The Resident Evil franchise has always had intricate maps with varying degrees of intuitive UI baked into them, and the Resident Evil 4 remake is no different. Maps are absolutely essential in Resident Evil for fans who are not yet completely familiar with what lies behind every corner of every tight corridor, especially in Resident Evil’s original trilogy of games, with fixed camera angles and tank controls. Each game’s environments may become so familiar that players begin mapping out their layouts in their heads, but maps themselves have become even more helpful to players with items populating them when passed by.
This was apparent in the Resident Evil 2 remake, where any gunpowder, ammunition, or other important items were labeled on the map where players had passed them if they were seen but not retrieved. Having items labeled and showing where they are on the map is a huge boon because players do not need to wastefully explore every inch of a region again in order to search for necessary items. This is equally paramount in the Resident Evil 4 remake due to how often the map updates itself and how players may be locked out of a region soon thereafter.
Resident Evil 4 Remake’s Treasure Maps Are a Must-Have for Completionists
It may not seem wholly important at first, but the Resident Evil 4 remake has a lot of moving parts concerning its map. The map itself is all-encompassing as fans can idly look out at a sea of undiscovered landscapes that rests on different floors, and this layout is not altogether intuitive.
Resident Evil Village’s map was an illustrative painting that colored explored and unexplored regions distinctly, for example, and separated regions explicitly enough for players to not have to parse its legend with a fine-tooth comb. Resident Evil 4’s remake, rather, has no distinct aesthetic, and therefore all of it sort of blurs together if players are relying on it specifically for maneuverability in an area. Thankfully, the map is truly only a necessary feature when players are seeking treasure.
Treasure maps are available in the Resident Evil 4 remake for trade-in at the Merchant for spinels, and after having procured a region’s treasure map the player’s world map will be littered with labeled treasures. This can be somewhat disconcerting at first because treasures are labeled even in areas players might not see on the map yet, but they will eventually be led to on their narrative path.
Resident Evil 4 Remake’s Map is Updated with Treasures and Requests
That is where the most important habit to get into for Resident Evil 4’s remake comes in. If players want to collect every piece of treasure they find, let alone complete each blue note request they discover, they must be checking the map constantly.
Treasure maps label treasure on the player’s world map, but blue note requests also label where tougher mini-boss opponents will be after exploring a region and nearing its conclusion. Several blue note requests task players with destroying blue medallions in the Resident Evil 4 remake and all of them are then labeled onto the map for players to find precisely where they are. Even requests such as killing rats are easier to complete when the player checks the map to see which area the request is referring to.
Checking the map constantly is the only foolproof way to make sure players do not accidentally miss out on a region’s content. In the case of the Resident Evil 4 remake’s first optional boss request, ‘A Savage Mutt’, players will be led from the Village Chief’s House back to the Village, and the only way to know that is by carefully assessing where the strong threat icon has moved to on the map.
Resident Evil 4 is out now for PC, PS4, PS5, and Xbox Series X.
