Much of what will help players through any playthrough of Resident Evil 4’s remake is their affinity for the original game. The remake is faithful to the original in a way that players will have a heightened awareness of upcoming challenges and encounters if they are bringing their muscle memory. Many areas and encounters are changed, but players will get along much easier with the original knowledge in their back pocket, even if gameplay is fully modernized like Capcom’s other Resident Evil remakes.
That said, knowledge is not the only aid that players can rely on. An attunement toward parry timing, aiming, and knowing how to maneuver Leon’s momentum while sprinting is also important. Enemy command grabs can be ducked, for example, and carefully timed parries or shots can deflect almost any incoming attack. Moreover, players have a familiar catalog of weapons to upgrade at Resident Evil 4’s Merchant. The remake’s most intriguing aid involves the player’s attache case, and the charm perks they can dangle from it.
Resident Evil 4 Remake’s Shooting Range is Not Just a Leisurely Activity
Players are introduced to Resident Evil 4’s shooting range at the lake via a conspicuous elevator. This shooting range was available in the original as well, rewarding players with bottle caps featuring the game’s character models. This same idea is reprised in the remake, but it is more in-depth through the reward charms that can be earned.
Charms no longer dangle from the player’s pistol - likely because players would never see them in Resident Evil 4’s third-person perspective, but they are also not purely ornamental. Charms dangle from the player’s attache case and can only be seen when players are assessing their resource management in the inventory menu, but they do resemble different models and assets from the original game.
The trick is that players earn a predetermined amount of silver and gold tokens for their letter grade in each challenge at the shooting range. Players then feed three tokens of any combination of silver and gold into a machine for a randomly assorted charm between Common, Rare, Epic, and Legendary. Each comes with their own stat increases, such as having a 30-percent discount on body armor repairs or a 40-percent increase of health recovery when consuming vipers.
Resident Evil 4 Remake’s Charms Seem to Be RNG-Based
Cases also have their own perks, such as the Gold case from the Resident Evil 4 remake’s pre-order bonuses offering an increased drop rate for pesetas. These case and charm perk stats can come in handy by giving players a nudge toward a niche play style they may be going for.
Gold tokens allegedly increase the chance that players get a charm of higher rarity, meaning three gold tokens slotted into the shooting range machine would give them the greatest odds, but that has not been proven to always give the best results. Which charms players get and when seem RNG-based and not predetermined, meaning it is unreliable when players could earn the one they are looking for in particular.
Gold tokens can also eventually be traded for three spinels each, meaning that players do not have to wait until intermittent shooting ranges appear in the Resident Evil 4 remake. Of course, players can choose not to bother with the shooting range and play the game as otherwise intended, but it is a fun way to add a few more stat buffs with three charms equippable on the player’s case at once.
Resident Evil 4 is available now for PC, PS4, PS5, and Xbox Series X/S.
