The Timelessness Of Resident Evil 4
Despite being the first action-heavy installment, Resident Evil 4 manages to maintain the scares after all these years.
Resident Evil 4 has been ported to no less than ten platforms since its release in January 2005. Ten! For all the hemming and hawing about a market flooded with remasters of varying quality (and, frankly, demand), every time a new port of RE4 is announced, I see almost near-universal approval of a fourteen-year-old game with antiquated shooting mechanics and horribly dated visuals. And my voice is among them. Despite its outdated nature, Resident Evil 4, to me, stands head-and-shoulders above 90 percent of games released since. And I know I’m not alone — mass clamoring for the series’ fourth mainline installment on Nintendo Switch started whipping up the day the console released. What is it about this action horror title that transcends time and evolving technology to maintain its place in the hearts and minds of gamers?
I’ve asked myself that question many times. After all, there are plenty of games from the GameCube/PlayStation 2 era I love but don’t really care whether or not we ever see them again. It sure isn’t shooting mechanics. I understand the game’s combat was built around the idea of remaining immobile while firing, but actually playing it now feels like slowly poking around an archaeological dig site compared to more recent third-person action games like The Evil Within 2 and Uncharted 4. It certainly isn’t RE4’s voice acting, which more recent entries in the series have outperformed by leaps and bounds, particularly through characters like Jack and Lucas Baker in 2017’s Resident Evil 7. So what keeps us returning, then?
Really, it all boils down to pacing and atmosphere.
Pacing is everything, and there are numerous examples of otherwise great games being hamstrung by serious pacing issues (hello, back half Bioshock). But with RE4, forward momentum is smartly peppered with just the right amount of combat spaced out by mostly interesting puzzles and world-building.
Compare the opening moments of RE4 to that of RE2 or 3. Remember that first encounter with a Ganado — the standard infected human enemies? I still recollect thinking “Holy shit, it’s talking to me with actual emotion! It’s using a… a weapon? WHOA, IT DODGED!?” That was the moment RE4 threw me for a loop, that made me realize this one wasn’t like the others. Rank-and-file Resident Evil enemies using human patterns and tactics, however rudimentary, was a much-needed shot in the arm for a series where the rank-and-file enemies all moaned and shuffled their way towards you. By the time I reached Pueblo village and saw these creatures going about mundane farm business, I was hooked.
When you reach Pueblo, the Ganados will eventually notice your presence and come running at you en masse. But, not immediately. It was a stroke of brilliance on the part of Shinji Mikami to let you stay there and watch these creatures go through the stilted motions of a daily routine. They won’t bother you until you either open fire or walk close. And when they start coming, they won’t stop. I quickly learned barricading myself in a house would lead to them smashing the windows and crawling in. Climbing the bell tower ladder would only cause them to follow me up. Trying to line up a headshot with them ducking and weaving to avoid you was nail-bitingly horrifying. After a few minutes of this — it always feels like an hour — the bell rings and the Ganados vanish, leaving you in the middle of a now-empty town square asking yourself what the hell just happened. Now with some time to breath, you can ransack the houses for a few herbs and bullets. Whew.
Then you see the gate leading west, surrounded by bear traps, and your pulse starts quickening again. “That’s obviously where I need to be. A farmhouse. Fuck, I can see more of those goddamn villagers inside. But they don’t see me yet, right? Nope. Ok, let me collect myself.”
“And don’t even get me started on the first time a villager’s head exploded into a tentacled Cthulhu-esque mass of nope.”
One of my favorite sequences from the early game is being stuck in a house with Luis Sera, pushing bookshelves in front of windows and doors to repel a steady stream of crazed villagers with torches and pitchforks. Hearing the Ganados clawing and tearing their way through my meager barricades downstairs amped up the tension to a level I’d never experienced in a game before. After the encounter I just stood there for what seemed like hours, collecting myself and trying to slow my heart rate. Right outside the house was a lake with a fire burning at the far end in the darkness. I vividly remember taking a few moments to stare blankly at it, slowly collecting myself, before I pressed further. I needed to recover.
And don’t even get me started on the first time a villager’s head exploded into a tentacled Cthulhu-esque mass of nope. Nightmare fuel. From Pueblo to the Salazar’s castle to an abandoned research facility off the coast, RE4 knew exactly how often to feed you tense new scenarios book ended by quiet moments which allowed you to catch your breath and slow your pulse.
Yes, the shooting mechanics in Resident Evil 4 are dated and unrefined by modern standards. No, you still can’t strafe. Pulling your knife out is still cumbersome and awkward. Why are people putting mine darts in barrels? But damn it, it all just WORKS, even years later. And being among the first truly influential third-person shooters, RE4 pioneered numerous combat scenarios from which games would continue to draw from for years. Gears of War? Uncharted? Vanquish? RE4 is, mechanically, their grandfather.
I have to admit, there’s a double-edged sword here… many people cite this game’s turn toward a more action-oriented focus marked the Resident Evil series downfall, and there’s a certain amount of truth there. Most would agree the next installment and it’s focus on bombastic co-op completely excised the tension and fear, and the less said about the Michael Bay-inspired sixth mainline installment, the better. Even with Resident Evil 7 bringing the series back to its horror roots, I suspect RE4 will continue to hold a special place in the hearts of gamers for generations to come.
When it finally drops on Switch later this year, I’ll buy it at a high price.
