Every now and then, a game is released that – for better or worse – changes a series or genre completely. Capcom’s Resident Evil 4 did just this upon its 2005 release, altering the winning formula that had run through the series since its inception. The game’s runaway success cemented it as one of the greatest games of its time, and Capcom have since made it their business to make sure it’s playable on just about anything since. The latest system to get the Resident Evil 4 badge of honour is the Nintendo Switch, with this week’s port proving that while classics may age, they rarely ever die.
You’ll play as Leon, a returning fan favourite that hasn’t been seen since the series’ second entry many years earlier. In the interim, he’s somehow found himself as an agent of the US government with reporting lines to the President himself. So when the President’s teenage daughter is inexplicably kidnapped by a small religious cult in the outskirts of Spain, naturally it falls on Leon to single-handedly swoop in and save the day. The plot is just ludicrous B-movie schlock, but it takes itself so seriously that you end up just giving in and riding its unique wave of madness. Leon’s mission will have him crossing a few different parts of the Spanish countryside, down through caverns and across small islands – stopping only to make a general mess of the place while questioning the locals. You’ll also run into some notable allies and antagonists along the way, such as Jack Krauser – a mercenary holding an unsettled grudge with Leon – and Ada Wong, another returning favourite from Resident Evil 2. There’s a larger cast than there generally has been in the past, with even minor characters stealing the spotlight every now and then. Their actual delivery and relatability, however, is a bit of a hard sell. For example, the addition of Ada is a cool throwback for fans of the earlier games, and she provides an interesting little anti-hero vibe given her existing relationship with Leon. Yet it’s hard to take her seriously as she zip-lines across rooftops, cartwheels through rooms and fights off monsters in an ankle-length silk dress and heels. I warned you earlier – don’t try to sit there and make sense of it all.
One character that will become quite pivotal to Leon’s mission is Ashley, the girl you’re sent out to save in the first place. You’ll actually track her down quite early, but for reasons I won’t spoil, you’re not able to simply pack up and leave once you’ve found her. It’s at this point that the game’s direction shifts slightly, in that you’re now responsible for getting her through the rest of the trip in one piece. While not as painful as it could be for the most part, this task would be a whole lot easier if the poor girl wasn’t absolutely useless. Look away for a minute to fight back some mob, and she’s getting carried off into the sunset with little resistance. She’s got a habit of standing directly in the midst of a fight, and will offer less than no help if you’re in a bind. I understand she’s not supposed to be some battle-trained war hero, but games like The Last of Us and the recent God of War have since shown that the partner dynamic can be done much better – both in and out of combat.
This is just a minor inconvenience however, when mixed in with Resident Evil 4‘s otherwise frantic action and tight gameplay. It’s here that the entry steps away from the roots of the series, forming some sort of hybrid between action and survival-horror. Rather than dark mansion corridors and slow-built chills, Leon’s now out in the open and often overwhelmed with enemies. You’re also given much more resources and a camera angle that puts you right in the thick of it. This makes Leon an agile and strong lead, allowing for encounters where you’ll be diving out of windows and running circles around danger. In balancing this, Capcom have also upped the stakes when it comes to enemies – doing away with the usual slow and shambling zombies from past games. Instead, the infected here are able to run, climb and beat down doors in their hunt for you. Like any good angry mob, they’ll also come at Leon with pitchforks, fire and crossbows. You’ll even spend one of the earlier moments of the game with a bloke very keen on showing off his shiny new chainsaw.
Each encounter with the locals is a tense game of cat and mouse, as you try your best to cut your way through while saving resources for the real nightmares. For while the average townsfolk will keep you on your toes, any of Resident Evil 4‘s several boss creatures will straight up tear you in half given the chance. This is where the real challenge is, with each of the unique fights forcing the player to use the environment to their advantage – almost like solving a puzzle while trying to keep your head on your shoulders. More often than not, simply emptying rounds into them isn’t enough – Leon instead needing to outrun, outlast or outwit his enemy in order to survive. Each just as deadly as the next, these monsters will range from human-sized foes that rely on speed or stealth, right through to real nasty creatures the size of houses. These battles are a great way of breaking up the game’s pacing, and their inventive design makes them almost timeless – even after all these years.
What doesn’t hold up as well, however, is the look of the game. While keeping in mind that this is a HD version of something made over a decade ago, Resident Evil 4 just suffers from being several shades of brown. The grass? Brown. The buildings? Brown. Any paths, cliffs, furniture or water? You best believe they’re all brown. Even once Leon leaves the more rural surroundings behind after the game’s first act, the environment just becomes a heavy blend of grey and black. This becomes more noticeable when playing it this week on the Switch, as scaling everything down for the smaller screen does no favours for how it all looks – even when the rest of the experience is solid on the portable system (despite the sad lack of motion aiming). A definite sign of the times, this look was common for action releases on older systems during the mid-2000’s. Playing through the environments today is a visible example of how far the medium has come since, and can take a bit of getting used to for modern audiences.
In its defence, each new iteration of Resident Evil 4 has provided a good touch up and polish of what it does have, and it also comes with a fair amount of additional content outside of the main campaign. A short series of levels titled ‘Separate Ways’ puts you in the shoes/stilettos of Ada, allowing you to see the events of Leon’s mission from her side. An interesting side note to the main campaign, Ada’s segment also features some new areas and encounters – while also letting you get around with her fancy little grapple gun. Yet the real time-sinker comes in the form of the game’s ‘Mercenaries’ mode, where you’re dropped into a small location from the game that is now swarming with enemies. Your selected character will then have to defeat waves of monsters while keeping an eye on resources, health and the clock. With some creatures not seen in the main story and some big rewards for high scores, this mode does a great job of showing off the game’s solid gameplay and action style. And after all is said and done, this is the real reason Resident Evil 4 found – and continues to find – its success. Its general design and mechanics were such masterstrokes back in the day, it set a baseline for the entire medium going forward and is still infinitely playable today. As much as its looks may fade, sitting just below the surface of this classic is a modern action shooter that runs like any recent release. Give it a chance if you have even a passing interest in action-adventure titles – you might even come around on the charming madness that its cast and plot try to serve up along the way too.
Resident Evil 4 – Available most recently on the Nintendo Switch, PS4, XBOne & PC.