I really don't know how I feel about this game, if I feel anything at all. I absolutely had fun with it, no doubt about it, but as I pen this while the credits roll, I can't help but think it was somewhat of a hollow experience. There are plenty of changes I wholeheartedly approve of like the more fluid controls, omission of QTEs and of course the thicker atmosphere and heavier emphasis on exploration, but other things like the stealth elements and parry mechanics feel underdeveloped. Some of the setpieces and bosses also feel really uninspired and unquestionably worse than those in the original, and the tone is so self-serious that when there's even a bit of levity, it comes across as forced. "Your right hand comes off?" is really fucking cringey, but at least embarrassment is an emotion. The writing here makes me feel nothing.

When this game was announced, I thought that, despite my criticisms of it, Resident Evil 4 did not need a remake; it's already a modern game, so modern that games are still ripping it off. The remake has done nothing but reaffirm that notion for me, even though I was entertained by it.