The Resident Evil franchise is home to countless colorful characters, from maniacal but cool villain Albert Wesker to boulder-punching Chris Redfield to Nemesis-killer Jill Valentine. However, when it comes to finding the game with the highest volume of iconic characters, Resident Evil 4 just takes the cake. While the original 2005 version of Resident Evil 4 boasts a slew of memorable characters, they're not exactly the most fleshed-out heroes or villains in franchise history. But that's where the Resident Evil 4 Remake really shines.
In classic series fashion, Resident Evil 4 Remake gives its characters a little more depth through in-game collectibles, found hidden across the game's many iconic environments. By reading these collectibles, fans should get a brand-new insight into some of Resident Evil 4's most beloved characters, and there's perhaps no character that's fleshed out quite as well as Luis Serra, a character who is given an entirely new, much darker backstory.
Resident Evil 4 Remake Gives Luis a Much Darker Backstory
In the original 2005 version of Resident Evil 4, Luis Serra makes a big first impression, but doesn't actually have that much screen time. Though his rogueish charm has earned him a spot in the memories of long-time Resident Evil fans, Luis isn't the most fleshed out character in the series, with his motivations being particularly barebones. In the original, Luis was simply a scientist working for the Los Illuminados who helped them extract and experiment on the Las Plagas virus. Eventually, Luis became aware that his experiments had gone too far, and that Saddler intended to use the virus to take over the world, and Luis resigned, taking the Plagas serum with him and seeking to repair the damage he'd done by teaming up with Leon Kennedy.
In Resident Evil 4 Remake, Luis Serra has a much deeper and darker story. After a brief first encounter with the mysterious character, Agent Hunnigan tells Leon that Luis once worked for Umbrella, the sinister corporation behind the events of the first three Resident Evil games and the ones responsible for unleashing the T-virus in Raccoon City. Naturally, after experiencing the Raccoon City Incident first-hand, Leon's trust in Luis reaches new depths. But there's a lot more to Luis than first meets the eye.
In the Village Chief's house, players can find a series of journals chronicling the village's history. In these journals, a young boy is mentioned repeatedly. It's documented that this young boy was raised by his grandfather after his mother's passing, and after the grandfather contracted a mysterious illness, the former village chief decided to burn down his house with him inside it. The young boy, along with the rest of the village, just stood and watched as his grandfather and his childhood home went up in flames. This boy was Luis Serra.
After leaving the village, Luis sought to honor the memory of his grandfather by becoming a world-renowned biologist. Very soon, his excellence caught the eye of the Umbrella Corporation, who recruited him to create a series of pharmaceuticals, at least at first. After he showed his talent first-hand, Umbrella recruited Luis to the Europe Laboratory Six program, a group of top-tier scientists tasked with working on the NE-a virus species designed to limit the brain loss of those infected by the T-virus. Along the way, however, this NE-a virus gave birth to a legendary Bio-Organic Weapon, the Nemesis. After the Raccoon City Incident, and Luis' realization that his hard work had been used to harm so many, he left Umbrella, returning to his childhood village where he hoped he could be of help.
Resident Evil 4 Remake is now available on PS5, PS4, Xbox Series X/S, and PC.
