There are more than a few gamers anticipating the launch of the Resident Evil 4 remake. This new title is set to launch in March. With the massive following of the original, developers had to take great care of the game development. As a result, there is likely some hesitation when they tackle some changes, but you can expect some differences. For instance, Ashley has been overhauled in a few areas. So don’t get the idea of just dropping her somewhere safe and taking care of the nearby hostile enemies.
Recently, Game Informer spoke with Resident Evil 4 remake directors Yasuhiro Ampo and Kazunori Kadoi. During their conversation, the duo spoke about some of the changes made to the character. If you recall, Resident Evil 4 is about Leon going into a rural area to rescue the president’s daughter, Ashley Graham. This particular installment was a massive hit, and over the years, fans have found some useful areas to drop Ashley off. Ultimately, it was a means to leave Ashley to battle some enemies without the fear of Ashley getting killed off.
However, this is one area that was early on changed in developing the remake. Yasuhiro Ampo noted that this was to make it easier to leave an impression on the players if Ashley was always on your side. Additionally, developers felt that it would have been a waste to just leave Ashley somewhere. So players will have to be more cautious now as they enter battle. It’s noted that Ashley can get knocked down after too many hits, and that would leave her vulnerable for a final blow. If that happens, it’s game over. Likewise, enemies can pick Ashley up and take off, where you’ll get a game over if they get too far away from Leon.
As a character, we wanted to have her by your side so she left an impression And as a game, having her hide while you went and fought in the original, that was fun in some ways. But having a character like Ashley and then having her basically disappear for a while felt like a waste. We wanted to avoid that in the remake.
Yasuhiro Ampo – Game Informer
With that said, there are some benefits to having Ashley around. It looks like players will get the ability to send Ashley into smaller areas to unlock doors or likely gather items. It’s even noted that there are areas earlier in the game before you meet with Ashley that are inaccessible to Leon. That could make it to where players will want to venture back and see just what is hidden away with the help of Ashley.
Currently, Resident Evil 4 is set to launch on PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, and PC platforms on March 24, 2023. In the meantime, you can catch the game trailer in the video embedded above.
