The developers of the upcoming Resident Evil 4 remake seem to have some reservations about reimagining the classic Capcom horror game, with the original story of Leon Kennedy taking on the Las Plagas presenting so little room for improvement, it made the prospect of a new RE4 all the more daunting. Rest assured, though, that they have found a way to make it work.
Capcom's co-directors were reportedly unsure about how to improve on the 2005 classic due to the high standard set by the original Resident Evil 4, and the superlative remakes of Resident Evil 2 and RE3.
“I didn’t want to do it,” says Resident Evil 4 Remake co-director Yasuhiro Ampo, who has become a legend among the RE series and games in general. “I knew that it would be difficult to remake it, and if we made one mistake, we would enrage its fans.”
Kazunori Kadoi, another of the Resident Evil 4 Remake's producers, had also reservations, describing the original game as a "masterpiece."
In an interview with Game Informer, Kadoi says his first impression was that remaking RE4 would be difficult.
The Resident Evil 4 Remake does include some additional features and dimensions, such as a new parry system, so Leon can deflect Las Plagas attacks with his knife. The original game's simple point-and-shoot gameplay will be enhanced.
"The combat [in the original RE4] is really good, and the choices you have when fighting are quite varied," says Ampo. "But outside of that, we felt there was little room for improvements."
The Resident Evil 4 Remake will remove the quick-time event sequences from the original game's cutscenes, and nerf a fairly handy utility when upgrading your guns. From the gameplay that we have seen so far, it appears like a tense, scary shooter that builds on all of the original. We'll just have to wait and see when March 24 arrives.
If you want to know everything about the release schedule for 2023, take a look at some of the other best upcoming games. You may also want to know all the big changes to Resident Evil 4 gameplay compared to the original, or get the whole Resident Evil 4 system requirements to ensure your PC is up to the challenge.