Campcom’s Director, Yasuhiro Ampo and Producer, Yoshiaki Hirabayashi for Resident Evil 4 Remake sit down with Game Informer to share new details regarding changes that have been made in the making for the franchise’s Remake. From confirmed enemies and characters to changes to the environment, the stars behind the remaking of Resident Evil 4 share information on what’s to come for the fanbase. With Resident Evil 4 Remake set to release March 24th, 2023, fans are curious as to what will be implemented in the game that will keep this a faithful remake and an improvement outside the realm of graphics. These are all of the confirmed Resident Evil 4 changes before the game release.
What to Expect from Resident Evil 4 Remake
Ampo and Hirabayashi promise a game filled with more intense characterisations of the Las Plagas followers that Leon will face. With that comes the update in Ashley’s entire demeanour, with a more confident and self-assured front than the original game. This change accompanies the interesting move from being able to hide Ashley at any point in RE4, instead players will engage in a Escort Mission from start to finish. This change for Ashley points towards a more complex AI coding, similar to what we have seen in the likes of The Last of Us Part II. It will be crucial for players to not only fight off the Ganados but also always have an eye out for Ashley as she will be with you.
New Dialogue and New Scares
We can also expect that the typical dialogue between Ashley and Leon will be altered in the Remake. This is to match the more serious tone of the overall game. The enemies of Resident Evil 4 Remake have seen a redevelopment, with a lot of small details added to bring these characters to life. We know that there will be a new enemy, The Brute joining players. When asked, Ampo and Hirabayashi do not confirm whether or not a character like this will reoccur throughout the game, similar to Mr. X. We hope that something like this becomes a key part to the game, similar to the previous Resident Evil installments such as the Boss Fights with William Birkin in RE2.
Keeping with the remade enemies of Resident Evil 4, the Director and Producer confirm that there will be multiple Chainsaw Villagers throughout the game. Not only this but, a more in-depth characterisation of Ramon Salazar will be offered through the use of notes. Unlike the original, Capcom dive more into the characters and enemies in its Remake, including extended screen-time with Helicopter Mike. Shockingly, the hallucination of the Hook Man from the original live demo (2003) will not make an appearance in the Remake. If included, this would have moved the game more towards Silent Hill for its psychological nature of the enemy.
A Focus on Terrifying Details to Bring Enemies to Life
When revealing what scares the duo most in Resident Evil 4, both the Regenerador and Garrador are mentioned. We can take this as their appearance in the Remake being highly likely as they deem these to be the scariest in the entire game. It seems that the majority of the enemies in the original will return but with upgrades regarding their visuals. Ampo and Hirabayashi confirm this by stating that the enemies will return with “new looks”. Krauser will also return as a Boss, with more action than ever before. Hirabayashi even states that Krauser will be stronger than before, meaning that a tougher Boss Fight is too be expected. This may hint towards the entire Remake being more challenging than the original.
Level Design and Environmental Changes
Ampo and Hirabayashi confirm that the Village is indeed bigger and better than before, with more opportunities for exploration and loot for important resources. Capcom have moved away from Quick-Time Events, going back to their safety of the Resident Evil 2 and 3 Remake which featured no QTEs. There will be far fewer QTEs in the Remake, likely only used for Bosses such as Verdugo.
The duo also confirm that in some fights, the environment can be used to your advantage. This likely means the use of explosive cannisters or movable objects which can block or halter the enemies movements. We see in gameplay footage that you can utilize wooden boards similar to RE2 Remake so perhaps this is what Ampo and Hirabayashi is referring to.
Both the Castle and Island is confirmed to make a return to the Remake. Puzzles will also return to the game, keeping within the third-person survival horror with puzzle elements which Capcom have made their signature within the franchise. The Salazar Statue appears to have been removed in the Remake due to Ampo and Hirabayashi’s confusion for its meaning in the original game.
What Happened to the Dog?
Fans were devastated to learn that the Dog who got caught in the Bear-Trap would be rewritten to die in the Remake, however, Ampo and Hirabayashi hint that the Dog from the original would make a return but happens it would not be under the same circumstances of the original. As we see in RE4 Remake gameplay, a dog did not survive the Bear-Trap so perhaps this was implemented into the game to trick the viewers?
Bringing the Game to All Senses
Dual Sense Features have been confirmed for PS5 users. This was to be expected for a game that would be remade for the newest generation Console. We can expect better gameplay immersion through the controller and the speakers being utilized as Leon communicates via the Radio. The Tank Controls will return to the game but in a new form due to the improved gameplay of Leon, where more actions have been coded into his kit.
Those are the Resident Evil 4 changes that have been confirmed by Capcom’s Yasuhiro Ampo and Yoshiaki Hirabayashi. For more RE4 Remake news, we have From Zombies to Human Terror – Resident Evil 4 Remake Enemies Takes on Terrifying New Details or Fans are Not Happy About the Changes for Ashley in Resident Evil 4 Remake – Is Realism Necessary in a Horror Game? available to read if you are interested. To stay updated on everything Horror related and more, feel free to follow us on Gamer Journalist’s Facebook.
