RE4R is an amusement park based on the Resident Evil 4. It has rides and attractions based off all your favourite moments, but its not really the same experience. Its heightened and disconnected and has no real 'sauce' behind it besides "play/ride these and have fun!" Get on the mine cart on rails shooter! Try your hand at the cabin shooting gallery! Go to the theatre and watch our own rendition of the events! Here are some 'side quests' you can do for tickets you can use to trade for cool prizes!
RE4R feels like it was made for people who already liked the original, and wanted some "Scholar of the First Sin" type reworking of it just to shake things up and not for new people looking to get in. When I first started playing it, it felt kind of void. My expectations were high for Capgod, and I was expecting something mind blowingly new. What I came to realize was "I am just playing Resident Evil 4 again." That could be a positive or negative, cause thats pretty cool for a Remake to hit the mark so close to spot on that I just thought I was playing the game again.
The original was "A Video Game", but then video gamed it up even more with the Merchant's requests, charms, and attache case buffs. They are all fun and give me dopamine, but add to the amusement park thing. Im not in RE4, im exploring a recreation of its world to do extra shit. I really enjoyed finding out the charms actually do something in this game compared to the recent games, but the gachapon system is annoying. I frequently found myself basically only getting shotgun/submachine gun ammo bonus ones. I was lucky enough to get the movement speed enhancer, but like come on.
The story being less cheesy and more serious doesn't really work with this amusement park feeling. I feel the game was missing so much dialogue and character moments compared to the original that everyone felt wrong. The antagonists were fun and played with Leon so much, but Ramon (Not Salazar cause it sounds too much like Saddler??? whats up with that change) is nothing, and Saddler is just a fucking one note evangelical freak. Ada also sounds extremely bored, super monotone. I feel like Ashley matters even less in this game. The lack of health bar feels like I barely even have to manage her, just exists until she gets knocked down or grabbed. I think there are just less moments where characters talk to each other, providing no moments for characters to bounce off each other.
The Salazar boss quite frankly sucks ass I think. Could be a skill issue but why the fuck does he have laser attacks. They may be disguised as bile, but they are still laser lines that I cannot figure out how to dodge. Kept the spirit by making me want to rocket launcher him like the original i guess! Saddler also fucking blows I think. He also gets a bile laser, but it attacks to your left, right, and in front of you at once! They also added ads to the fight! Resident Evil doesnt need ads in bosses!
The minecart section is just worse I think. I liked the original because it was still the same combat. RE4R makes it a turret section basically, like okay. Also got mad they force you to leave the house you get assaulted in. Im pretty sure they didnt force you to leave in the original, I had to LOOT TO GRAB.
I think I might like the Village section way more than the others cause it was genuinely fun to explore and backtrack there. That chapter when you get the boat is actually so cool.
Overall, I still think its fun to play (I might even do another playthrough immediately (I dont do that usually)), but I will still think the original is the one you should play, maybe play this after if you liked it.
SPOILERS FOR POST GAME CUTSCENE: BEWARE!
My brain is going crazy though at the ending cutscene where Ada is betraying Wesker. What if they just "remake" 5, but its just completely different now. I could see it since that game is the cheesiest, and the REmakes seem lactose intolerant. (And they can just avoid dealing with the whole controversy of the original again).
RE4R feels like it was made for people who already liked the original, and wanted some "Scholar of the First Sin" type reworking of it just to shake things up and not for new people looking to get in. When I first started playing it, it felt kind of void. My expectations were high for Capgod, and I was expecting something mind blowingly new. What I came to realize was "I am just playing Resident Evil 4 again." That could be a positive or negative, cause thats pretty cool for a Remake to hit the mark so close to spot on that I just thought I was playing the game again.
The original was "A Video Game", but then video gamed it up even more with the Merchant's requests, charms, and attache case buffs. They are all fun and give me dopamine, but add to the amusement park thing. Im not in RE4, im exploring a recreation of its world to do extra shit. I really enjoyed finding out the charms actually do something in this game compared to the recent games, but the gachapon system is annoying. I frequently found myself basically only getting shotgun/submachine gun ammo bonus ones. I was lucky enough to get the movement speed enhancer, but like come on.
The story being less cheesy and more serious doesn't really work with this amusement park feeling. I feel the game was missing so much dialogue and character moments compared to the original that everyone felt wrong. The antagonists were fun and played with Leon so much, but Ramon (Not Salazar cause it sounds too much like Saddler??? whats up with that change) is nothing, and Saddler is just a fucking one note evangelical freak. Ada also sounds extremely bored, super monotone. I feel like Ashley matters even less in this game. The lack of health bar feels like I barely even have to manage her, just exists until she gets knocked down or grabbed. I think there are just less moments where characters talk to each other, providing no moments for characters to bounce off each other.
The Salazar boss quite frankly sucks ass I think. Could be a skill issue but why the fuck does he have laser attacks. They may be disguised as bile, but they are still laser lines that I cannot figure out how to dodge. Kept the spirit by making me want to rocket launcher him like the original i guess! Saddler also fucking blows I think. He also gets a bile laser, but it attacks to your left, right, and in front of you at once! They also added ads to the fight! Resident Evil doesnt need ads in bosses!
The minecart section is just worse I think. I liked the original because it was still the same combat. RE4R makes it a turret section basically, like okay. Also got mad they force you to leave the house you get assaulted in. Im pretty sure they didnt force you to leave in the original, I had to LOOT TO GRAB.
I think I might like the Village section way more than the others cause it was genuinely fun to explore and backtrack there. That chapter when you get the boat is actually so cool.
Overall, I still think its fun to play (I might even do another playthrough immediately (I dont do that usually)), but I will still think the original is the one you should play, maybe play this after if you liked it.
SPOILERS FOR POST GAME CUTSCENE: BEWARE!
My brain is going crazy though at the ending cutscene where Ada is betraying Wesker. What if they just "remake" 5, but its just completely different now. I could see it since that game is the cheesiest, and the REmakes seem lactose intolerant. (And they can just avoid dealing with the whole controversy of the original again).