Leon’s lucid nightmare; weaving between masculine power fantasies and crippling, anxious impotence. Is he man enough? I imagine this almost condescendingly patriotic narrative playing out entirely within Leon’s mind. Tilting at windmills and all. While all of these games seem to exist within the confines of nonsensical dream logic, I feel as though this entry’s explicit and almost meta riff on Hollywood action movie cliches and post-9/11 sociopolitical imagery (such as the abandoned prison towards the end eerily resembling the blood stained interiors of Ahu Ghraib) is a bit pointed at Leon’s overall characterization within this franchise. It makes for a fascinating read of the game though it’s not the central draw as to why this is an utter masterpiece; only supplemental layers to an already perfect experience. As a whole, Resident Evil IV feels like a magnum opus of sorts and for its time, a groundbreaking stylistic experiment at that. Aggressively indulgent and visceral to the point of exhaustion but it’s probably the best I’ve ever felt drained from a game. I found myself, just as I did the first time I played this a few years ago, holding my breath for much of my time with Resident Evil IV. Throat dry, hands clammy with building sweat as encroaching hordes near and grotesque creatures pierce the crushing silence with screeches and ghostly whispers while the abrupt pounding soundtrack overlays the background with agitating ferocity. It just rips on a purely sensual level. Front to back, it’s amazing for something that took me just over fourteen hours to complete the amount of iconic moments, set pieces, locations and dialogue that fill up that time consecutively. It never stops. The sheer and constant intensity is part of the deal and I was shocked by how many surprises were kept intact despite being a return visit. Playing this is the equivalent of watching peak Hollywood blockbuster filmmaking and yet it surpasses some of the greatest action films with its emphasis on horrific thrills and fist pumping excitement. Resident Evil IV’s massive success comes with its endlessly confident technical mastery and immaculate polish in its craft at every corner and the complete auteurist control over pacing and tone. Very few games have such alarming preciseness over each and every element like this while feeling completely organic and without pretension. It is first and foremost a claustrophobic shooter and takes great lengths in ensuring it satisfies the player, making no excuses for its inherent silliness and illogical storyline. I don’t know why I ever doubted this over time since my last playthrough. This may not be my favorite RE title but it’s the one that defines Mikami’s legacy as a video game auteur.

For the first time in 16 years they made a Monster Hunter game that's not for me, and honestly thats kinda rad.

I've been playing MonHun since attack was bound to the right analogue stick, and I've watched so many people bounce off this series because it's fucking impenetrable. Rise is finally the game that I can point to when someone wants to get into MH.

They've streamlined a lot of stuff, for better and worse, but most of the weird useless shite is gone, and I really hope the newcomers who play this honestly have a great fucking time.

I have my fair share of issues though, a lot of which boil down to "not in my monster hunter" shite. I grew up on paintballs and psychoserum, I have a real soft spot for the pure archaic shit that this series is known for, so you can imagine half of my complaints already.

The wirebugs seem antithetical to what MH is.
The range of monsters to hunt is lacking.
Some of the Monsters have lost a bit of their character (Tigrex is a shadow of his MH:U self).
The game feels so short.

All of the usual shite.

I will say though, the majority of the environments are dog, the worst in recent memory. Someone sucked all the colour out and it's such a crime because some of the DS games looked great compared to the fucking flooded forests 20 shades of brown.

All of my bullshit aside, I'm honestly so glad Rise exists, there is a lot to love here, at the end of the day it's a Monster Hunter game and it's a blast to play, especially if you've got some homies to come along for the ride. I'm just dumb and like all my obsolete garbo, I guess I've got the past 16 years to scratch that itch.

Shouts out to my boy Rathalos who finally stopped being a jobber and got a sweet move set.