Slowly succumbing to gift in his blood, Leon must navigate the great lake to gain access to the church and finally have a chance of reaching Ashley. Chapter 4 of Resident Evil 4 gives players a chance to explore the vastness of the village and increase their power, collecting treasures and key items along the way.
This guide will cover the entirety of Resident Evil 4’s fourth chapter, starting in the Boat House and ending in the Church.
Boat House
Leon begins this chapter in the boat house, talking with Hunnigan. From the dock, up the stairs and through the door on the right, passing through the adjacent room and out into the forest. Walk directly forward and crouch under the collapsed mine shaft supports. Follow the sound of chanting around the corner until a short scene plays, introducing a new enemy type.
The Plaga Guadaña are ordinary villagers until the Las Plagas parasite bursts from their heads after sustaining enough damage. Their snakelike heads can attack from quite a distance, though they can be instantly taken out with a flashbang. After dealing with the two Guadañas, head up the stairs beside the candlelit altar and follow the walkway around into the Mural Cavern.
Mural Cavern
Head past the mural and through a crevice where Leon will come across a shrine. Examining the shrine will reveal a key in the middle, with two empty hands on either side that need filling to trigger the release mechanism. Take a right from the shrine, passing between two columns, to find another mural on the wall ahead depicting the lake. At this point, the player will receive a new objective – to find the locations shown in the mural.
From here, go right and head down towards another dock with a working boat. Climb aboard and begin exploring the lake.
Large Cave Shrine
Take a left further into the cavern until coming across a large column. Take another left and pull up at the Large Cave Shrine dock. To the left is a locked gate, so head to the right and then go left to pass by a torch. Here, Leon can encounter a number of Ganados blocking his path; clear them out and continue forwards. Climb up the ladder dead ahead and prepare to fight some more Ganados. Further forward is a wooden doorway with a dial outside. In order to progress, Leon must find the correct three symbols to select.
The three symbols can be found scattered around the Shrine. One is located at the bottom of the ladder to the left of the dial. Another is found directly opposite the dial, scrawled on two pillars. The final one is on a wall to the right of the dial. Selecting each of them will open the door where Leon can retrieve the Apostate’s Head from the statue and head back to the boat.
Small Cave Shrine
From the Large Cave Shrine dock, head back towards the Mural Cave and continue forward out of the cave and onto the Lake. Take the boat to the northeastern corner of the Lake and enter another brazier-lit cavern beneath the castle where players can dock at the Small Cave Shrine.'
As with the previous Shrine, here Leon can find three symbols etched on the cave walls that correspond to a button on a dial. The Small Cave Shrine symbols can be found at the foot of the ladder to the left of the dial, directly opposite the dial across two walls, and just around the corner, to the right of the dial. After completing this Resident Evil puzzle, take the Blasphemer’s Head and get back on the boat.
Mural Cavern
Heading southwest from the Small Cave Shrine, reenter the large cavern beside the Boat House and park up at the Mural Cavern dock. Walk back up through the cave and take a left to reach the Shrine again. Place the Apostate’s Head in the Shrine’s right palm, and place the Blasphemer’s Head in its left to unlock the mechanism and receive the Church Insignia, at which point Hunnigan will contact Leon.
Back at the dock, take the boat left, this time heading right around the large column to arrive at the dock beneath the Shooting Range. Take the ladder up to the Merchant and go through the doors directly ahead, taking the path back through the Quarry.
Defeating El Gigante
After passing through the large gate into the arena-like area, a cutscene will trigger a Giant boss fight. Keep hitting him with high-caliber bullets and explosives, maintaining a good distance all the while. Luckily, at this stage, his attacks are rather slow, giving Leon plenty of time to run away and evade.
If Leon rescued the dog at the beginning of Chapter 3, after dealing enough damage, a cutscene will play, and the dog will join the fight, helping to draw aggression and deal some damage.
At a certain point, a Las Plagas parasite will emerge from the Giant’s spine. Shoot it to deal massive damage and stun the creature, at which point Leon can rush in for a melee attack. After jumping on the behemoth’s back, quickly hit the melee button to slash the parasite with a knife. If players don’t have a knife in their inventory, the two huts in the arena contain crates with kitchen knives, ammunition, and healing supplies.
If the dog was recruited, another scene will play out, after which the Giant will charge into the quarry, causing it to collapse and become stunned. Once enough damage has been dealt, the Giant’s attacks will become increasingly dangerous, so be sure to keep moving and shooting, and eventually, the Giant will fall.
Leave the arena through one of the far gates and backtrack through the quarry, taking the first ladder up to the right and dropping down at the end of the platform. On the road back to the Church, a Black Wolf will attack the player, kill it, and proceed to the Church Gate.
Church
Use the Church Insignia on the Church Gate to open it and proceed into the main hall. Head down the aisle towards the podium and pull a lever on the left to open a colored contraption; examining this podium will reveal one colored dial is missing. To find it, return to the entrance and open the drawer along the right wing of the church, then install the Blue Dial in the podium.
To progress, solve the Church Glass Puzzle by rotating the dials top line the stained glass up with the insignia in the center. This will open a gate in the left wing of the church; head through, taking the ladder up to the second floor. Head around the balcony and enter a door to begin a cutscene with the elusive Ashley Graham and end the chapter.
The Resident Evil 4 remake is currently available for PC, PS4, PS5, and Xbox Series X/S.
