“It took a lot of trial and error to get the balance right, as was the case with the original game,” says producer Yokiashi Hirobayashi.
Betraying expectations is something that Capcom has developed a knack for with its Resident Evil remakes, with each of them having done so to varying but significant degrees, and it’s no surprise that the developer is looking to do the same with the upcoming Resident Evil 4 remake as well- which has been plain to see already from all the footage we’ve seen of it.
Speaking to PLAY magazine (via GamesRadar), producer Yokiashi Hirobayashi said that that is exactly what the development team’s aim is- to betray fans’ expectations “in the best way possible” while still being true to the spirit of the original game.
“We want the game to be simultaneously fresh yet familiar,” he said. “Our aim is to ‘betray’ your expectations in the best way possible while of course respecting the feel of the original game.”
He went on to explain that elements like the way the game controls, the level design of the environments, the implementation of Ashley as a character, and more have been revamped and improved in the remake to expand upon the original game.
“The controls are similar to those in the recent Resident Evil 2 and 3 remakes, on top of which we have worked to reproduce the feeling of the original by assembling elements like level design and enemy behavior from scratch,” Hirobayashi said. “It took a lot of trial and error to get the balance right, as was the case with the original game.”
“While there are elements of moving through the game as a pair which differ from how you manage just controlling Leon, and introduce a different kind of challenge, I think we have made it so that by having Ashley be a more convincing standalone character, players will come to enjoy these sections,” he added.
Of course, some Resident Evil fans might argue that that could be a concerning thing, especially given the backlash 2020’s Resident Evil 3 drew for how much it changed and cut out- though Capcom has also assured that it isn’t cutting out any of RE4’s main sections, so that should be a relief.
We’ll know soon enough either way just how successfully the Resident Evil 4 remake is able to recreate the success of its source material. The survival horror shooter is out on March 24 for PS5, Xbox Series X/S, PS4, and PC.
