Resident Evil 4 is a game that really doesn't need a remake, but the fact that one is coming is awesome, regardless. With its tight design, its history of being ported to every system under the sun, and modern design and accessibility, Resident Evil 4 genuinely doesn't need the same kind of "from the ground up" style remake afforded to the previous three entries. That having been said, it's still cool that one is happening anyway.
Capcom announced an official remake of Resident Evil 4 during PlayStation's most recent State of Play event. Resident Evil 4 is considered by many to be the best in the entire series, notable for completely overhauling the gameplay of the previous three entries, as well as leaning hard into the inherent campiness that was always present in the series. The Ethan Winters-led Resident Evil 7 and RE Village would later do the same for the gameplay status quo introduced by RE4.
There are many reasons not to remake Resident Evil 4. These reasons have less to do with whether it'll be good or not and more to do with how unnecessary it would be. However, rebuilding Resident Evil 4 the same way the original trilogy was is just too good an idea to dismiss. If Capcom is going to continue porting this game to every system on the market, it may as well remake it.
Resident Evil 4 Has Aged Well, So It Doesn't Need A Remake
What's most surprising about Resident Evil 4 is how solidly built it is, even all these years later. It feels like a modern game, with Resident Evil 4's bosses and locations in particular showing very little wear in the years since its initial release. Shifting from a third-person fixed camera to an over-the-shoulder pov was such a natural evolution of the original gameplay formula, that it became the standard going forward.
One major reason Resident Evil 4 doesn't need a remake, at least not right now, is how relatively recent it is compared to the previous games. Yes, it was made decades ago, but it's been re-released on more relatively recent hardware, and because it went multiplatform unlike the last three Resident Evil games, it's a lot easier to get ahold of. One does not need to pay close to triple digit prices in order to get their hands on this game, especially since the more recent Wii and VR versions of Resident Evil 4 are considered to be the best by fans of the game. With all of this in mind, the idea of remaking a game that still plays this solidly and looks this amazing even today seems ludicrous. It seems like Capcom playing is playing this card way before it actually should. After all, if Capcom is confident enough to re-release this game on modern hardware, then spending the money to completely remake the game from the ground up should - in theory - be an unnecessary indulgence.
The Potential Drawbacks Of Remaking Resident Evil 4
A remake of Resident Evil 4 was practically inevitable from the moment the remake of Resident Evil 2 was announced. While official news has only broken recently, art of the RE4 remake being leaked by Wesker's actor last year showed that things were in fact in the works over at Capcom. The idea of Resident Evil 4 being made to look like the remakes of its previous two entries is just too enticing to not get excited for.
There are some potential drawbacks to this. Resident Evil 4 is renowned for its campy atmosphere, with everything from the dialogue, to the monsters, to the story carrying a B-movie charm to it. Modernizing it with the current style of the Resident Evil 2 and RE3 remakes, with more realistic dialogue and graphics, runs the risk of taking away a cornerstone of why so many fans adore the game in the first place. The B-movie aesthetic gave the game its own unique edge, with out-there plotting and a particularly weird Resident Evil villain in Salazar, and losing that could end up souring the whole thing.
Why Resident Evil 4 Should Be Remade Anyway
Despite all the reasons given above as to why this could be a disaster and a betrayal of everything Resident Evil 4 built, there are obviously plenty of reasons to be excited for the remake. The Resident Evil 2 and RE3 remakes essentially iterated on the core gameplay the original RE4 introduced, and adding in those refinements can only improve what was already a rock solid experience. While having "better" voice acting might take away some of the charm of the original, as long as the writing is preserved, everything should balance out nicely.
Adapting the original Resident Evil 4's story one-to-one might cause issues, so it's understandable as to why the remake is reimagining the story. The new story will better fit with the tone brought by the more modern graphics, while still staying true to the original. This is about as good a compromise as one can get with this specific scenario, keeping to the spirit of the original in of tone and aesthetic, while modernizing it enough to fit with the new look it will come with.
Resident Evil 4 is one of the most beloved horror titles of all time, and redefined the Resident Evil series as a whole for years after. Whereas games like Silent Hill add to the terror by reducing how much control the player has over the character, Resident Evil 4 gave a terrifying, thrilling experience while letting the player have full control. True, RE4 doesn't necessarily need a remake, but that doesn't change the fact that the PS5 remake of Resident Evil 4 looks terrifying, with modern graphics, an updated control scheme, and more terrifying monsters for Leon S. Kennedy to contend with. Re-releases of the game have been slowly refining the experience - the beloved Wii version adding motion controls to the aiming, and the VR version updating the stuff with Ashley, for example - so a remake simply needs to bring it all together with modern graphics and UI to act as the bow on top. Resident Evil 4 Remake is currently slated to release on PS5, Xbox Series X/S, and PC on March 24, 2023.
