While we haven't seen much of the Resident Evil 4 Remake so far, we do know that it will making some pretty major changes to how the game plays. For starters, we know that the game will be getting rid of the original's infamous QTE's, but it turns out that Capcom has done a lot more in an attempt to modernise the gameplay for new and returning players. One big change made is the focus on "player choice" as the developers want to give players more options to tackle some of the game's trickier encounters.
Speaking in an interview with Game Informer, directors Kazunori Kadoi and Yasuhiro Ampo share some of the features that have made it into Resident Evil 4 Remake to expand player choice. For example, the developers have made it so that enemies won't be aware of Leon's presence a lot of the time, meaning players can choose whether to go in guns blazing or try a stealthier approach.
"When looking at updating the systems of RE4 in the remake, one of the places we found we could improve, in terms of mechanics, was expanding player choice in how to approach things," explains Ampo. In modern games, even regarding combat there's more than just fighting. You can escape, use stealth, there's a lot of choices, and there's room for the player to explore those. If something doesn't go well for you, you can try a different approach".
If you're partial to a bit of stealth, Kadoi reveals that the remake includes a special weapon called a "bolt thrower" has been added that will allow you to shoot and kill enemies without giving away your location. He also reveals that subquests have been added which taks Leon with going out and collecting resources to earn small upgrades. We see a clip of Leon turning in one of these quests with The Merchant, but we don't quite see how in-depth this system is or what kind of rewards you'll earn when completing them.
As expected, it seems like Resident Evil 4 Remake will be making plenty of changes, but whether or not its pulls them off remains to be seen. We'll find out soon though as the game launches on March 24 next month for PC, PS5 and Xbox Series X.