The discourse regarding video game remakes is always raging on in some seedy corner of the internet, with angry nerds wanting their precious favourites to remain untouched. I think remakes are wonderful though, with so many examples of fantastic games made even better by modern reimaginings. Getting to play modern versions of Resident Evil 2 and 3 was such a treat, because let’s face it tank controls in 2026 feel more than a bit archaic. Resident Evil 4 was a game that felt like it needed a remake less than those previous two titles, but back in 2023 Capcom once again impressed us all. The remake of Resident Evil 4 is still the best game in the entire series, and now it’s on Switch 2 alongside the rest of them.
Resident Evil 4 follows the greatest protagonist of the series Leon, who has grown older, wiser and sexier since his last outing. He’s now a special agent, and he’s been assigned to rescue the president’s daughter from a mysterious village in Spain. It’s there he encounters a fun new virus called Las Plagas, which turns people into zombies (albeit ones with a little more mobility and weapon knowledge). It’s a ridiculous romp packed full of horrific monsters, and you’ll love every minute of it.
The actual gunplay and action of Resident Evil 4 is fantastic, and the remake improves it to even loftier heights. The over the shoulder shooting is responsive and intuitive, which is handy because enemies hit harder and faster than in the games that came before it. Nothing feels better than shooting a zombie in the leg and following up with a roundhouse kick, or deflecting an attack with a careful flick of the combat knife. There’s just such satisfaction and nuance in fights, especially when you’re faced with multiple foes.
There are so many unique combat situations you’ll be thrown into in Resident Evil 4, where you’ll have to overcome the odds to survive. The iconic village survival scene feels just as magical now as it did on the GameCube, as you kick down ladders and dive through windows to avoid being chainsawed in half. That’s just the tip of the undead iceberg too, so prepare for some brutal set pieces and boss fights.
As exciting as the action is though, it’s nothing compared to the thrill of organising your inventory. A new addition to this particular Resident Evil entry was inventory management, with items taking up the appropriate real world size in your bag. You’ll need to shuffle and rotate ammo, herbs and rocket launchers to ensure you have enough room for any extra loot, and it’s so much more satisfying than it has any right to be. When in doubt you can combine stuff too, with lots of lovely healing options to create.
Whereas in most Resi games you get what you’re given from the loot gods, in Resident Evil 4 you get actual cash you can spend at the iconic merchant. This shady fella has loads of guns and upgrades for sale, and choosing your fave firearm and boosting it up to unnatural levels of power always feels fantastic. It gives you more incentive to kill enemies and explore every nook for treasure too, which is great considering all the additions the remake added.
One of the biggest new additions in the Resident Evil 4 remake are side quests, which give you specific tasks to complete to earn lovely rewards. These really help flesh out the experience while providing more to do, and feature some seriously clever tasks. Some of these you’ll remember from the base game like shooting medallions, others use new expanded areas like the lake to add entirely new content that I absolutely devoured.
On the subject of extra content, Resident Evil 4 Gold Edition also features a ton of extra modes to play. The most impressive of these is the bonus Ada campaign that was originally DLC, but there’s also mercenaries mode which brings you arcade style score attack but with hundreds of zombies. There are so many reasons to keep playing Resident Evil 4, and now that I have it handheld I’ll keep coming back.
It’s not exactly breaking news to say that Resident Evil 4 is a great game, but how about its Switch 2 performance? It’s pretty much fantastic, although not quite as absolutely perfect as 2 and 3 were. It’s a much more graphically demanding title, and as such there are some slight framerate issues alongside a bit of pop in. It’s basically how this year’s Resident Evil Requiem felt on the Switch 2, which is still an impressive feat. Once you stop looking for the small performance issues you will pretty much stop noticing them, but if you’d rather play the very best version of the game and don’t mind missing out on handheld mode then you’ll have a better time elsewhere.
Resident Evil 4 is still my absolute favourite Resident Evil game, and the Switch 2 version is just great. Whether you’re working your way through the campaign or having a quick mercenaries run before work, getting to play Resident Evil 4 on a handheld is an experience well worth diving into headfirst like a window in a zombie outbreak.
