Resident Evil 4 was a game I was honestly kinda anxious to play. I had heard so many sing its praises, all while describing "atypic" controls. Honestly, I was scared that this game was nothing more than a nostalgia trip for most, and in no way the all-time classic it was heralded as. I truly believed that there was a good chance that this "atypic" control scheme was just a poorly aged one, and that I, as someone who didn't grow up with this game, would find nothing but frustration in it. However, the hype around the launch of the Remake made me want to pick it up, but I did tell myself it would be better for me to play the original first, and decided to make it one of my must plays of the summer, once I was done with TOTK of course.
Yes, the game controls awkwardly, but anyone who played this game will tell you that it was by design. In most games, getting swarmed by enemies is not a problem, as you can just run and gun. Here, that's not an option, as Leon is some sort of mobile turret, standing in place as soon as he gets his gun out. This makes crowd control an art to master, requiring you to often take your eyes off your foes. Indeed, Capcom didn't sacrifice the "horror" part of their survival-horror franchise on the altar of action-packed gameplay. Instead, they adapted it to make the two mesh together really well. Leon's shaky aim, combined with the nerves of needing to make this shot to avoid damage, will often lead to missed shots, or triumphant headshots giving you that rush of dopamine.
Everything about the game's atmosphere just nails it on the head. The decor is sublime, the characters are memorable, the dialogue reeks of early 2000s because of how campy it is. Much to the contrary of the last two resident evil games, RE4 doesn't get worse as it goes along. Instead of completely changing gameplay styles midway through like Biohazard and Village (both of which ending up playing more like Gears of War/Call of Duty than Resident Evil), it stays consistent with its formula and expands on it. For example, the longer you go along, the more precise the games asks you to be, with specific enemies being only weak to headshots or shots to a specific part of the body more generally. This makes the game feel challenging all the way through.
As for negatives, I will say there were a bit too many insta-kill enemies/QTE's out there, a bit too many QTE's in general, and the final act of the game does drag on a bit, and is a bit too packed with new or barely introduced characters. It's not bad by any means, it's just that by the time you actually get to the final boss, that excitement rush when first arriving at the final location will have slightly wavered.
Overall, I'm gutted I took so long to get to this, as I maybe would've bought RE4 Remake on launch and indulged in all the excitement that generated. This is absolutely worthy of all the praise it gets, and defintely is one of the best games I have played ever, and, besides TOTK, my favourite game I've played this year.
Yes, the game controls awkwardly, but anyone who played this game will tell you that it was by design. In most games, getting swarmed by enemies is not a problem, as you can just run and gun. Here, that's not an option, as Leon is some sort of mobile turret, standing in place as soon as he gets his gun out. This makes crowd control an art to master, requiring you to often take your eyes off your foes. Indeed, Capcom didn't sacrifice the "horror" part of their survival-horror franchise on the altar of action-packed gameplay. Instead, they adapted it to make the two mesh together really well. Leon's shaky aim, combined with the nerves of needing to make this shot to avoid damage, will often lead to missed shots, or triumphant headshots giving you that rush of dopamine.
Everything about the game's atmosphere just nails it on the head. The decor is sublime, the characters are memorable, the dialogue reeks of early 2000s because of how campy it is. Much to the contrary of the last two resident evil games, RE4 doesn't get worse as it goes along. Instead of completely changing gameplay styles midway through like Biohazard and Village (both of which ending up playing more like Gears of War/Call of Duty than Resident Evil), it stays consistent with its formula and expands on it. For example, the longer you go along, the more precise the games asks you to be, with specific enemies being only weak to headshots or shots to a specific part of the body more generally. This makes the game feel challenging all the way through.
As for negatives, I will say there were a bit too many insta-kill enemies/QTE's out there, a bit too many QTE's in general, and the final act of the game does drag on a bit, and is a bit too packed with new or barely introduced characters. It's not bad by any means, it's just that by the time you actually get to the final boss, that excitement rush when first arriving at the final location will have slightly wavered.
Overall, I'm gutted I took so long to get to this, as I maybe would've bought RE4 Remake on launch and indulged in all the excitement that generated. This is absolutely worthy of all the praise it gets, and defintely is one of the best games I have played ever, and, besides TOTK, my favourite game I've played this year.