DEVELOPER & PUBLISHER: CAPCOM / PLATFORM: NINTENDO SWITCH / RELEASE DATE: OUT NOW
In 2005, Resident Evil 4 became the first in the franchise to head exclusively to Nintendo in an attempt to prove two things – that the Gamecube was able to cater for mature audiences, and the console had the backing of third parties. The exclusivity only lasted for six months, but Nintendo went onto have another exclusive with Resident Evil 4 – Wii Edition, an improved version of RE4 which included some excellent use of motion controls. Over a decade later, the game returns to Nintendo once more, playable on a handheld system for the first time.
The Switch edition is a direct port of the HD version released on PS3/Xbox 360 back in 2011 (so don’t get your hopes up for any motion controls). The controls take some getting used to, but the core gameplay is still excellent, and within half an hour you’ll be headshotting zombies like it’s second nature. If you’ve got a USB battle pad or Gamecube controller adapter, you can play the game like it was originally meant to be played and enjoy some nostalgia along the way.
Resident Evil is notorious for its punishing save system of having to locate typewriters, although RE4 isn’t as tense as the earlier games where you also had to find ink ribbons before you could use a typewriter. It’s understandable why a survival horror game would operate this way, however this brings a whole new form of survival horror to the Switch, running around like a madman trying to find a typewriter as the low battery light on the console begins to flash…
Even with the HD treatment, RE4‘s graphics are still very much of the era. The game looks nicer in handheld mode compared to the big screen, however some of the darker areas of the game can be a little hard to see when you get a bit of glare on the Switch.
Fourteen years ago, Resident Evil 4 was one of the greatest games ever made. Once you get over a few bumps in the road, there’s still a heck of a game here that holds up well. A classic that’s definitely worthy of your time.
