#once I’m done with Frontiers I’m gonna play the RE2 remake which I’m VERY excited about

[magic-can]

Finally played Resident Evil 4

So I beat RE4 for the first time recently and I kinda just wanna ramble incoherently about it because WOW what a game. It was absolutely fantastic and absolutely deserves its legacy.

The rest of what I wanna say is below the cut but just know that I do go into some spoilers and also there’s mentions of cults. That’s another thing - don’t play this game if cults are a genuine trigger for you. A cult plays a major role in the plot.

It’s a game I’ve had my eyes on for a while now. Years actually. I never got around to it for a multitude of reasons but now with the upcoming remake and it being only 5 bucks during the Steam winter sale, I decided to finally pick it up.

First off, the visuals have aged impressively well. I’m not one of those goofballs who thinks visuals make or break a game but I will absolutely give praise when devs go the extra mile to give a game a good art style. Yes, RE4 is very clearly a game from the mid 2000s, visually. But it has an art style that still stands out - to me at least.

Then there’s the story. I am very impressed with how this game balances goofy action movie shit with genuine horror without one taking away from the other. I know that’s a part of the magic of RE at this point - campiness combined with genuine horror - but still. This game manages to be both fucking hilarious and absolutely horrifying at the same time which is VERY impressive, even more so given that the game has almost been out for 2 decades.

By far the scariest thing to me about the game were the Los Illuminados. The Las Plagas itself didn’t really freak me out because at the end of the day parasites are just trying to survive. Yeah getting your head esploded and/or turning you into a horrible abomination as the Plaga completely overtook you would suck but you can’t get mad at it. It’s just trying to live. What is fucking horrifying to me is the idea of a cult weaponizing such creatures to indoctrinate people into their ideology and to commit international terrorism. It just made me think of the lengths that cults have historically gone to spread their fucked up ideologies. That felt very real despite some of the insane and at times goofy things that happen in this game.

The knife fight with Krauser was, as a scene itself, fantastic. The quick time events were annoying though. Actually that has to be my biggest complaint with the game, personally - the QTEs - I got used to them and sometimes they were fine that doesn’t mean they aren’t annoying as hell for the most part. I really hope the remake gets rid of at least some of them.

I do wanna say, though, is that I really do not understand the Ashley hate. I thought she was very likable and adorable. Any time I got annoyed during the escort missions with her it was more so at the game itself and not her yelling for help or getting injured. She really isn’t a bad character at all. Also she’s voiced by Carolyn Lawrence. There’s no way I could be annoyed by her.

I do, on the other hand, understand why everyone loves the merchant. He is absolutely wonderful and I adore him. <3

Finally, Leon. Leon himself is an absolute highlight of this game. He is a very likable and endearing guy who, while clearly hardened after the events in Raccoon City, is still very caring and kind. Also he says the dumbest things and I adore it. I knew about some of his goofy one-liners beforehand but I was still grinning ear to ear each time he said one of them. He is legit a great character though - just in general, not exclusive to RE4. He’s definitely my favorite RE character now. Also he’s an absolute babygirl. Ada is also great and I love the messy, complex dynamic between her and Leon.

These are far from my full thoughts and I AM going to yell about this game more on other posts but again this is just me. like. yelling. Anyway, I am VERY excited for the remake. I love the direction they’re taking it in and that it’s going to be very different from the original. Because the original is an amazing game that should not be “replaced”.