Entertainment

Games: Hugely anticipated Resident Evil 4 remake lands in 2023

Resident Evil 4 remake revealed

AFTER serving up remakes of Resident Evil 2 and 3, Capcom's cooker is now at gas mark 4 for a reheat of arguably the greatest survival horror of all time. While a do-over of the mighty Resident Evil 4 has long been rumoured, it was at last week’s Sony State of Play event where gamers finally got a glimpse of the next-gen reimagining, set to release on March 24 2023. Capcom's 2005 classic saved the survival horror series from itself, dragging the series’ clunky controls and fixed camera into the 21st century with a now-familiar over-the-shoulder perspective. The Gamecube original marked a return to the director’s chair for series creator Shinji Mikami, replacing zombies with infected European farmers who chased after our hero like he were made out of EU subsidies. A rural ruckus that played out like a horror showdown at the Balmoral Show, Resident Evil 4 was stuffed rotten with some of the series’ most memorable characters, from the gasping Regenerators and sack-faced chainsaw jockeys to the cockney merchant. But given it was exclusive to Gamecube, there were more at the Last Supper than actually played the thing. Thankfully, the game has since been crowbarred into anything with a microchip. With a tormented development, the original went through multiple versions before release, and it seems next year’s remake will pilfer darker scenes that were left on the cutting room floor. Hero Leon Kennedy now faces off against living dolls and spectral figures, while the game’s memorable opening, where players explored a sun-kissed village, is now set after dark. Capcom explained their reimagining would be “familiar to fans of the series, while also providing a fresh feeling by reimagining the storyline of the game while keeping the essence of its direction, modernising the graphics and updating the controls to a modern standard”. Exclusive features are also promised for PlayStation 5’s upcoming VR headset - and if it's anything like Resident Evil VII's terrifying virtual reality, sales of adult nappies will soar. It’s safe to say I’ve completed Resident Evil 4 more than any other game. The horror that just won’t flush, the survival mainstay has bobbed up on every new console to release in the last 15 years – and it looks like fans will have one more excuse to saddle up when this darker take on the stone-cold classic lands on modern rigs next March. A game so brilliant it's surely impossible to screw up – if Capcom can bottle lightning twice, then all the better.