Being the fourth remake of a mainline Resident Evil title, there is no doubt the Resident Evil 4 remake shares a lot in common with its predecessors (particularly with Resident Evil 2 and Resident Evil 3). The past two Resident Evil remakes are third-person shooters set in eerie environments; quite ironic since they take inspiration from the original Resident Evil 4. But one thing the Resident Evil 4 remake also shares with the past games is that it also uses Capcom's proprietary Reach for the Moon Engine.
First introduced in Resident Evil 7: Biohazard, the RE Engine has served Capcom well when it comes to delivering high-fidelity graphics while maintaining a stable frame rate and performance on both consoles and computers. Aside from the Resident Evil franchise, the RE engine has been used on past Capcom projects like Devil May Cry 5 and Monster Hunter: Rise while seeing future use on titles like Street Fighter 6 and Exoprimal. Resident Evil 4 may be the latest game to use the RE engine, but one thing it should address is how the engine handles draw distances.
The RE Engine Isn't Great When It Comes To Rendering Objects At A Distance
Since the RE Engine was made specifically for Resident Evil 7: Biohazard, Capcom wanted an engine that took advantage of the title's linear nature. Locations like the Baker House and the wrecked Annabelle ship are enclosed areas surrounded by walls and shrouded in darkness. Because of this, Capcom was able to pay more attention to things in the players' immediate vicinity and less to objects at a distance that were harder to see.
The difficulty with which the RE Engine can handle distant objects first made itself known during Resident Evil 7: Biohazard's final act. Upon reaching the maniacal Eveline for the hundredth time, players were thrust into broad daylight and forced to fight a giant mold monster the size of which dwarfs the game's other enemies. With nowhere to hide, the massive boss's tentacles moved and swayed unrealistically in such a way that it felt like the game engine was buckling under the number of distant assets it had to render all at once. While this was negligible considering how most players were focused on shooting the boss's face rather than its appendages, it nevertheless left a stain on the RE Engine's otherwise great first performance.
But as time passed and more games utilized the RE Engine, players started seeing a trend. The engine just wasn't great at rendering moving things at a distance. Areas like the Raccoon City Plaza in the Resident Evil 3 remake and the village area in Resident Evil: Village make it difficult for players to aim at distant enemies because of how janky their movements are. The same can be said for the environments. Using the village in Resident Evil: Village as an example, the destroyed settlements can be hard to look at because of how jittery the Megamycete's tentacles move.
Resident Evil 4 Has Its Share Of Large Environments
Using the original game as a blueprint, there is a high chance the Resident Evil 4 remake will have locations that are just as spacious as the ones found in past RE Engine games. The game's starting area features a dense village where Leon must survive his first encounter with the Los Illuminados. Likewise, Ramon Salazar's castle and the mines underneath it are another couple of places that the engine might struggle with. Since Resident Evil 4 will be more action-oriented than past titles, the RE Engine will have its work cut out for it when it comes to balancing gameplay and graphics.
With less than a month until the Resident Evil 4 remake releases, Capcom has either already put in the work to fix its proprietary engine's shortcomings or found a workaround for them. All the gameplay footage looks promising, and the upcoming pre-release demo will help put players' minds at ease. But the true test on whether the RE Engine can handle the Resident Evil 4 remake will surely come upon the game's full release.
Resident Evil 4 Remake is scheduled to release on March 24 on PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.
