Resident Evil 4 (2005) Reviews

Resident Evil 4 is not just a game that has survived decades—it has rightfully become the benchmark for action-horror. Even years after its release, its influence on the genre remains undeniable. It set new standards for game design, and its balance between intense survival, dynamic combat, and horror atmosphere still feels fresh today. The story is simple but presented with cinematic flair: special agent Leon Kennedy is sent to a dark Spanish village to rescue the president's daughter. But he has no idea that he will face a nightmare beyond ordinary zombies. The Los Illuminados cult, parasite-infected villagers, and terrifying mutants turn every encounter into a true test of survival. Gameplay is what truly makes Resident Evil 4 iconic. The over-the-shoulder camera, groundbreaking aiming mechanics, melee combat, and constant resource scarcity create tension that lasts until the very end. Every gunfight requires tactics, and the variety of weapons and upgrades adds depth to the gameplay. But the real magic lies in the atmosphere. The darkness of abandoned villages, the eerie silence of Salazar’s castle, the cold corridors of underground labs—it all leaves a lasting impression. The soundtrack, sound design, and intense horror moments make you feel like you are trapped in this madness. Resident Evil 4 is not just a game—it’s a legend that has stood the test of time. Its remakes and ports only emphasize how essential it is to the industry. Even if you've played it dozens of times, it will still make your heart race. 10/10. A classic that can never be forgotten.

Still a classic. The gameplay is just as fun -intense action, creepy atmosphere, and memorable characters. The graphics are old, but the higher resolution helps. Keyboard controls are clunky, so use a controller. If you're cool with dated visuals and a few quirks, it's an awesome way to play a legend. Mods can make it even better.

Well, I don't have to say much about the game itself, I liked it back when it came out and still find it awsome in terms of athmosphere and story. What makes it basically unplayable and unenjoyable for me is the controls, if you're like me and like to play such games with keyboard and mouse, sadly this is not for you. In this version there is the support but it's a sluggish emulation of the controller sticks, Leon doesn't go where you look, he just turns slowly with a and d keys and the aiming isn't any better. And no, I don't want to use a controller, I am playing on PC so I don't have to use one, thanks. So, game is great, controls for non controller users completely unusable. Maybe the remake has better kb / mouse settings.

This is the first Resident Evil game that I have ever owned, and man it was a blast! If you are tired of some of the current industry trends in video games (graphics over game play, multiplayer/online only, micro transactions, etc) then this game is a great vacation. It's a cliche to say, I know, but they really don't make games like this anymore. There is a reason why the game has been ported to so many platforms (started on Game Cube, then ended up on PlayStation 2, Windows, Wii, iOS, Zeebo, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, Android, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, and Oculus Quest 2 according to Wikipedia) it's really 'effin good! The main character, Leon Kennedy, has quickly become one of my favourite video game protagonists. His dialogue is so corny, but I love it. I think you'll find it hard not to smile at some of his lines. He's a smooth talking, bad-a**, secret agent who doesn't give up against overwhelming odds. I honestly can't think of anything I dislike about him. He's just a really fun over the top character, and I'm all for it. The dialogue in general is over the top, in a way that I think has a significant "cool" factor but is self aware, and does not take itself overly seriously. You may also notice some familiar voices, such as a particular squirrel from bikini bottom, or your friendly neighbourhood Nord. Ashley can be a little bit annoying at times to deal with I'll admit, but I found that you never have to deal with her for too long before the game separates you from her. The game play uses something called "tank controls" which involves using WASD to move and the mouse to aim and shoot, with the caveat being that you cannot move while shooting or reloading. I had a hard time with it at first, and if you have never played a shooter with a similar control style (like me at the time) it's going to feel clunky at first. Don't let that stop you though, you get used to it I promise, and eventually it feels completely natural to control. Landing your shots is essential to survival, for conserving ammunition as well as keeping enemies at bay. It can make for some really tense moments when you have one magazine left and you need to land all your shots to survive. I played through the game on normal the first time, which has adaptable difficulty. This means that if you're doing well, it'll crank up the difficulty, but if you're dying a lot, it will tone it back. It's really seamless, and can be helpful for your first play through. Once you beat the game once, you unlock the hardest difficulty, professional mode, as well as the option to do new game+ among other things. Professional mode is what normal mode would be, if the difficulty was always cranked to the max setting, and was what I played it on my second time through. I enjoyed both modes a lot, and see the value in each. Beating the game also unlocks a game mode called separate ways, which goes through the story again, but this time you play from Ada's perspective which was really neat to see, and which I would also recommend playing through. The game is from 2005, the graphics are not going to be hyper realistic, but I could honestly care less. Personally, I think graphics are the most over rated part of what makes a game good, and I'm not impressed by the industry's shift in focus towards it over refined game play and user experience. I think it has aged well for how old it is, and has some notably decent looking graphical effects (fire from torches, curtains billowing in the wind, etc). I would also mention that the soundtrack has some really unique tracks that I think suit the game well, with a good mix of horror and action themes. The bottom line is, if you aren't bothered by the older graphics, the nuances of games from this time period, enjoy over the top action-horror, and are looking for hours of game play from an amazing single player experience, buy this game, you won't be disappointed.

Great original game. Prefer this over the remake. The boss fights are quite hard, and when you rescue Ashley, you have to try navigating to get back to the village, through the farm, and to Salazar's castle. Great game, definitely recommend this.

Even 20 years after its release, this is honestly still a great game with an interesting plot and fun gameplay that I really enjoyed playing. It popularised the "look at the booty" camera angle, greatly influenced survival horror games, and won numerous game of the year awards. If you want a low-demanding game that you can casually play through, this is definitely worth it, regardless if you played any of the other RE games or not. I would HIGHLY recommend you install [url=https://github.com/nipkownix/re4_tweaks/releases]re4_tweaks[/url] if you feel like the controls are too tanky and want a more modern feel to it where you have a full 360° view and move towards where the camera is facing. The project also comes with other features like sharper imagery and increased FOV.

