4.5/5 ★ – SoftLockJake's review of Resident Evil 4.

Leon-S.-Kennedy-suplexing-a-grandma-into-a-spiked-fence.gif While I can't speak as a fan of the original Resident Evil 4, as a fan of the modern games and remakes, Resident Evil 4 Remake is incredible. It's not my personal favorite in the series, but it's pretty damn close. This goes beyond a 'fans of the genre' game and is a must-play for almost anyone. -Great- Combat- RE4R is tight, refined, and polished in almost every way, especially when it comes to its combat, which is plentiful, challenging, and always satisfying. Every aspect of combat in RE4R is well thought out and designed to be as satisfying as possible. From simple things like gorgeous reload animations and well-balanced shotgun spreads to fantastical things like suplexes and explosive bolts, everything in this game sings beautifully. When all the aspects of your kit/build come together to overcome a perfectly balanced combat encounter and leave you with low ammo and sweat on your forehead, that's what gaming is all about, man. Progression- RE4R introduces an interesting and refreshing change to the Resident Evil formula with its upgrade system. The use of the merchant to always feel like you're leveling up and getting more powerful is a game-changer. While the upgrade system is present in RE7 and RE8, I think RE4R has nailed the balancing act. It rewards you with power for exploration, but it's not a free ride. You have to earn your upgrades, and that's what makes it so satisfying. Story- The plot, characters, and overall tone were so cheesy and campy in the best way possible. Having seen moments from the original game to compare to, I can definitely say that the remake holds the idea of what makes RE4's action movie plot so funny and remarkable but modernizes it and makes these characters more lovable and less... dumb? They're still dumb, but more mature, I think, is a better way to describe it. Visuals- This is the best-looking game I have ever played, at least on a console. On PS5, I was getting a consistently good framerate in high-resolution HDR with ray tracing on, and it was absolutely stunning. Sound- This game's sound designers need a raise. The use of 3D audio and practical foley effects made even silly moments somewhat spooky and added a whole layer of depth to both immersion and combat while wearing headphones. The soundtrack was relatively subdued but enjoyable. -Good- Parry System- I liked the parry in RE4R, and I think it's much more helpful than the dodge from RE3R. But, I can't help but feel it was a little underdeveloped, with timings and windows seemingly not mattering that much and the parry feeling somewhat unreliable in bigger fights. I'd love to see this mechanic carry over to RE9 and get more polish. NPC AI- I'm essentially talking about Ashley, as I'm sure you could guess, but I also had some peculiar pathing issues with all NPCs and some enemies. They are comparatively 'good' when your comparisons are the original game or other similar games from that era. But, I definitely shot Ashley in the face multiple times and got trapped in a corner by Luis on numerous occasions. I can't really critique this much because it's such a minor part of the game. But, in a game this close to flawless, you gotta nitpick, I guess. Puzzles- I love Resident Evil as a series because it lets me scratch my puzzle game itch while also playing an action game. RE4R has great exploration, which is sometimes a puzzle unto itself. But the formal puzzles, be they lock-and-key or some type of challenge, seemed rather surface-level. They are still good and fun enough, but they are definitely watered down when compared to the other remakes and even to the Gamecube version of the original. -Verdict- Resident Evil 4 Remake is a 9/10 game. It's stunning to look at, incredible to listen to, and immersive and intense to play. I recommend this game to anyone because the sheer moment-to-moment quality and gameplay are stunning. And, if you're a fan of the genre, wait no longer. Don't put this one off like I did—it is a certified must-play. (It still got nothing on RE2R though, inject that game into my veins, please.)