Resident Evil 4 Remake

Iconic RE Characters. Starting from left: Chris Redfield, Claire Redfield, Jill Valentine, Leon S. Kennedy

Resident Evil is a survival horror video game in which a corporation named Umbrella created "Bio-Organic Weapons" with malicious intentions to enhance human capabilities. Each installment has a unique virus or plague that the main character must face, from weaker zombie-like enemies to drastic mutated threatening bosses. Throughout the franchise, reoccurring protagonists fight these acts of bioterrorism. One of these individuals is currently in the spotlight due to the recent release of the Resident Evil 4 Remake on March 24, 2023

Resident Evil 4 came out in 2005 following the story of Leon S. Kennedy 6 years after the events in Resident Evil 2. To recap the latter, Kennedy was one of two playable characters. He was a rookie cop who had made his way to Raccoon City Police Department to start his first day on the job. An outbreak of the T-Virus (introduced in the first game) infected most of the city's inhabitants, turning them into mindless creatures out for human flesh. Kennedy was forced to go through many dangerous areas and had to fight through the hordes to make it to the secret underground research facility, where he had to destroy the new G-Virus.

*This will be your mini spoiler alert for the game!*

After completing this objective, Kennedy was recruited by an agency that works directly under the president. This is where Resident Evil 4 (remake) begins. The president sent Kennedy to rescue his kidnapped daughter (Ashley Graham) in a secluded European village. Once arriving, he noticed the villagers were not acting normally. They attacked him with axes, scythes, grenades, shovels and anything else they could handle. Just like in the second installment, Kennedy had to go through treacherous paths to find the president's daughter. There was much left to encounter as he uncovered the reason for the villager's behavior and the people behind the kidnapping.

            Kennedy discovered that the villagers were infected with a mind-controlling parasite, Las Plagas. Osmund Saddler, a researcher and the leader of the "Los Illuminados" cult, was the one who administered the parasite. He knew of a nest hidden underneath the castle that held the dormant parasite. Saddler wished to experiment and eventually use this parasite to control those in high political positions to gain control leading to world domination. The spread began with Ms. Graham.

Las Plagas Parasite

        Kennedy searched through the castle, solving puzzles and evading death from many enemies. Leon had been immobilized and injected with the parasite in one of these fights. He soon discovered that Graham had also been injected with the parasite, further complicating the mission. It would only be a matter of time before they would have lost control of their bodies. After defeating the boss in the castle, Kennedy learned there was a way to remove the parasites, a device located on a nearby island.  

It wouldn't be Resident Evil if there weren't many mutated villains. Kennedy faced more enemies as the game was close to ending. One of which, the penultimate boss, was a former acquaintance, Jack Krauser, who was assumed dead but now working for the enemy. Krauser was a double agent for Saddler and Wesker (an antagonist from a previous game), working to steal the parasite from Saddler for Wesker's experiments. This is actually hinting to Resident Evil 5 but I won't get into that this time. Once defeating Krauser, Kennedy only had one more to beat. Saddler was the final and most terrifyingly mutated monster yet. After much struggle, Kennedy finally defeated Saddler. As the game resolved, Kennedy could now return Graham to her father.

Osmund Saddler Boss Fight

In the year of its release, Resident Evil 4 was mentioned as one of the best video games of all time. It ranked similarly through the years, always getting high remarks on its gameplay, story, mechanics and character lore. To say the least, many people were quite excited when a remake was in the making. There were high expectations, and based on the reviews, it was a smash hit. Everything that players loved about the original got amplified in the remake, including, but not limited to, the graphics, the movement, the fluidity, a more profound sense of story detail and voice acting. Capcom created the "RE Engine" in 2014; thus, any games from this franchise since then, including Resident Evil 4 Remake, were made using the said engine. If you've played the other games, you already know, but if you haven't, it just means that the game will run very smoothly and the only problem you will have are finding a way to beat the bosses.

If you play any linear style videogames, I highly recommend picking up this game especially if you never played them before. You'll experience everything from scratch, not to mention the excellent eye candy playing as Leon. I have already purchased my copy and am eager to relive Leon's spine-chilling adventure! Let me know if you played any Resident Evil games or plan to play Resident Evil 4 Remake!