After completing both Normal and Professional difficulty, and even Professional on Separate Ways (HD Project Mod) and 100% getting all the achievements. I can safely say that this game aged really well and a must play for any resident evil fan or even those who never tried to play one. All the weapons are great, the enemy variation is good, boss fights are not super hard but also not pushovers, the phasing and the story is great, the graphics is a bit meh.. but the HD Project Mod can definitely fix that problem and it even includes the RE4 Tweaks Mod that allows you to adjust FOV, Sound, and even some other things to make the game more balanced. So overall, I will give this game 9.5/10 or even 10/10, I enjoyed my time playing it before on the Play Station 2 (PS2) and enjoyed it even more now, because the keyboard and mouse support and the higher graphics and quality of life improvements the HD Project Mod provides. Was it still worth playing in 2025? YES! DEFINITELY YES!!!

This game is a timeless masterpiece that will always be placed on lists of best games of all time. I agree with that mostly, although there are a few flaws that I think this game has that keeps it from being my favorite in the series. I like the Resident Evil 2 Remake more than this game, I think it mostly comes from runtime. This game in my opinion drags on near the ending, the entirety of chapter 5-2 and 5-3 feels like it could have been avoided. Krauser while being a cool as heck character, is entirely worthless to the plot, and is just there for padding on the runtime. Which isn't needed because on my playthrough, it took me over 20 hours to beat the entire campaign. This is a lengthy game, which just doesn't need the padding that it received from the developers. However, this game is still a fantastic experience which I feel every gamer should experience sometime in their life. It is a fantastic story, and yes I am on the side of people who love the corny jokes that Leon cracks throughout the story. Overall, I think everyone should play this game once, yes it does have flaws, but it is still a overwhelmingly good game that deserves to be remembered and played for many generations to come.

Aged really well, still looks good, sounds good, plays amazing, great challenge but not unfairly so. Great controller support, only con is Leon never gets his jacket back. Ever. Yes I was so salty about it I made it my online alias. Yes it is a travesty. Oh, and Saddler is voiced by Sven/Male Nord from Skyrim, look it up. Try not imagining 'Skyrim is for the Nords' [spoiler]when Lois is stabbed by him.

Just finished RE4(2005) after 50 hours. excellent game. The first time playing on Normal was especially tense, not knowing where you are, what kind of monsters would come on your path, and having that eerie music in the background. Then playing on Professional, was on the one hand a relief since I now know where to go and how to solve the puzzles, on the other hand it was pure pain in some areas with enemies chasing you fast from every direction. There's barely time to shoot, and I died 198 times in total in the main campaign. LOL I managed to pull through, partly because RE4 is a bloody masterpiece, here's why: + meticulous level design. the game looks as messy and detailed as real life. Lots of different environments: barns, church, caves, castle. There's some backtracking involved in the story, and it's done well. Also there's lots of crates with loots which reward exploration. Also egg laying chickens! i really felt like a young boy during Easter collecting all those chicken eggs. the eggs saved my life many times. + RE4(2005) looks and sounds amazing. It rarely felt like I was playing a 20 year old game. It's that immersive. The cinematography is damn impressive, with lots of memorable action scenes, like the ones with the fish, or the helicopter, also the duel between Leon and that other person. All the animations look very realistic, which more than makes up for the low graphics fidelity. + excellent combat. you can choose to play more safely and use more ammo, or you're like me who's too frugal to use limited items, so you shoot the zombies in the leg, then slice them like vegetables as they lay on the ground. This is very satisfying, and also risky when there's a lot of enemies. But you have the ability to E Kick a staggered zombie which knocks back a whole group of zombies, and then you can slice multiple lying zombies at once! Boss fights are designed very well. Creepy and challenging at first, but doable once you figure it out. The detailed, fluent animations and sounds are what allows the game to stand the test of time. If you're more into the story, you can buy a rocket launcher to deal with the bosses quickly. But it takes up 8x2 of inventory space and costs 30,000 Pta. + gameplay progression is very compelling. Enemies become stronger and weirder after each chapter, but you get new weapons and upgrades in order to keep up. At least, if you've found enough coins and treasures to afford them. This feels way more organic and realistic, compared to the countless games where you gain levels from earning EXP. + very disgusting enemies, if you're into that. you do get used to it if you're not. the bosses in particular are gross AF. + writing is kinda terrible, but it's "so bad that it's good" type of terrible. + best of all: Ada Wong! holy moly what a character. That qipao-inspired rose red dress is absolutely fabulous. and there's nothing more intimidating than a woman wearing stilletto heels to combat. It's like a deranged level of choosing style over comfort. But what makes Ada Wong truly mesmerizing is that femme fatale personality of course, but she does seem to care about Leon in RE4. fascinating, but maybe it's a ploy? Seriously, we need a full game starring Ada Wong. 真的！ But I also have some small issues with RE4(2005): - resolution only goes up to 1920x1080 60Hz. - controls are weird, because it's a console port of an old game. you can't strafe x) it's like you're driving a car. - also no crosshair for aiming - I had a lot of trouble in the 2nd part of the Salazar Statue QTE. it felt like the controls weren't responsive. Must've died 20 times there or so, before i barely managed to jump, even though the 1st part was super easy. - I don't like button mashing QTE's anyway. It's very tiring for my arms and fingers, especially when i keep dying. most of the boss fights have some kind of button mashing thing going on. In any case, I think Resident Evil 4 has earned its title as one of the highest rated games of all time. Definitely worth every gamer's attention or even obsession for some.