Resident Evil 4 Remake Review: Simply a real Videogame!

In the last ten years I slowly became a Resident Evil Fan, but for some reason I never played the original Resident Evil 4 or the Remake. Now only weeks before Resident Evil Requiem I decided it's time to finally play this legendary game. For many it's a masterpiece, for me it's not, but it's still a hell of a good time.

Terror instead of Horror

The original Resident Evil 4 was a shifting point for the franchise. Gone were the times of slow walking zombies and slow-paced horror. Resident Evil 4 was a real action game back in the days. The same applies to this remake. Only in rare moments you move around slowly through silent pathways, fearing what could be behind the next corner.

Most of the time you get stormed by smart zombies and other creatures. The iconic beginning of Resident Evil 4 laid the groundwork for this. You arrive in a forgotten village in eastern Europe, in the search for the missing daughter of the president of the United States.

After you get spotted in the village a fight for survival starts. You get swarmed by zombies from all sites and even a bulky man with a chainsaw arrives. You are short on ammunition and health items, a theme that will follow you through the whole game. All you can do is fight, run and hide. Thankfully this event ends suddenly as a church bell rings and all the zombies drop their hunt for you and follow the sound.

Gameplay done right

This kind of gameplay could become boring quite fast if Resident Evil 4 Remakes Gameplay wouldn't be so on point. Combat is a joy to play in this game. The struggle for health items and ammunition makes you think on how you approach combat and when you use your big guns. Enemies have different hit zones, sometimes it's best to shoot them in the knee and finish them off with a melee kick, but getting close can also involve more risk.

In some parts of the game you will also have to protect Ashley, the daughter of the president. Honestly I was afraid before playing that I would find these moments annoying, then lets face it, escort missions in gaming are always annoying! But I'm glad to report that Resident Evil 4 is an exception to this rule. The moments with Ashley work wonderfully and often make your heart race even more when one of those nasty zombies tries to carry her away from you.

During your 15 hour playthrough you are always encouraged to explore. Every bit of ammunition you find can be important and when you're able to even find a hidden weapon you will feel truly rewarded. Sometimes you will also find a merchant who will offer you weapons and upgrades for sale. 

Money is always short so you really have to think and decide what to do with it. Weapon upgrades can feel incredibly strong, but so do new weapons you buy. I love how Resident Evil 4 Remake takes the player seriously and lets you make decisions that will impact your gameplay in a massive way.

A classic Videogame

I remember playing Resident Evil Village five years ago and having a blast. The game felt like a classic Videogame in a modern way. Many different set pieces, no big open world and a tight gameplay with fun bosses and meaningful upgrades. All of the things I loved about it also apply to Resident Evil 4 Remake.

The game never felt boring and most importantly never felt bloated. Most games nowadays include a lot of low effort content just to stretch the gametime but not so Resident Evil 4. The story itself also works. It's a fun action movie story with some cool twists. It's nothing you will think of after you stop playing but way more fun and in depth than something like Metroid Prime 4 Beyond.

In some ways Resident Evil 4 Remake brought the fun in gaming back to me. I mean dont get me wrong I love gaming as a whole but many games nowadays can feel overwhelming at times. A game like Final Fantasy 7 Remake that sometimes just talks too much or a game like Assassins Creed Shadows that has simply a too large map that can make you feel exhausted. RE4 has a focus, it's always easy to know where you left off and what to do next. At the same time it has enough variety and enough story to never feel boring.

Resident Evil 4 Remake a true Masterpiece?

So after all of this how do I feel about Resident Evil 4 Remake? Visually its a striking game and gameplay wise its on point. I can honestly say I enjoyed every moment I played this game. Just the last few chapters overdid the whole action part a little bit in my eyes.

Despite all of this I still wouldn't call it a Masterpiece. The original game came out in 2005 and surely had many amazing ideas at the time. However as someone who played Resident Evil 4 Remake for the first time in 2026 I already saw many of its ideas in other games. Resident Evil Village for example feels like a spiritual successor to RE4 and even if many hardcore fans would disagree, was the better game for me personally.

I also don't feel that Resident Evil 4 Remake is memorable enough for me to become an all time great. The story and characters are fun but lack an emotional impact to really make me invested. The Highlight location, the castle, is really great but I also have seen it better in other games like RE: Village. It's just a really fun and greatly designed game that I would recommend to anyone who likes action or horror games. It's just missing this extra piece of uniqueness to make it even more than a really good game for me.

Rating: Strongly Recommended