My Date with the President's Daughter

So far, I think we're hitting it off

I’m waist deep in a month-long writing challenge over on my blog, so gaming (and most other) activities have been on the lighter side, but I did get a chance to start something I’ve wanted to try out for a few months now.

Resident Evil 4 (2023) | Something Old, Something New

The 2005 version of Resident Evil 4 (can you believe it’s been nearly 20 years?!) was originally released for GameCube, and this is where I first encountered it. It was one of my favorite games as an early teen thanks to its unique gameplay design, quirky and creepy writing, and terrifying action. Those initial encounters with the masked chainsaw wielder and the lake monster have been etched into my memory ever since. So that puts me directly in the center of the target audience for this 2023 remake, and when I had heard how good it supposedly was from numerous outlets and even coworkers I knew I’d be giving it a chance as soon as I needed a comfort game. Let me tell ya, I’m not feeling much comfort.

That’s not to say I don’t enjoy the discomfort so far. I’m still in the very early stages of the game, but what I’ve encountered has been a necessary balance of old and new. The intro of the game lays out the context of the situation up to that point in a more engaging and cinematic way than the original, teasing characters that may (or may not) show up later in the story. It’s the same information, but refined to feel and flow better.

Shortly after that we have our first encounter with a local, and if you’ve played the original then you know they aren’t too pleased to see you. There are small differences here, but they are all done for the sake of increased immersion. As you continue on, the detail in the environments is fantastic and helps to build up an air of dread at the start of the game. The developers even put a subtle change that only fans of the original will notice, but it makes it clear that they plan to keep you on your toes and want you to expected the unexpected. One thing stays the same though: You aren’t welcome in the village, and everything about the locale is telling you that loud and clear.

The action ramps up for the first large encounter in the town square, and this is when those original feelings come flooding back. I’m instantly frantic. Run, stop, turn, shoot, run, stop, turn, shoot - this loop comes back like an old habit. It’s scary and overwhelming in the best way. And to top it off, the game shows it’s not afraid to embrace the goofiness of the original as it finally shows the title card.

Leon is still a cornball

So far Resident Evil 4 (2023) has done an excellent job of recreating what it felt like to play the original back in 2005. I went back to watch some gameplay of the GameCube version to compare to, and I didn’t remember how fuzzy and barren some of the environments are. They are simple and mundane by comparison, but I don’t recall it that way. I remember being excited and afraid. That same terror and intensity is still present in the opening minutes of the remake.

I’m hoping this will continue throughout my playthrough because this is exactly what you dream a remake to be.