Resident Evil 4

This is my first RE game and it’s the closest to perfect as I’ve played in a really long time. I hate horror games but this was more like a horror-themed thrill ride. Every moment feels like you’re on a haunted house adventure with each moment specifically designed for the player to experience, vice left open to “whatever might happen” in a more open-world setting. I loved everything about this but I do have some mild criticisms. The village portion of this game needs no notes, it’s flawless and maintains a rush and excitement start to finish. The castle is mostly very good, with some great puzzles. The island portion was largely frustrating. Separately, I had some extremely inconvenient crashes that popped up, though after adjusting my graphics settings (in one of the better graphics-to-computer-capabilities menus I have ever seen), those problems disappeared. There are a few specific sequences in this game I have issues with, most of them in the last couple of chapters. But going chronologically, they’re as follows: The catapult section in the castle. First time the game was a little annoying and didn’t play to its strengths, but it’s so short it’s mostly ignorable; The clock tower in the castle, before the Ramon fight; this was alright until you get on the very slow elevator. In fact this would be better if the platform you were on wasn’t so small, I think. As it is, you get overrun pretty quickly. Not horrible, but not the most fun. The regeneradors introduction - I dislike being introduced to an enemy I do not have the means to defeat yet - and in particular the bridge portion within the island where Ashley needs to hold the bridge while you keep her safe, while also trying to hold off an iron maiden. This was the high watermark of frustration, and along with several other instances in this game, relies on enemies spawning at the worst possible time. The window of succes you need to get at this part becomes infuriating - killing the last zombie in Ashley’s vicinity before he turns a corner with her, while again keeping yourself alive; The helicopter portion later on, I believe in chapter 15. In fact all of 15 was a low point for me, but the helicopter part should be this amazing onslaught to the end. But being an action hero against endless mobs of enemies does not play to this game’s playstyles and strengths. You are forced to run for your life and hope to scrape by plenty of strong enemies while conserving ammo, and it again is a lot of trial and error. How is anyone supposed to know you need to throw a grenade onto the anti-aircraft turret? The final run up to the sanctuary is a similar issue. You’re just trying to make it at this point. But all of the above aside, the game felt like - with the exception of most of the island, where ammo was extremely scarce - it wanted me to win. I was rarely out of ammunition. Collection treasure and upgrading my weapons felt incredibly satisfying. The merchant and a save room was always where I needed one (most of the time). The puzzles were enjoyable, the boss fights each were a blast, and the entire journey start to finish, despite the unfortunate annoyances at the end, was fantastic. This is one of the best games I have played in ages, and I will be going back to boost my final score. I am worried, however, with the frustration that the above portions will give me on harder runs - because the thing that matters most for your end-grade is time to complete. My first run was 14-ish hours, and I like taking my time. To bet the best rank possible on the hardest difficulty, you need to beat this game in roughly 5 and a half hours. How infuriating will the bridge portion, or Krauser’s fight, or any of the above mentions be trying to do this? I am worried that when I DO sit down to do a harder mode that these design choices will make this completely unenjoyable, especially if I am trying to get an S+ rank. But that’s the future. For now, this is an easy recommend. I got it on sale for like $10. Worth it one hundred times over.