The Resident Evil franchise has made it a tradition lately to offer brief, playable demos for its upcoming releases, and the Resident Evil 4 remake is no different. There was Resident Evil 7’s Beginning Hour demo, the Resident Evil 2 remake’s RPD demo, the Resident Evil 3 remake’s Raccoon City demo, and the Maiden, Village, and Castle demos for Resident Evil Village. These demos are all great in their own right, introducing players to the kind of atmosphere and gameplay they will be involved in, but one of them was unique in that it misrepresented what fans believed to be a taste of the larger experience.
The Resident Evil 4 remake has only recently dropped the Chainsaw demo that continues in this tradition. In the demo, players see that Leon S. Kennedy’s experience entering the rural European village will be similar enough to the source material while still adding new areas and interactions as a reimagining. If this is the degree of faithfulness that players should be able to expect from the remake, then that will be fantastic, and hopefully, redeem Capcom after putting out a demo for the Resident Evil 3 remake that would not come to represent the rest of the game.
Resident Evil 3 Remake Had a Misleading Demo
The Resident Evil 3 remake demo represented an isolated portion of the game that was as close to the original as the remake ever gets, and for that reason, players had a lot to be excited about. Nemesis was essentially the new Mr. X as it stalked Jill Valentine through neon-soaked alleyways, which ultimately depicted the opening Raccoon City level of the original Resident Evil 3 well. It was never expected that the entire game would take place in Raccoon City’s streets, but it was at least expected that it would remain as faithful to the rest of the game as it was to this sequence.
However, the remake would go on to do considerable disservices to the original by blatantly omitting a ton of content, interactions, and locations that make Resident Evil 3 memorable, and instead adding baffling boss fights such as the one against a massive, bestial Nemesis. It would then seem as if it was chosen specifically for the demo to feature this short sequence as a way of showing a faithful reimagining while hiding parts of the game that would eschew the original’s content.
How Resident Evil 4’s Demo Can Make Up for Resident Evil 3
The Resident Evil 4 remake’s demo showcases the opening ambush sequence in the village, which also demonstrates how faithful it is to the original. Thankfully, enough gameplay has been shared from Resident Evil 4 in order to hopefully confirm that the whole game will be faithful, whereas the remake of Resident Evil 3 feels like an entirely separate reimagining with little connecting its events and interactions to the original.
There are sure to be parts of the remake that depart from the original in some way, such as how Luis is seemingly going to stick around as an NPC companion for longer than he normally does. Ashley also seems to have a different role with her infection being the root of a potential plot twist brewing, where she looks like she could become a boss players need to fight.
Such changes as these would be fine and likely agreeable as long as Resident Evil 4’s key beats, locations, and interactions are still present. Until then, it will be interesting to see if the remake’s recent demo is indeed an accurate representation of the full experience.
Resident Evil 4 launches on March 24 for PC, PS4, PS5, and Xbox Series X/S.
