I'm gonna say this right off the bat. I am guaranteeing that I am going to come back and revise this review with subsequent playthroughs. As it stands, this is my first foray into this and my feelings upon completion.
I've been playing RE since I was 12. Like...Nintendo 64 RE2. Dreamcast CV. I reserved the original RE4 at Gamestop and I still have the included art cel to prove it. (Check out my whining, pining review of that one, if you like.) Point being, I like to think I'm suited to review an RE game.
I have no idea what it would be like to approach this game with fresh eyes, having never played another RE. It's always going to be a comparison situation to me. "How does this stack up against the PS1 trilogy? The OG RE4? The Ethan Winters'? The other Remakes?" I will say that I was impressed by this game and I had some fun. But, I am still not convinced this needed to exist. Here's why.
If you don't know the impact of the original RE4, I'll try and sum it up. The classic gameplay style was floundering and affecting the reception of the series. Reviewers felt that it was outdated. By the time Resident Evil Zero came out, consumers and journalists alike thought the formula had grown stale. The series needed a revamp into the modern age immediately and Resident Evil 4 did just that. It changed Resident Evil and gaming in general forever. New movement speed, inventory, perspective, gameplay. It was all completely new and it was a smash hit. That was needed. A radical change, whether I like to admit it or not, was what was good for Resident Evil in the long-term.
This is not a radical change. This has all of the elements of the original with none of the originality. I know this is coming off aggressive, but hear me out. Resident Evil is defined by its movements. The fixed camera angles of 1-2-3, then the third-person key change of 4-5-6, yet another perspective change into first-person with 7 and 8, and now the modern remakes 2, 3, and 4. What made the Resident Evil 2 remake SO effective was its faithfulness to its claustrophobic setting juxtaposed with its movement speed. It works. It's different from the original RE2, but it captured that same feeling of a close escape and lurking doom. Say what you want about RE3, but I also think they did this effectively. The game is slightly more action-oriented, but that is compensated for by the dodge roll. It is a proper and equal ebb and flow. I think RE3 overall wasn't the best remake, but it was an attempt to take something overtly antiquated and update it to something more playable by today's standards. They did that. But, the original RE4 holds up. It's still familiar enough because it set the standard. Only elements of it needed to be modernized, not a complete gameplay overhaul. That's the immediate difference in these remakes.
So, what you have here, is a game modeled after its contemporaries, RE2 and 3, but chasing the goal of imitating a vastly different game. Just look at '98 RE2 side-by-side with its remake and compare it to 4's side-by-sides. It's not the same. This game felt like it had the slow, intentional movement of a game with a more confined setting. The openness of this game's environment betrayed it in my eyes. I found maneuvering so difficult. I never stopped slowly running through these larger areas and that, combined with the higher amount of enemies and points of attack, made my hands so goddamn sore. I hated that. I love the parry, that's a great addition, but I would have loved the dodge roll implemented too. They make Leon out to be a martial arts master in this one, so I don't see how it could possibly be unfaithful to his character. I would argue that it would improve immersion as well. I really wanted this game to make me FEEL like Leon S. Kennedy lmao. Just faster.
I think the side quests were too mundane and repetitive to really be a good implementation. I was excited at first, but it all basically boils down to "Shoot these medallions", "Kill these rats", "kill this enemy". Pretty dull by today's sidequest standards. I still love the shooting gallery though. That's fuckin' dope.
I like the new character designs as well. 2005's RE4 Leon seemed so goddamn sassy all the time. Now, he's a more sallow-eyed, cynical, and haunted individual which fits more appropriately with his character arc. I don't mind all the jokes being set aside. I really don't. I love this franchise's characters and I want to see them treated with the respect they deserve. (looking at you, Rebecca Chambers) I love what they did with RE3 Jill, RE8 Chris, and with Leon in this one. It makes sense. I wish they had gotten Jolene Anderson to be Ada Wong again. i don't have anything against Lily Gao at all, but it harms the continuity and broke my immersion every time she spoke. Just a shame.
I'm gonna go ahead and place some of the blame on myself for my somewhat-muddled enjoyment of this game. I shouldn't have let my arrogance do the talking by starting on Hardcore. I think the ass-kickings tainted my enjoyment on the first go-round. I'm looking forward to playing it again down the line now that I have expressed my biases fully and have satisfied my stupid-ass ego by trudging through it on Hard.
I've been playing RE since I was 12. Like...Nintendo 64 RE2. Dreamcast CV. I reserved the original RE4 at Gamestop and I still have the included art cel to prove it. (Check out my whining, pining review of that one, if you like.) Point being, I like to think I'm suited to review an RE game.
I have no idea what it would be like to approach this game with fresh eyes, having never played another RE. It's always going to be a comparison situation to me. "How does this stack up against the PS1 trilogy? The OG RE4? The Ethan Winters'? The other Remakes?" I will say that I was impressed by this game and I had some fun. But, I am still not convinced this needed to exist. Here's why.
