Resident Evil 4's knife parry is the best thing to happen to the series in 18 years

pcgamer.com:

I love the Resident Evil 4 remake, even if there were a few things that rubbed me the wrong way⁠—I wish all those spiffy outfits(opens in new tab) were unlockables instead of paid DLC (I'm ashamed to admit that I coughed up five bucks for that bomber jacket), and The Mercenaries(opens in new tab) mode feels a little anemic and tacked on, awarding the super-endgame hidden Handcannon to practically anyone with a pulse. But there is one feature of the REM4KE that makes up for all that and more⁠: its sick as hell, Sekiro-style parry.

A quick tap of left bumper or space bar and Leon brings his every day carry-ass combat knife to bear, capable of blocking almost any enemy attack if timed correctly and opening enemies up for a devastating melee combo if you land a «perfect parry» in a tighter window. I highly recommend enabling the option that instead ties it to left click/right trigger outside of aiming down sights as well.

I think the thing that has me in love, and elevates Sekiro and RE4's parries in particular, is how forgiving they are. I've got untold hours logged on the Souls series, but I hardly ever engage with their parry/riposte systems. They're balanced as daring, hugely risky moves⁠—a whiffed parry in Elden Ring leaves you standing there with your shield arm outstretched like a moron, mouth agape, ready to be thoroughly punished by the Soldier of Godrick or whoever yet again.

Sekiro and RE4, meanwhile, still require timing, but your failure state is far less disastrous. Mistime a counter in Sekiro, and you'll merely block the attack as normal⁠. A parry in Sekiro is just a precisely-timed block. RE4's knife works largely the same way—an imperfect parry just becomes a block—and the brisk animation makes parry