This previous weekend fans of Resident Evil were treated to a small look at the upcoming Resident Evil 4 Remake, which releases later this month. Taking the lead from their past demo releases, this new demo copies the original preview disc for Resident Evil 4, released way back in 2004, and puts you in control of Leon for the first several minutes of the game, from the opening cinematic to the iconic confrontation in the village.
As someone who has played through the original game countless times (and is replaying it right now on my Switch in preparation for the remake) I was pleasantly surprised to find that almost immediately, as soon as Leon stepped out of the car at the start, things felt both familiar and completely different. I'm sure that there will be some who are a bit disappointing by this, who might be wanting something more akin to a remaster than a remake, but just within a few minutes I was incredibly happy to find that my past experiences will not necessarily help me when playing this game.
The demo begins much in the same way that Resident Evil 7 began, with your character making their way through the environment, pushing past overgrown trees, ducking under sinisterly placed barbed wire, and discovering local wildlife that's met a terrible end. You even come across a spooky, rundown house at the end of the trail. It's here that Leon meets his first villager, and discovers that whilst he's not going to be dealing with zombies, these people are far from the average humans. The scene in which you get to experience your first Ganado is a pretty creepy one, with the broken and twisted body shambling towards you, the parasite within able to be heard as it screeches and writhes.
This new form of enemy is encountered a couple of times across the demo, and is an interesting twist on what has come before. In the original game there are times when destroying the head of an infected leads to large, whip-like appendages, or bloated biting worm creatures, sprouting from the wound as the parasite grows and evolves. This feels like a more toned down version of that in some ways, yet manages to be incredibly creepy at the same time. The body is broken, yet this thing inside it is making it jerk around, stumbling towards the player. The weird movements are pretty unnerving, and make them harder to hit with your weapons. The fact that even at the very beginning of the game you're going to have to be careful when taking out foes, lest they evolve into something deadlier, is an interesting addition.
One of the more surprising, and upsetting, changes to this early stage of the game is the wolf. In the original you're able to find a wold whose leg is trapped inside a bear trap placed by one of the Ganado's. You have a couple of choices in that moment, kill the animal, leave it to its fate, or free it from the trap. If you're not a complete monster you'll release it from the trap and it'll run off into the woods; and will reappear later on in the game to help you with one of the bigger (literally) boss fights of the early stages of the story. However, along the way to the village the demo presents you with a wolf in a trap that has already died. Does this mean that this is the same wolf and you don't have the chance to save it, or has it simply moved and will be somewhere else? I hope it's the latter, as seeing this good doggo meet this fate was genuinely sad; plus, it makes me wonder how much harder the boss fight will be without their help. It also seems to be sending the message to the player that this game is going to be less forgiving than the original. It did killed the dog after all.
The village itself is a great set-piece, and is the area of the demo that feels the most the same. There are some slight differences, such as a few new trails put in that lead to new places around the map, and a couple of surprises as what were safer areas in the past are taken away from you; but for the most part this is the village that fans will know well. It's here that the demo really comes to life, and offers the players the first opportunity to really cut loose and have some fun. With the option to dash into one of the buildings and grab some grenades and a shotgun, you're able to start taking out the Ganados in bigger numbers. However, this is where the demo's titular chainsaw comes into play.
The showcase part of this demo is definitely Dr Salvador, the bag wearing, chainsaw wielding opponent who will absolutely have you running for your life. On his own Salvador would be a touch opponent, but when you're also having do deal with a dozen or more Ganados, dodging their attacks, fending them off, and healing the wounds they inflict, he becomes an absolute nightmare. However, he isn't unkillable, and if you're good enough, or lucky enough, you can take him down before the timer runs out, and the demo ends.
There are a couple of hidden things in the demo that players can try out on additional run throughs that makes this more than just a one and done experience. First up is the one that people have probably heard about, Mad Chainsaw Mode. This ultra-hard difficulty setting is reportedly exclusive to the demo, and is the only way that players will get to experience it. This new mode adds extra enemies to the game, makes them take more damage to kill, makes them deal more damage, and most terrifyingly of all, it gives Salvador a suped up chainsaw that sparks and is red hot. It also makes him even tougher; so nightmare scenario. Mad Chainsaw Mode is triggered randomly upon starting a new game, or can be forced with a secret code.
You can also find a secret area that has an SMG, which is actually a lot of fun to use. In order to get hold of this weapon you have to completely empty your inventory before opening the gates to the village. From here you're able to access an underground area behind the cow shed that contains the weapon. I did this on my second play-through, and it definitely changed the dynamic of the end fight quite a bit. However, I found that the best tactic is to sneak your way to the weapon, then continue to stealth your way through the village, collecting items and taking out Ganados with sneak attacks before instigating the big fight.
Speaking of sneaking, the new stealth mechanic the game has added is incredibly enjoyable. You're not stuck having to run or walk your way around environments, hoping that the enemies don't spot you, and can instead crouch and move around pretty unseen. You're also able to sneak up behind enemies and take them out with silent knife kills, letting you thin out the numbers before you have to break out your guns. The stealth definitely opens up some options for players, and you can decide how you want to tackle different scenarios. Do you want to run in all guns blazing, or do you want to sneak around like some unseen assassin? It seems like the game will let you do both; and is perhaps the feature I'm most excited to see in the rest of the game.
I was hugely impressed with the demo, and it has absolutely increased my excitement for the game. I was already looking forward to getting my hands on this, having full confidence that it was going to be good following the remakes of Resident Evil 2 and Resident Evil 3, but after getting this small taste the wait is even worse. The 24th better get here soon.
