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With all this lore, players who want to dip their toes into the franchise may find themselves overwhelmed. Anyone who doesn’t know what the Umbrella Corporation does may think it just manufactures umbrellas. With the announcement of the Resident Evil 4 remake, this may be a great time for newcomers to the franchise to try out the original, as it is a perfect introduction to the franchise.
6 It Is Scary, But Not Too Scary
The early Resident Evil games were designed to give players good spooks and scares. Resident Evil 4 is the first mainline game in the franchise to veer towards a more action-orientated style, with tense firefights against waves of enemies and crazy set pieces.
At the same time, the game does not forget its survival horror roots, offering creepy forests, looming castles, and sinister cult members, along with the occasional jump scare. Given this, Resident Evil 4 remake is perfect for those who are curious about the franchise, but also a bit on the timid side.
5 It Works As A Standalone Story
Resident Evil 4 has a couple common threads to the franchise. Leon S. Kennedy, the rookie cop from Resident Evil 2, returns as the protagonist, and of course there are biological experiments. However, players don’t really have to know much about preceding events to enjoy this game.
It opens with a quick summary of the major events in the previous games. Leon now works for the President of the United States and is tasked with tracking down the President’s daughter in rural Spain. On his journey, he will have to unravel the mystery of Saddler’s cult and the deadly Las Plagas parasites. Even if a player is not that familiar with previous entries, it is still a fun ride.
4 User-Friendly Camera
Resident Evil, Resident Evil 2, and Resident Evil 3 used tank controls for navigating environments. Players had to move their character forward by pressing up and rotating the character in the direction that they wanted the character to move. The issue with this is that the camera angles were fixed, and forward movement was in relation to the direction the character was facing, and not in relation to the direction of the D-Pad. If players wanted to move in one direction and the character was moving the exact opposite, that could create some stumbles for those trying to get to grips with the control scheme.
Resident Evil 4 shifts gameplay to an over-the-shoulder perspective, so they are looking in the exact same direction as the character, making for a bit less fumbling on the controls. Turning is on the slow side, but if one presses a button and down on the analogue stick at once, Leon does a 180-degree turn, which will come in handy to get out of a difficult situation.
3 The Friendly Merchant Is Here To Help.
In entries before Resident Evil 4, resources are limited. Players need to manage their ammo and decide whether to shoot enemies, slice them with their knife, or just run away. Players of Resident Evil 4 have more resources available to them, partly thanks to the friendly merchant.
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His motives may be mysterious, but he shows up when needed. He always greets players with the friendly drawl of “Welcome,” and has an assortment of weapons and ammo from which to choose. He seems to be immortal as well, as when players kill him, he just comes back someplace else later.
2 Cheesy One-Liners
The Resident Evil franchise has always been known for its cheesy dialogue, including the infamous “Jill Sandwich” and “Master of Unlocking” lines of the first entry.
That same kind of cheesiness is available in Resident Evil 4. Leon has a one-liner for multiple situations, including a “Hasta luego” for dispatching an enemy. Newcomer Luis also has some corny jokes to toss in there, such as when Luis asks Leon if he has any smokes after they encounter a near-death situation. It not only gives new Resident Evil players a taste of the franchise’s B-movie charm but also keeps things somewhat light through the heavier moments.
1 Mods, Lots Of Mods
Being that Resident Evil 4 is as beloved as it is, an active modding community exists around the game. These mods include skins for characters, new game maps, and revamped gameplay for an extra challenge. One even replaces all the enemies with chainsaw-wielders.
One of the most noteworthy mods is the Resident Evil 4 HD Project for the PC version, which completely redoes the visuals for modern displays. Among the improvements are enhanced character models, textures, and lighting. For Resident Evil newcomers, mods will allow them to get the most out of their inaugural experience.
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