Resident Evil 4 at 20: the horror game that revitalised a genre | Games

IAn interesting twist in video game history is that one of the greatest horror games ever debuted on the Nintendo GameCube, a toy console best known for some of the cutest Zelda and Animal Crossing games. But in 2002, Capcom introduced five exclusives to bolster the struggling platform, and among them was resident Evil 4, technically the 13th game in the franchise, which upon release three years later would be considered its zenith. It was an exciting new lease of life for the survival horror genre.

Not that you’d guess any of this, judging by the game’s unusually pedestrian setting. Six years after the fall of the Umbrella Corporation, smoldering cop Leon Kennedy is sent on a mission to find the kidnapped daughter of the President of the United States, who has been spotted in a tiny village in rural Spain. For some reason best known to the Secret Service, he goes there alone.

However, from this B-movie premise, it radically challenged the traditions of the Resident Evil series and the survival horror genre itself. By moving the action from the bleak, rainy Midwest of Raccoon City to the Spanish countryside, Capcom immersed Resi fans (and Leon himself) in a completely unfamiliar setting. This sense of dislocation continued when the traditional lumbering zombies (clearly inspired by George A. Romero’s Night of the Living Dead trilogy) were replaced by brutally fast axe-wielding villagers, parasite-infested evil aristocrats in a gothic castle. These cheerful creatures were much more in line with the infected maniacs portrayed in Danny Boyle’s modern take on the zombie film 28 Days Later, which certainly influenced Reshi 4 director Shinji Mikami. The Texas Chainsaw Massacre and the little-known Lovecraft horror film Dagon, which is actually set in Spain, have also been cited by fans as potential inspirations.

In an interview, producer Hiroyuki Kobayashi said that the theme of the game was “fear of groups.” Throwing swarms of Ganado at the player rather than small groups of zombies increased the pressure and caused many moments of pure panic. The game’s simplest AI allowed enemies to circle behind the player rather than mindlessly running straight into them.

But most importantly, Resi 4 has moved the player’s gaze downwards from a floating third-person perspective to a tense over-the-shoulder point of view. This made it easier to aim at enemies compared to the frustratingly dull early Resident Evil games, but more importantly, it emphasized a sense of embodiment and intimacy. The action seems sharp, the teeth and blades of the ax frighteningly close. Mikami has since said that he never imagined it would be such a revolutionary feature, but it inspired an entire generation of combat adventures, including Gears of War (and the 2018 God of War reboot).

Elsewhere, Dead Space designer Ben Wanat. referred EA’s space horror shooter “Resident Evil 4 in Space” and The Last of Us designer Ricky Cambier talked about his desire to recreate the tension of Resi 4. And if you look at it now, the sense of codependency between Leon and Ashley certainly foreshadows the vulnerable relationship between Joel and Ellie.

The new shoulder camera with an increased emphasis on action and gunplay changed the entire pace of the Resi experience. There were still tense moments of silence as you explored the damp, corpse-strewn farms and castle grounds. But then there were the bloody sieges, as waves of monstrous warriors advanced on you through dirty alleys and dark industrial tunnels. Standard encounters are the stuff of legend – from rabid dogs lurking in an ornate garden maze to a giant snake-like beast in a lake – the game has a fascinating menagerie of boss enemies to fight. Surprisingly, even inventory management is remembered fondly, with players obsessively repacking their briefcase to accommodate more goodies purchased from a shady merchant.

In 2023, Capcom released a wonderful updated versionwhich introduced a new generation to the exciting pleasures of Grand Guignol. But go back to the original and it still works. Every once in a while, a video game comes along that the fans love but the game designers love more, and these games end up changing the approach of the entire industry. Super Mario 64 was one thing, Doom was another. We definitely have to add Resident Evil 4 to this list.