Remixing and Remaking: Resident Evil 4 Remake Making Waves Throughout The Gaming Community

By: Joanique Montero; April 2, 2023 2:41 P.M

The Resident Evil franchise is one of the most recognizable and infamous horror games; The story involves a corrupt pharmaceutical company, Umbrella Corp., who developed a "T-Virus" that ultimately turns innocent civilians into flesh eating zombies and it all comes down to the main characters of the franchise come together to uncover the evil and malicious deeds all while trying to survive as Raccoon City burns to the ground. In Resident Evil 4, Leon Kennedy survived the events of Resident Evil 2 with Claire Redfield but now is on a mission to rescue the president's daughter but not without its own struggles. Resident Evil 4 first premiered back in 2005 and was a hit as players loved the story line, characters, and the action that Resident Evil franchise is infamous for. Fast forward seventeen (17) years and Resident Evil 4 was remade with better graphics, character design, character dialogue, weapon selection/crafting ability, etc. The hype surrounding the remake was widely received as the other two Resident Evil games, Resident Evil 2 and 3,were released with some success. Views of the game, through the demo, was varied but mainly on the positive side but what really mattered was when the remake was released and how Resident Evil fans received the new changes to a fan favorite.

The roll out and overall success of Resident Evil 4 remake was solely up to the fans and promotion was key for the games survival as fans started to look on different social media platforms for the first looks at the game. YouTube played a huge role in the promotion of the game as popular gamers like CoryxKenshin, Dashiegames, Poiised, Berleezy, FuriousFade, JazzyGuns, etc. not only played the demos to promote the game but also live streamed and posted the full game plays to give the viewers an inside look at the game for themselves. The popularity in the roll out of the new game has been an overwhelming success as the remake of the game has sold more than one hundred and thirty-five (135) million units which makes this game one of Capcom's best selling games. The overall rating of the game has been given 4.7/5 which that the majority tells of people that played the game had liked it.

It is inevitable to start comparing the original to the remake to see what exactly made this version of the game more of a success than its successor. First, we have to take a look at the original game; the original 2005 version of the game was very pixelated and the dialogue was much more subjected and reflected more on the speech patterns of the early 2000s. The overall character design was different from the clothing they wore to even the hairstyles but the boss fights all seem to have stayed relatively the same other than a few changes to the speech and overall design and difficulty. Now as for the 2023 remake version of the game, the graphics are much more up to date and modernized. The character design is more sleek and realistic, the atmosphere of the game settings are more define and intense with the realistic feel of the different levels of the game. The main key point of the remake is the specific details of the layout of the game that makes the experience more fulfilling to the player, for instance, the player can hear the trees swaying, animals running, footsteps in the distance, waves crashing on the shoreline, etc. Every type of noise that one would expect to hear. These little gems help set the mood for the player as they navigate through the different chapters and conquer the bosses.

One thing is for certain, the Resident Evil 4 Remake is one of the most successful games Capcom released. The outpouring of support that the game has received has been overwhelming and more than expected; one thing is for certain, the fans are not disappointed in the remake and love the new changes as they help enhance the gaming experience. The new changes did not take from the overall experience or "old-school" feels that the players loved from the original. From the success of yet another remake of a classic, you can bet that Capcom will be continuing the trend and much more remakes are yet to come.