Separate Ways completes the RE4 remake by serving as a reservoir to catch most (albeit not all) of the memorable setpieces from the original 2005 game that didn't quite find their way into the main game.
In this regard it's a monumental step up over the previous version of Separate Ways even if it technically has to siphon away some of the base game's goodness to do so. The encounters here are solid and the pacing is fast. It does still occasionally dip into its precuror's tendency to rehash areas from the base game without doing quite enough new with them to justify it. That's not to say that it's without entirely new ideas as there's a couple of quite clever uses of old areas and some completely new ones (though a notable lack of battleships).
Little has changed about combat between Leon and Ada, the most notable addition being the use of Ada's grappling hook which lets her zip instantly to a stunned enemy to deliver a melee attack. It's a nice feature that helps alleviate those frustrating moments when an enemy is just a bit too far to get in for a melee strike, while still warranting cautious play and not ziplining yourself into the center of a pack of enemies. Aside from this one wrinkle all the positives and negatives of the original game's combat are still present. The game continues to impress with its frenzied and mobile combat, tight ammo economy and hardy enemies. At the same time the occasional awkward sluggishness of movement and super armor on late-game enemies remain sore spots.
The storytelling is of the same quality as the base game, which is to say that it utterly fails to exude the same charm its namesake so effortlessly channeled. Only Luis' charismatic performance is a reprieve from the otherwise dull scene direction in the remake. The rest of the remake's script can't help but give the impression that it's in a hurry to get itself over with.
Overall a practically mandatory addition to the game that's well worth the low price of entry. If you liked what the game had to offer already then this is more of it in a very well-made package.
In this regard it's a monumental step up over the previous version of Separate Ways even if it technically has to siphon away some of the base game's goodness to do so. The encounters here are solid and the pacing is fast. It does still occasionally dip into its precuror's tendency to rehash areas from the base game without doing quite enough new with them to justify it. That's not to say that it's without entirely new ideas as there's a couple of quite clever uses of old areas and some completely new ones (though a notable lack of battleships).
Little has changed about combat between Leon and Ada, the most notable addition being the use of Ada's grappling hook which lets her zip instantly to a stunned enemy to deliver a melee attack. It's a nice feature that helps alleviate those frustrating moments when an enemy is just a bit too far to get in for a melee strike, while still warranting cautious play and not ziplining yourself into the center of a pack of enemies. Aside from this one wrinkle all the positives and negatives of the original game's combat are still present. The game continues to impress with its frenzied and mobile combat, tight ammo economy and hardy enemies. At the same time the occasional awkward sluggishness of movement and super armor on late-game enemies remain sore spots.
The storytelling is of the same quality as the base game, which is to say that it utterly fails to exude the same charm its namesake so effortlessly channeled. Only Luis' charismatic performance is a reprieve from the otherwise dull scene direction in the remake. The rest of the remake's script can't help but give the impression that it's in a hurry to get itself over with.
Overall a practically mandatory addition to the game that's well worth the low price of entry. If you liked what the game had to offer already then this is more of it in a very well-made package.