As someone who did not play the original Resident Evil 4 back in 2005, I did not have prior knowledge of what were deemed the best guns to use in the game. Stand-out Weapons that appeared in the original and returned for the Remake such as the Red9 make their faithful return to the top spot for Resident Evil. Being the go-to Weapon to find in the game that will give you a great advantage in any fight, including those difficult Boss Battles. But what about the Punisher? A Pistol that does not get much credit for its capabilities. Is it worth purchasing from The Merchant in the Remake? Well, we have the answers here.
When is the Punisher Useful?
What was previously deemed one of the worst guns in the original, the Punisher had little attention given to its abilities. A Pistol focused on penetrating damage and bullets that could hit multiple enemies at once, so long as you line your shot up right. In my playthrough, I opted for this Weapon over Leon’s trusty Handgun. My reasons for this were for moments in the Remake where the Objective asked for you to survive for long periods of time within a small part of the Map. Prime examples of this would be in Chapter 5 where you and Luis must ‘Stand your Ground’ against hoards of Ganados and the inevitable entrance of The Brute as the cherry on top to an almost impossible event to survive on Hardcore and Professional.
Related: How to Skip the Village Fight in Resident Evil 4 Remake.
The Punisher was incredibly helpful in taking out the general Ganado enemies, especially when utilizing the environment to create narrow passages where the enemies would line up behind one another. I could easily take out multiple enemies within a single mag. Being the weapon type that has the most ammo given to Leon throughout the game, a weapon such as the Punisher made sense for these chaotic and bottle-neck-type situations where you needed to take out multiple enemies without using a Hand Grenade. But where the Punisher lacks is within its overall damage output. It’s something that I would not typically opt to use for taking on Mini-Bosses or the main Bosses in the Remake.
When Is the Punisher Not Worth It?
The Punisher does not thrive in full-out Boss Fights, that is a given. The fact is, this Weapon just does not hit hard compared to other Weapons, especially those that you put your time and money into in order to max out their stats. Why choose the Punisher over the likes of the Red9 when you can obtain this in Chapter 4? You could easily use the Handgun throughout the beginning part of Resident Evil 4 and then move on to saving to max out the Red9 and other Weapons that help tremendously against the Bosses in the game, such as the Shotguns. Although my playthrough has taken place on Hardcore, I have found that the Punisher is not nearly as useful against Bosses as other Weapons. I would typically spend a minimum of 40 bullets with the Punisher, which is not particularly helpful for a difficulty that gives little ammo throughout.
However, I will say that when hitting those critical shots in Boss Fights, the Punisher does incredibly well due to its penetrating damage. For that reason, you can easily stun enemies or get to those moments of hitting those critical attacks via the Combat Knife. But for this reason, the Punisher requires the highest accuracy possible from the player using this Weapon. The Punisher is fantastic against fighting Mendez and the Giant, where hitting the critical spots with the Pistol instead of the Knife will actually do more damage than the game suggests with the Knife on-screen prompt.
Is the Punisher Worth your Time and Money?
For the reasons listed above, the Punisher is a Weapon that is only useful for the beginning 6 Chapters of the game. You will struggle to take out Mini-Bosses unless you have other Weapons to switch to. The Punisher is best used to deal damage across multiple enemies at once and against Bosses in their critical spots. For that reason, we recommend that players purchase the Punisher to get you through Resident Evil 4 Remake until they find the Red9. At that point, you should sell the Punisher in favor of the Red9 and other Weapons in your Storage. However, if you are a player that is great at hitting critical shots, from headshots on Ganados to Mendez’s Eye on his back, this Pistol is for you.
That was our guide and recommendation on whether or not the Punisher is worth it in Resident Evil 4 Remake. For more Resident Evil 4 guides, feel free to take a look at our other articles at Gamer Journalist.
