It’s only been a couple of days since Resident Evil 4 Remake was re-revealed to the world with an exceptional showcase that demonstrates the love and adoration that Capcom has internally for their old work. Capcom showed off some amazing cutscenes, and pulsating gameplay sequences, but the question from some fans had emerged that with the game likely getting a few narrative and gameplay tweaks, similar to what Resident Evil 2, and Resident Evil 3 both received in their 2019 and 2020 remakes, has been asked of Capcom – will the Resident Evil 4 Remake experience be shorter than the original release?
Resident Evil 3 in particular was criticised by fans for some of the sequences that were cut out of the remake, and this had prompted fans to worry about the same happening to their beloved Resident Evil 4, but Capcom has been quick to put the issue to rest in the aftermath of the Resident Evil Showcase. In an interview with PC Gamer, Producer Hiroyuki Kobayashi expressed how conscious he and the team were of the feedback that Resident Evil 3 received, using that fan feedback to inform their approach to Resident Evil 4. “When we started production on [Resident Evil 4] we looked into what people thought was good [in the Resident Evil 2 and Resident Evil 3 remakes] and what could’ve been done better,” explained Kobayashi. “One example is the play time for [Resident Evil 4] is about the same as the original game.”
It seems that Capcom has sat down and looked upon both Resident Evil 2 and Resident Evil 3, and then thought long and hard about Resident Evil 4, and the path they wished to take with it, ultimately settling on the approach that was taken with Resident Evil 2‘s remake, an approach that resulted in the game taking home several Game of the Year awards in 2019. That’s not to say that Resident Evil 4 Remake is free of changes with Capcom having already confirmed that there will be several, gameplay focussed changes coming to the title, from no longer having the ability to rescue the trapped dog in the bear trap (which would then be a handy ally later), while the environments themselves will be expanded, perhaps adopting the Naughty Dog-pioneered “wide-linear” model, and the over-reliance on quick-time events seen in the original have been scaled back significantly.
Resident Evil 4 Remake is coming to PS4, PS5, Xbox Series X|S, and PC on March 23, 2023, but in the meantime, fans have plenty more Resident Evil content to consume, from the upcoming Shadows Of Rose DLC coming to Resident Evil Village, and the impending launch of the live service title, Resident Evil Re:Verse.
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