infiltrated village is broken up quite ruthlessly, but much of it is also cult.

After all, what would a Resi 4 be without the strange dealer and his dirty puddle? But does all of this fit into a more modern, serious remake? At first I thought to myself: I don’t want a Resi 4 without these weird cult elements. On the other hand, it would also be wasted potential and somehow strange if the atmosphere didn’t change at all in a new edition.

My hope: Maybe Capcom will walk a really shaky line that will allow for a more serious, spooky situation with a touch of fanservice. And there we are with a character who might have been done very differently from a modern point of view: Ashley.

Leeeeon, Help or: What happens to Ashley?

We can all agree that the President’s daughter Ashley Graham is really terrible, and if you were planning to make Resi 4 more modern from the ground up, you would have to cut Ashley properly. Running bodyguard quests on two bare legs, she’s only there to scream, run away, and be scared, which regularly annoys Leon and the entire player base.

The choice of clothes is just as impractical: a mini skirt, monster boots and an orange wool sweater without sleeves, plus a Christmas sweater around your shoulders, so you never really know whether you’re dealing with sub-zero temperatures or heat waves.

Small details about this strange look seem to change in the remake – at least the good girl gets long sleeves – but the style remains the same (at least now I don’t have to redesign my ironically lousy Ashley cosplay).

So the good one speaks against so much of what I otherwise like about exciting, strong female characters, but still makes me think. That’s exactly what her job is: don’t like her, she’s a walking meme. It’s clear that the good girl is a flat and clichéd girly character, but this one is also so exaggerated that it comes across as funny and satirical again.

I think for a real Resi-4 feeling you need it as it is. Maybe it’s possible to keep its strenuous character, but still give it a touch more realism and depth – as always a gray area in which it’s not so easy to walk.

More realism and the scary factor could jeopardize the cult charm, but too much cult turns the whole thing into cheap fan service in a nicer guise. So all in all, this is going to be a tightrope act for Capcom, but one I’m incredibly excited about. Should I wait or finish the original first? I’m no closer to this decision, but my curiosity about the new version is unchecked. Now all you have to do is hold out until 2023.

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That Resident Evil 4 remake coming out next year, on March 24, 2023 for PC and consoles.