Review: Resident Evil 4 is a faithful restoration of an all-time classic

videogameschronicle.com:

As re-releases of classic games become ever more common, there’s been much debate in recent years regarding the games industry’s definition of what qualifies as a ‘remake’ versus a ‘remaster’.

Despite its name, Metroid Prime: Remastered is clearly far more than a simple up-res of the original’s graphics, even if it has the exact same design. 2022’s The Last of Us: Part 1, meanwhile, could be given the exact same definition, but is marketed as a remake by its creator.

Similarly, Bluepoint’s 2018 re-release of Shadow of the Colossus is also branded a remake, but Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII Reunion is apparently a remaster. Dead Space 2023 is a ‘ground up remake’, but Crash Bandicoot N. Sane Trilogy is not.

It’s easy to see then why consumers are split in their expectations of exactly what a ‘remake’ should deliver. Should it make sweeping changes to the original design, or respect it while making carefully considered moderations?

This question becomes even more difficult when the subject material is a nearly unimpeachable classic of its genre. Few players of its 10+ platform ports will dispute that Resident Evil 4 is one of the greatest, most influential action games ever made. In the years since its 2005 debut, virtually every release has imitated its tight, over-the-shoulder camera and tactical precision aiming, but few have truly surpassed its quality.

Even Capcom has struggled to replicate the success of Resident Evil 4 since, to the point where the game almost carries a stigma with some fans, who blame it for the series’ later descent into generic shooter territory, and further away from survival horror.

What do you change? What do you keep the same? That’s the unenviable task behind 2023’s Resident Evil 4, a remake