Resident Evil 4 remake’s DLC is simply as lavish

When Capcom launched its slick remake of Resident Evil 4 in March, it felt like one thing was lacking. The motion survival-horror sport was a sturdy bundle, however some memorable moments had been excised from the GameCube unique. With Separate Methods, a brand new add-on starring enigmatic tremendous spy Ada Wong, Resident Evil 4 feels full — after which some.

Separate Methods tells the occasions of Ada’s mission throughout Resident Evil 4’s predominant story. Her journey runs parallel to, and incessantly intersects with, Leon Kennedy’s. Key moments from the unique sport are seen from her perspective; Ada does battle with most of the identical enemies and revisits most of the identical areas that Leon does in his story.

Ada’s mission remixes and recontextualizes a few of these reprised encounters, partly because of her distinctive gameplay mechanics. Whereas she largely performs like Leon, utilizing a mix of firearms, stealth, and melee assaults, she has a number of spy devices that give her further aptitude. Essentially the most distinguished differentiator is her grappling gun, which she makes use of to zip round environments and bypass a few of the lock-and-key puzzles that sluggish Leon down. That gun additionally comes into play in fight; Ada can use the machine to shut the gap between her and surprised opponents, giving her a robust tactical benefit in fights. Optionally, she will be able to use the grappling hook to grab shields from sure enemies.

Picture: Capcom

Ada has one other gadget that feels borrowed from Batman: a high-tech contact lens that lets her spot clues like footprints or essential puzzle parts. Each gadgets give her marketing campaign a definite vibe, making her development by way of the roughly six-hour story really feel extremely speedy.

Resident Evil 4 gamers will discover a acquainted groove in Separate Methods as they revisit story beats, enemies, and key places, typically in a method that seems like backtracking. Capcom has cleverly remixed some moments, like a battle in opposition to El Gigante that employs Ada’s grappling-hook acrobatics and one other tense boss struggle that spices issues up with waves of enemies. Nevertheless, after integrating the grappling gun into that boss struggle to spectacular impact, it’s largely absent in different encounters the place it could really feel naturally helpful. It seems like the sport underutilizes her new software, and it could’ve been enjoyable to see her depend on it much more.

Some areas and parts are utterly new, although. One memorable boss battle reduce from the Resident Evil 4 remake returns, albeit in a really completely different type. Capcom has even restored the delightfully goofy safety laser hall with a twist. Even higher, it now has a strong narrative cause to exist.

Picture: Capcom

Narratively, the tweaks in Ada’s marketing campaign additionally assist to strengthen simply how far more succesful and assured Ada is in comparison with the put-upon Leon. She takes a lot of her mission in stride, and it turns into clear that Leon’s mission wouldn’t have been profitable with out her a number of interventions. She’s cool and dry, so deft at protecting her true intentions guarded that typically even the participant isn’t certain what her true motivations are. Sadly, Ada’s enigmatic character is flattened by her stiff voice appearing. Her dialogue is stilted and unnatural — at instances, unrealistically devoid of emotion. I couldn’t assist however marvel if her English-language voice actor was given unhealthy route, in an try to realize a unique model of cool to additional distinguish her from Leon. Regardless of the case, it wasn’t profitable.

Resident Evil 4: Separate Methods vastly improves upon the storytelling and significance of Ada’s aspect story, serving as a template for future Resident Evil video games’ expansions. It’s a condensed and accelerated model of the remake’s story that fleshes out behind-the-scenes occasions, and its ending enticingly teases the following potential remake in Capcom’s horror franchise. It will probably really feel repetitive in elements, underrealized in others, however it’s a meaty piece of content material that’s value enjoying if the Resident Evil 4 remake left you hungering for extra.

Resident Evil 4: Separate Methods was launched on Sept. 21 for PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Home windows PC, and Xbox Sequence X. The sport was reviewed utilizing a ultimate “retail” PlayStation 5 obtain code offered by Capcom. You could find extra details about Polygon’s ethics coverage right here.