5/5 ★ – sewell_sot3's review of Resident Evil 4.

Okay, I love the Resident Evil 2 remake. The minimalistic design of RPD and how it seamlessly intertwines with the later locations creates an unmatched feeling of atmospheric horror. Purely unrivalled horror gameplay. The Resident Evil 3 remake played a little weird, mostly because of the clunky (although very ambitious and admirable) semi-open world layout and poorly executed later location changes. Because of the odd design of the maps, the puzzle quality suffered, making it feel more like a run and gun than the atmospheric horror masterpiece that was RE2R. Plus Nemesis became more of a nuisance than anything. Now, the Resident Evil 4 remake takes everything that worked for its predecessor remakes, dials it up to a hundred, does not apologise, and it actually works. The village, castle and island are all masterfully designed and expansive locations, which work well together and create suffocating atmospheres. For the sheer size of the entire map, it never manages to feel overwhelming. In fact I was so sucked into my current objective that I felt claustrophobic, like any corner I turned could have an unwelcome surprise waiting for me. That’s the beauty of these games, and why I love the modern games. From Ethan Winters’ RE7/8 to the three remakes. They make 17 hours feel like nothing. Seperate Ways: 5/5 It’s everything you want it to be and more. As if kicking ass as THE Ada Wong wasn’t enough, you get a fresh look at the entire map in a expedited story run that retains the core game’s heart and enjoyment and molds it into a just as engaging mini story for Ada. Ten out of ten game development. The spy shit is so cool. Jumping through lasers, blowing up automated turrets, swinging around like Spider-Man followed by a smooth kick to the plagas’ heads is so much fun. However, there is ONE downfall. Having a story specifically for Ada opened a whole new world of opportunities for her character. They could have explored her mentality or even her feelings toward Leon, but it just didn’t happen. She has little to no development over the story, which is a bit of a letdown. It would have been nice to see a bit of quality character writing for the indestructible Ada Wong. But hey, so much fun was had. I smashed it out in one sitting, because how else would you do it.