Revisiting Resident Evil 4

Nostalgia Goggles?

Resident Evil 4 has always been regarded as one of the finer entries to the Resident Evil series and, to us here at Cash Grab, a nostalgic favourite from our formative years of happiness and wonder.

Yet, upon loading up Resident Evil 4 on Steam recently, something dawned upon me after having played through a few hours of the game. I found myself saying, "This isn't quite as good as I remember it being" and "That sequence wasn't nearly as fun as I had imagined it was".

So, what was it that had thrust this shocking revelation upon me and, in turn, upon a once dearly beloved and cherished game within a franchise I had always treasured? Well, simply put, time did not wait for Resident Evil 4... I am all too aware, as I write these very words, that this opinion is destined to be an unpopular one. However, I do believe that I cannot be alone in thinking that Resident Evil 4 is really beginning to hold itself as a waning candle would to the wind.

I also wish to make it clear that this isn't some vague attempt at saying that technologically superior games make all others inferior, you clearly haven't spent too much time on this blog if that's the nugget of information you mine from this article. As, in stark contrast, the original games in the Resident Evil series are timeless video games, relevant and fun still to this very day.

Resident Evil 4. In Death's Shadow?

Where Resident Evil 4 flounders however is in it's seemingly foot in and foot out approach to what embodies a survival horror game and an action horror game. This game admittedly was the originator of the action horror genre in a mainstream sense and, certainly during it's time in the sun, was a unique and thrilling entry in the genre, albeit a somewhat wayward one...

The difficulty I faced was in the story being played straight, in the sense that the situational concept is a serious one and yet the writing, dialogue and thematic undertones of most situations are very poorly translated, both in creative and literal sense. 

Resident Evil, the first release for the PlayStation One, has long been criticised for it's poor dialogue and, to coin a phrase, "corny" exchanges between characters. I found this to be no different with Resident Evil 4 and yet, somehow, this game appears to be applauded for a somewhat left-field sense of dead-pan humour. This is simply not the case and it feels horribly out of place in a modern gaming setting, just as well as it did over in 2005 at the time of Resident Evil 4's initial release. 

As well as the presentation of the game, dialogue and thematic undertones, another great problem I faced with Resident Evil 4 is the somewhat OTT emphasis on quick time events, situational changes and insane boss battles. 

All of these issues lead me to my final point of what I feel leaves me with that "feeling" I am getting during playing. The inexplicable feeling that something just isn't right... 

It appears to us, that Resident Evil was very much a mainstream originator of the survival horror genre, with an emphasis on the "survival" aspect and, in time, naturally due to a vast amount of gaming and marketing considerations, the genre shifted to accommodate "action" rather than "survival". 

Due to the aspect of all things in this life being cyclical, it is evident that we are currently in a renaissance period of the survival horror genre, with great modern release with an emphasis on "survival", such as Alien Isolation, Resident Evil 7 and Resident Evil 2 Remake. 

This coming home of the genre has put Resident Evil 4 in a peculiar spot, being both deeply relevant to our gaming history and social fabric and yet, at the very same time, seeing itself as somewhat tired and faded in respect to both the origins of survival horror, as well as where the genre is heading in the future. 

Please consider watching our other video on Resident Evil 4 and the positive aspects about the game... Just to show that we are in no way biased...

Resident Evil 4: A Merchant of Change

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Tom - Cash Grab