RE4 is one of my favorite games of all time, so my expectations for this were basically unachievable. But by golly, they kinda did it. I think I still find the original to be better, but there’s a thick wall of nostalgia obscuring my judgment. This new version feels pretty different, but also extremely similar. The gameplay is more like the modern RE remakes, and the levels feel more explore-y, in a good way. But speaking of the levels, they pretty much follow the original 1:1. Some things got removed, some things got added, some things got altered, but it all feels right. I especially love the little alterations they do, to keep the fans of the original on their toes.
The story also takes itself more seriously, but it still has that B-Movie charm and Leon’s little one-liners. There are some genuinely great and emotional character moments in here, which isn’t really something you’d expect from
RE4. Also, while the game is still split into the 3 major sections, those sections can now be explored fully, and are back trackable. The game takes advantage of that by giving you optional side-quests. They are a neat addition and urge you to explore and go back to previously visited locations. Some of them are cool, like shooting a fish or throwing an egg at a painting. But some are pretty boring. Like I can excuse shooting the blue medallions cause it’s a nod to the original, but there’s also like three quests where you just gotta shoot some rats.
Overall, it’s pretty much a perfect remake. It will never replace the original, but it doesn’t have to.