Resident Evil 4: Separate Ways
Release: September 21, 2023 Available for: PC, PS5, PS4, Xbox Series, iOS Genre: Action-Adventure, Survival Horror Developer: Capcom Publisher: Capcom Price: 9.99 euros
There she is again: Ada Wong. The subject of countless times more, but mostly less clean, teenage fantasies of the late 90s and early 00s, returns to the latest incarnation of Resident Evil 4 with the remake of the additional episode Seperate Ways. And in case you happen to be wondering: Yes, Resident Evil 4 Remake also came out in this year, which was teeming with fantastic games.
So now, six months later, the follow-up, which is only slightly irritating because Separate Ways was included free of charge in the original. The new edition costs 9.99 euros as a separate purchase. Not a particularly high barrier to entry, especially since the main game itself was, if you wanted, a good corner longer than their template from 2005. But that shouldn’t go unmentioned.
Visually once again very atmospheric.
The deadline is only the day after tomorrow, but Capcom had already let us watch not quite 12 minutes of gameplay in advance, which we would like to tell you a few sentences about. Above all, the new Separate Ways will probably have the same surprise factor that sparkles with joy in the remix, which underlined in March why Capcom’s remakes hit the nerve of the fans so much.
One can debate long and loudly about the extent to which it is problematic when a new adaptation essentially replaces the original – Capcom itself doesn’t even call its new versions a remake – and in doing so changes both the text and, often enough, the subtext. It’s definitely an exciting discussion as to when it’s still Resident Evil 4, when things are missing – the laser corridor and the boss U-3, for example – or new ones are added or have been arranged differently.
El Gigante never gets old.
But it is also a fact that such changes give a work as well known inside and out as Resident Evil 4 a freshness that is not present in a currant-pooping imitation. Resident Evil 2 to 4 almost feel like you’re experiencing these games for the first time again. No small achievement. Long story short: Separate Ways also aims to surprise you instead of regurgitating the familiar and I’m very much in favor of it.
The new stealth crouch, which Leon learned in the spring, and the associated opportunity for many stealth kills from ambushes in the dilapidated castle environment fit thematically quite well with Ada in particular. In addition, the spy in Wesker’s service now also uses her grappling hook for close combat moves when she approaches stumbling enemies. What’s also nice is that there seem to be more places where Ada uses it to pull herself up buildings or over chasms.
The grappling hook is likely to be used more often this time.
It’s possible that the short excerpt through the castle and the gorge on the way to the village gave the wrong impression, but it already looked like more Wesker, which is never a bad thing. However, the impression can also arise from the fact that the cutscenes are now staged a little more gripping and the characters’ acting looks pretty good.
And then there was the new story trailer, which confirmed the return of the laser gear in the Ada part. I’m excited to see what other elements return that didn’t find a proper place in the new version of the main game. That’s it from Thursday for owners of the main game who have an extra tenner loose. Doesn’t look like a bad deal.
Ada looking at her pile of shame, which doesn’t want to get any smaller this year…
And if not, Capcom is still not finished with Resi 4. At the same time as Separate Ways, Ada Wong and Wesker are coming to Mercenaries mode for free for everyone – and the VR update will follow over the winter. Good times for Resident Evil fans actually. Just wondering where Capcom goes next?
