Resident Evil 4 Fans Discover How To Survive Dr. Salvador's Chainsaw 17 Years After Game's Release

thegamer.com:

There are a couple of one-shot kills in Resident Evil 4, but easily the most memorable comes courtesy of Dr. Salvador, also known as the Chainsaw Man. This chainsaw-wielding enemy will charge at Leon and cut his head off if he manages to connect. It’s a gruesome way to go if those blades manage to connect with Leon’s neck, and for the longest time, the only defense was to simply not get caught.

However, it turns out there’s one other thing that you can do to avoid being decapitated. This was discovered over the weekend by Twitter user link (via GamesRadar), who found a video on YouTube of Leon surviving Dr. Salvador’s attack.

Related: You Owe It To Yourself To Play Resident Evil 4

As you can see, Leon can shrug off a chainsaw to the neck so long as he meets a few conditions. First, he’s gotta be playing the remastered version of Resident Evil 4, which arrived on PC and Xbox 360 in 2011 and is currently available on both the Nintendo Switch and VR platforms. Second, Leon has to be at full health. If either of these things isn’t true, it’s off with Leon’s head.

The leading theory among fans is that this survival mechanic was initially in the beta version of the game but didn’t make it to the final release--either because it was a bug or because Capcom just wanted to make the game more difficult. Fans have noted that there are interviews prior to Resident Evil 4’s release that stated you should be able to survive a chainsaw attack so long as Leon is at full health, and another user noted how this survival mechanic was present in the beta version of the game.

However, it looks like this survival might not be guaranteed even with a full health bar. One user noted that the chances of survival are around 25 percent. That’s