If you don't know the impact of the original RE4, I'll try and sum it up. The classic gameplay style was floundering and affecting the reception of the series. Reviewers felt that it was outdated. By the time Resident Evil Zero came out, consumers and journalists alike thought the formula had grown stale. The series needed a revamp into the modern age immediately and Resident Evil 4 did just that. It changed Resident Evil and gaming in general forever. New movement speed, inventory, perspective, gameplay. It was all completely new and it was a smash hit. That was needed. A radical change, whether I like to admit it or not, was what was good for Resident Evil in the long-term.
This is not a radical change. This has all of the elements of the original with none of the originality. I know this is coming off aggressive, but hear me out. Resident Evil is defined by its movements. The fixed camera angles of 1-2-3, then the third-person key change of 4-5-6, yet another perspective change into first-person with 7 and 8, and now the modern remakes 2, 3, and 4. What made the Resident Evil 2 remake SO effective was its faithfulness to its claustrophobic setting juxtaposed with its movement speed. It works. It's different from the original RE2, but it captured that same feeling of a close escape and lurking doom. Say what you want about RE3, but I also think they did this effectively. The game is slightly more action-oriented, but that is compensated for by the dodge roll. It is a proper and equal ebb and flow. I think RE3 overall wasn't the best remake, but it was an attempt to take something overtly antiquated and update it to something more playable by today's standards. They did that. But, the original RE4 holds up. It's still familiar enough because it set the standard. Only elements of it needed to be modernized, not a complete gameplay overhaul. That's the immediate difference in these remakes.
So, what you have here, is a game modeled after its contemporaries, RE2 and 3, but chasing the goal of imitating a vastly different game. Just look at '98 RE2 side-by-side with its remake and compare it to 4's side-by-sides. It's not the same. This game felt like it had the slow, intentional movement of a game with a more confined setting. The openness of this game's environment betrayed it in my eyes. I found maneuvering so difficult. I never stopped slowly running through these larger areas and that, combined with the higher amount of enemies and points of attack, made my hands so goddamn sore. I hated that. I love the parry, that's a great addition, but I would have loved the dodge roll implemented too. They make Leon out to be a martial arts master in this one, so I don't see how it could possibly be unfaithful to his character. I would argue that it would improve immersion as well. I really wanted this game to make me FEEL like Leon S. Kennedy lmao. Just faster.
I think the side quests were too mundane and repetitive to really be a good implementation. I was excited at first, but it all basically boils down to "Shoot these medallions", "Kill these rats", "kill this enemy". Pretty dull by today's sidequest standards. I still love the shooting gallery though. That's fuckin' dope.
I like the new character designs as well. 2005's RE4 Leon seemed so goddamn sassy all the time. Now, he's a more sallow-eyed, cynical, and haunted individual which fits more appropriately with his character arc. I don't mind all the jokes being set aside. I really don't. I love this franchise's characters and I want to see them treated with the respect they deserve. (looking at you, Rebecca Chambers) I love what they did with RE3 Jill, RE8 Chris, and with Leon in this one. It makes sense. I wish they had gotten Jolene Anderson to be Ada Wong again. i don't have anything against Lily Gao at all, but it harms the continuity and broke my immersion every time she spoke. Just a shame.
I'm gonna go ahead and place some of the blame on myself for my somewhat-muddled enjoyment of this game. I shouldn't have let my arrogance do the talking by starting on Hardcore. I think the ass-kickings tainted my enjoyment on the first go-round. I'm looking forward to playing it again down the line now that I have expressed my biases fully and have satisfied my stupid-ass ego by trudging through it on Hard.
2 Comments
@Tomiply
Just curious if you read my review or just the star-rating. I wrote a fuck-ton, so I wouldn't blame you if you didn't 😆 I have my issues with it, but I mostly blame myself for playing Hardcore first. And I definitely plan on revisiting it later.
I think I made a fair assessment tbh. The original leaned into it's ludocrosity and it meshed well. But, having stayed faithful to the source material, the endeavour to darken the character's dispositions creates a tonal dissonance not present in the original. I reserve the right to walk that back later, but yeah. 3/5. I liked it, but I didnt -really- like it. And my rating is never the objective value of the game. Just my personal experience with it.
Just curious if you read my review or just the star-rating. I wrote a fuck-ton, so I wouldn't blame you if you didn't 😆 I have my issues with it, but I mostly blame myself for playing Hardcore first. And I definitely plan on revisiting it later.
I think I made a fair assessment tbh. The original leaned into it's ludocrosity and it meshed well. But, having stayed faithful to the source material, the endeavour to darken the character's dispositions creates a tonal dissonance not present in the original. I reserve the right to walk that back later, but yeah. 3/5. I liked it, but I didnt -really- like it. And my rating is never the objective value of the game. Just my personal experience with it.
Tomiply
1 year ago