The Resident Evil 4 remake has been described as a “masterpiece” as it earns more than 30 perfect scores from its first round of critics reviews. The remake of the hugely successful video game drops on Friday (March 24), and a host of publications have posted their highly anticipated reviews ahead of its release.
The fourth chapter of the iconic survival horror franchise originally released in 2005, and is often cited as one of the best video games ever made. It earned several game of the year awards, altered the future of the franchise, and influenced the entire third-person-shooter genre.
Game designers at Naughty Dog took inspiration from Resident Evil 4 while shaping 2013’s now-genre defining The Last of Us. Now almost 20 years since its release, the game has been remade for the new generation of consoles.
READ MORE: Resident Evil 4 remake – release date, how to preorder and everything you need to know
Following on from the successful remakes of Resident Evil 2 and 3 in 2019 and 2020, Resident Evil 4 has been rebuilt, refined, and in some areas, expanded. Game developer Capcom said this latest remake “preserves the essence of the original game while introducing modernised gameplay, a reimagined storyline, and vividly detailed graphics.”
The action-horror game puts players in the shoes of former rookie cop Leon Kennedy, one of two protagonists from the franchise’s second installment. Its official synopsis reads: “Six years have passed since the biological disaster in Raccoon City.
“Leon S. Kennedy, one of the survivors of the incident, has been recruited as an agent reporting directly to the president of the United States. With the experience of multiple missions on his back, Leon is sent to rescue the president’s kidnapped daughter.
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“He tracks her to a secluded European village, where there is something terribly wrong with the villagers. And the curtain rises on this story of daring rescue and grueling horror.”
Critics reviews have come flooding in ahead of its release this week, and much like its predecessor, it has received universal acclaim. The game’s PlayStation 5 edition has earned a near-perfect 93/100 on review aggregator Metacritic based on 101 critic reviews, and is now the highest rated PS5 game of the year.
It boasts 31 perfect scores from sites including IGN, GameSpot, VGC and The Telegraph. The Xbox Series X and PC versions scored an equally impressive 91 and 92 respectively.
IGN called the Resident Evil 4 remake a “masterpiece,” and the franchise’s “most relentlessly exciting adventure” that both fans of the original and newcomers will enjoy. It praised the game’s “friction-free combat, ferocious cast of creatures” and its action-packed story that is “unwavering in intensity.”
Push Square lauded Capcom for “faithfully [remaking] a genuine classic by bringing it into the modern age and kitting it out with new content, tremendous combat, and striking visuals.”
“This is Resident Evil at its absolute pinnacle,” it added. “An utterly outstanding experience that will live long in the hearts of longtime fans while inducting a whole new generation of supporters.”
GameSpot said Resident Evil 4 “raises the bar for what a good remake is “while preserving the original’s legacy as “a genre-defining experience and one of the greatest games of all time.” Dexerto cited the original game as the “pinnacle of gaming” and praised its remake as a “resounding” improvement.
The Telegraph called it a “smartly-executed upgrade” and “a lavish remake of a horror classic that is still to be bettered.” It said Resident Evil 4 is “as essential as video games get.”
Resident Evil 4 drops on March 24 for PlayStation 4 and 5, Xbox Series X and S, and PC.
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