When I launched Resident Evil 4 Remake for the first time, I expected something completely different. Before this, I had played Resident Evil 2 Remake, and for me, that was true survival horror. Naturally, I expected something similar from RE4.
Instead, I got a game with very little horror. Honestly, maybe 10-20% of it feels like horror. The rest is action, over-the-top moments, and scenes that sometimes feel closer to an anime than a traditional Resident Evil game.
At first, that disappointed me. I thought I would finish it once, check it off my list, and move on.
Then something unexpected happened.
After my first playthrough, I realized I absolutely loved it. Not as the Resident Evil game I had imagined, but simply as an incredible game.
Then came a second playthrough. Then the achievement hunt began. Then the S+ runs. Then Separate Ways. Then another playthrough. And another one.
In the end, I spent more than 150 hours in the game, earned every achievement, got the Platinum trophy, completed S+ runs with both Leon and Ada, and finished the game around ten times.
And somehow, it still wasn't enough.
This game has a special talent for driving you crazy. Seriously. Whenever you're trying to beat your best time, something always goes wrong. A chicken blocks your path at the worst possible moment. An enemy behaves differently than expected. One tiny mistake ruins a perfect run.
In those moments, you want to quit.
But that's exactly why I love this game.
Resident Evil 4 Remake is built around incredible game design. The more you play, the more you understand its mechanics. You start discovering new routes, shortcuts, strategies, and tricks that help you finish the game faster and more efficiently.
The game constantly rewards experience and knowledge.
The funniest part is that I already said goodbye to it once. After unlocking every achievement, I recorded a farewell video, uninstalled the game, and thought I was finally done with it.
A while later, I installed it again.
Not because I had anything left to unlock.
I just wanted to do it better.
Resident Evil 4 Remake isn't the Resident Evil game I expected.
But it's one of the best games I've played in recent years.
If you enjoy great action, amazing game design, and a game that keeps pulling you back for "just one more run," you should absolutely give it a try.
And if you enjoy the main campaign, don't skip Separate Ways. The DLC is just as good.
Highly recommended.
