Launched in 2005, Resident Evil 4 branded an entire generation of thrill-seeking gamers. And 18 years later, Capcom has achieved what we thought was impossible: to further perfect one of the best games of all time. Hat.
We admit it from the outset, we spent countless days – and nights – using our thumbs on the controllers of our GameCube when the game was released. Resident Evil 4 original. We have since revisited this universe many times via the various ports offered on new generations of consoles over the years.
To say that this game has marked the minds as much as the industry would be an understatement.
Because it is this fourth chapter that propelled the horror saga into a new era, abandoning the fixed camera so characteristic of the three main parts. The result, more modern and accessible, came to rally new legions of fans, without however offending the faithful. In the eyes of many connoisseurs, Resident Evil 4 therefore deserves its place, very high, in the charts of the best video games of all time.
An opinion shared by the author of these lines.
In short, both the detours of its plot and its gloomy universe no longer held any secrets for us. However, the redesign (or remake, in popular jargon) that Capcom offers us today has managed to surprise us. To captivate us. And, above all, to amaze us.
Peril in Spain
Its premise remains intact: the player embodies the special agent Leon S. Kennedy, deployed in Spain for a perilous mission. He must indeed rescue the daughter of the President of the United States, kidnapped by members of an obscure cult (and, it goes without saying, with macabre designs).
Its path will therefore be strewn with bloodthirsty enemies, nightmarish creatures and complex puzzles. Not exactly a tourist ballad in the land of bullfighters, what.
This trip to Spain will not be easy for the players either. Because Resident Evil 4 turns out to be one of the most terrifying, anxiety-provoking and disturbing adventures of his generation. This statement is all the more true in light of its reissue.
Breathtaking action scenes, frantic fights, sinuous and gloomy plot… everything is done to bring strong emotions to the player.
Thanks to current technologies, the experience offered by this remake is more realistic than ever, but also more fluid. Like recent re-readings of Resident Evil 2 et 3, the aesthetics are more polished, the controls more intuitive and the result, let’s face it, even better than the source material. That is saying something.
Everything is therefore not identical to the original experience, starting with the plot, here tightened (read: shortened) in various places.
No downtime
Some will be disappointed to see some portions of the game removed or condensed, but we have to admit that all the changes suit the story particularly well. It is therefore raised to the umpteenth level, relieved of any dead time.
Still be reassured. This new adventure may be more succinct, it still takes almost fifteen hours to complete it, taking the time to explore every quest and nook and cranny.
It is therefore often said that perfection does not exist. It’s true. But this new Resident Evil 4 comes closer than any other game of its generation.
- Resident Evil 4 ★★★★1⁄2
Available on PS4, PS5, Xbox Series and PC.
