Should You Buy Resident Evil 4 Remake?
Easiest BUY in the entire Resident Evil franchise. Critics call it a masterpiece. It scored 93+ on Metacritic. It's regularly $30-40 on sale in 2026. If you have any interest in action games at all, you owe it to yourself to play this.
Quick Specs
What It Is
Resident Evil 4 Remake is Capcom's 2023 ground-up reimagining of the 2005 original — widely considered one of the most influential games ever made. You play Leon S. Kennedy, sent to rural Spain to rescue the President's daughter Ashley from a creepy cult. The game retains the over-the-shoulder shooter perspective the original invented while modernizing every other system: parry mechanics, walk-and-aim controls, smarter enemy AI, expanded lake areas with side quests, and a deeper merchant economy.
Three years after launch, it's regularly hailed as the gold standard for what game remakes should be. The Mercenaries mode added free as DLC adds replay value beyond the 16-20 hour main campaign.
Why Critics Are Unanimous
Game Informer called it 'one of the best action games in recent memory' — and 'the best Resident Evil since, well, probably the original Resident Evil 4.' The Comenian called it 'one of the best-designed games I have ever played.' Eneba's 2026 retrospective: 'The answer is a massive, resounding YES.'
The praise centers on three things: the new parry mechanic transforms the knife from useless tool to combat centerpiece, the bigger interconnected map (especially the lake area) makes exploration meaningful, and the modernized controls finally let you walk while aiming — fixing the original's biggest aging issue.
The Case For and Against
BUY IF...
- You like action games at all — this is a genre benchmark
- You've never played the original — this is the best entry point
- You played the original and want to relive it modernized
- You want a tight 16-20 hour campaign with strong replay value
- $30-40 fits your budget (regularly on sale)
WAIT IF...
- You only want pure survival horror (this leans action)
- You want to experience why the original was so revolutionary historically — play that one too
- You hate parry mechanics in your shooters
- You're easily upset by gore (this is graphically violent)
Price & Value Math
$59.99 retail, but routinely $30-40 on PSN, Xbox, and Steam sales. At ~$2/hour for a 16-20 hour campaign with high replay value (multiple difficulty modes, Mercenaries DLC, NG+, weapon upgrades you couldn't max in one playthrough), this is one of the best AAA value propositions of the modern generation.
The Bottom Line
Resident Evil 4 Remake is the game most people should play first if they're considering jumping into the franchise — or if they want to see why the series has been on a hot streak for the last five years. Buy it. Don't overthink it.
Ready to Decide?
If you're convinced, here's where to grab it:
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