Despite its age, any news about remakes or rereleases of Resident Evil 4 draws a lot of attention. Widely regarded as the best game in the series, fans are generally excited about any new way or new place to play Resident Evil 4. After rumors of a VR remake of the iconic survival-horror shooter were confirmed, those same fans were excited about the prospect of playing through Leon's journey to rescue the President's daughter from a new perspective. Now that the game is confirmed to be exclusive to the Oculus Quest 2 though, some fans are worried about the limited scope that the game can reach and possible technical limitations.
It was confirmed recently that Resident Evil 4 VR will be Quest 2 exclusive, and while many were excited about a VR remake of the classic game in general, others are worried that now they either won't be able to play the game at all or that the game won't run as well as it could on other VR platforms. The Oculus Quest 2 is a standalone unit, therefore the game might not be able to benefit from the extra boost that high-end PC builds could afford. Also the Quest 2 is one of the many pieces of hardware that can be very difficult to obtain right now, and some fans avoid the Oculus Quest 2 in general due to the Facebook login requirement. While excitement about the VR remake is high, it's likely created some hurdles for itself.
Resident Evil 4 May Have Created Its Own Problems
While the recently showcased gameplay for RE4 VR had what seems to be an impressive adaptation of the classic over-the-shoulder experience into first-person VR gameplay, its Quest 2 exclusivity has created some barriers to entry for the game. Like many other pieces of hardware like PS5s, graphics cards, other consoles the Quest 2 can be very difficult to obtain for most people, especially at retail price. That alone could limit the amount of fans who are able to get their hands on the game. Others still are likely to have picked up a different VR headset, even within the Oculus family, for the ability to connect it to their PCs for higher end graphics and framerates.
The Quest 2 is a standalone system with its own internal processor and memory, which is nice for players who want the untethered experience. Despite its age though, many fans of Resident Evil 4 would prefer its VR version to have the capability to benefit from high-end PC hardware to improve framerates and graphical fidelity. While the Quest 2 does have an accessory, the Oculus Link Cable, to connect the Quest 2 to a PC, it is itself pricey at a $79 price point and not every game is supported by the software. While RE4 VR is Quest 2 exclusive it's not yet known if it will be supported by the link feature.
Lastly many are unhappy about the mandatory Facebook login required for the Quest 2. Especially in the wake of an enormous data breach for Facebook more people than ever are reticent about sharing their data with the social media giant. While this is likely the smallest issue for most fans of Resident Evil 4, it is another barrier to entry for a game that would have a very wide appeal otherwise. Overall while many are still excited about RE4 VR, the decisions made about its exclusivity to Quest 2 may prove to be more of a hurdle than anticipated.
Resident Evil 4 VR is set to release later this year for the Oculus Quest 2.