As a fan of the original Resident Evil 4, I didn't really want a remake. RE2make was great but missed a lot, RE3make stumbled a lot, and overall I was getting tired of remakes. So when it was confirmed they were making one I was annoyed. I felt like RE4 had plenty of accessibility with ports and remasters that they didn't need to in comparison to RE2 and RE3, so I felt like it was a misstep, and I would've preferred something like a Code Veronica remake (which I still want). I expected there to be missing chunks of areas gone, a gameplay focus that was more emphasizing slow-paced horror like RE8, and overall I didn't think I would like it nearly as much as the original. As someone who grew up with RE4, with hundreds upon hundreds of hours in that, this was the best possible job they could've done. Obviously I don't like it as much as the original, but this one comes close. The combat is amazing, letting you deal with crowds and arenas in super creative ways depending on your weapons, and the game makes you 'scramble' a lot more, running around and dodging things while trying to pick off enemies and grab drops to refill your dwindling supplies. You get much less ammo in this game, so you need to make the impact of shots land more in order to survive. I played on Hardcore and definitely struggled despite being a Resident Evil fanatic, so it was a nice challenge. The parry system and evade system I loved, and I wish the game made it harder or required you to use it more. I also think that the grabs were annoying that you couldn't use either because the movement can be a little stiff to avoid those. The graphics are gorgeous, and the environments and animations all look amazing. They put a lot of care and detail, and I like the change of making some rooms from the original, but you go through them in reverse. The characters are super good minus some voice acting issues. I like the redesigns to make Ashley better and more of an actual character, to make Ada a little more consistent, to make Krauser and Leon's connection better and more. Luis got the most love and attention I feel, and he really shines through in this game which I liked. The seriously improved him, and he is a lot more involved and has more going on than just a random character that pops in and out of the game sometimes. They did a great job with him. However, Krauser and Ada's voice acting is terrible. Ada is completely different which doesn't make sense compared to RE2make's voice, and Krauser also doesn't sound nearly as good as the original compared to everyone else who gets pretty close, even the merchant. All the weapons are really cool with different focuses, and I like the new weapon additions. I think my biggest complaint is the knife system. I HATE this so much. It just feels so awkward and annoying and discourages you from using the parry mechanic, which is probably the best new addition to the game. It costs a LOT to repair, and same with the armor as well which, for that, ends up not being worth it. I really wish we just had a single, working knife instead of having to constantly worry about it when it doesn't add much to the game, and makes it so I don't want to use the parry mechanic or to finish enemies off with the knife or close range. I feel like the knife durability should be doubled, or give me a NG+ knife with unlimited durability like in RE2make. But other than that frustrating aspect, I loved this game. It is super good, super high quality, and is different enough that you could play both the original and remake and still enjoy them for different reasons. I'm shocked how much I loved this game, and I plan on doing plenty of playthroughs in the future.