What I played last week #13
Resident Evil 4 Remake [PC]
I had a really good time with this - someone was saying the other day how RE was always one of those series where they enjoyed the idea of them more than actually playing them. I think I am the same in a lot of ways in so far that I absolutely love them, have always really enjoyed the series and have loads of nostalgia for them, but I don't think I've ever bothered actually completing most of them... I think I watched a mate complete RE2 round his house when I was younger, the first one I ever finished was 5 (which I weirdly became obsessed with speedrunning - never done that with any game before or since, but I was randomly the fastest solo time in the UK and top 100 in the world at one point!)
Beyond that, I finished Village and I finished one campaign of 2 Remake, but most of the time they've been games Ive sort of had fun with mucking around with but rarely seeing through to the end.
That was the same for 4, which I must have started on various systems over the years about 100 times but never really bothered playing it through to the end for various reasons. I do think part of it is RE games have a habit of starting really strong and then fading a bit, but the series just occupies this weird spot where I have such a love and reverence for the series, and how it often effortlessly straddles the line between being genuinely creepy and atmospheric, all whilst being super serious about how utterly fucking stupid it is, which I think it lands because so many of the unlockables and easter eggs across the series involve the developers breaking their po-faced serious act and sneaking a nudge and a wink to show you they know exactly how daft they're being
I always uses Super Bunnyhop's line about RE2 Remake where he said something like 'the mastery of this remake is it that it remakes it not as it was, but how you remember it being', which I now think should be the benchmark for any good remake. I actually think 4 goes a step beyond this where it's taken great efforts to actually subvert what you're expecting and tried to keep things fresh, or streamline them or improve flow. They have a lot more room to do that in 4 compared to 2 as it's a significantly longer game, but it still masterfully keeps things familiar whilst still managing to surprise you.
It's a fantastic remake of a fantastic game - I do think it's maybe a touch too long and some sections feel like filler, but it's hard to get too far away from that when you're remaking something, and I actually think they do a good job of tidying things up where they can, and manage to completely change or even straight up remove some sections of the original without it feeling like it compromises the flow and feel of the original. Some of the moments are genuinely great - the Krauser fight being a standout for me. They've also done a good job with the characters too - they've subtly made Leon way cooler but without completely removing his goofy cornyness. Ashley is also significantly less annoying than she was in the original game too. The only weird spot for me was Ada Wong. Sphere Hunter's review pointed out that the voice actress sounded really bored, and I can't unhear it now - its like they accidentally uploaded readthrough lines or something, its bizarre. Also the Merchant's voice don't hit the same at all, which does unfortunately actually make the game 0/10 stranger!
It's hard to play something like this in 2023 and judge it as a 3rd person action shooter - the original influenced so many things and it's become such a pop-cultural mainstay in gaming that it's hard to avoid forgetting that it started it all - it's like the Godfather or Smells Like Teen Spirit, where it's easy for something to feel overplayed and over imitated... Yet every time you have a moment of 'been there done that' or something feeling dated or unoriginal, you have to remind yourself that all the games you've played that occasionally make it feel by the numbers likely wouldn't have existed at all without RE4.
The fact it's remake still stands out as a notably fun and memorable experience means it's impact and quality really shouldn't be taken for granted I've completed the game another 4 times since I first drafted this, its RE5 all over again.
Katana Zero [PC]
After my 4th completion of RE4 Remake in a row, I decided I needed to break the spell and play a pallette cleanser. Decided to play Katana Zero on a whim, which I thought I had completed when it first came out, although I wasn't sure how because I didn't own it until the last steam sale, I think I thought I'd played it on Gamepass or something. I remembered thinking it was cool but not really liking it as much as everyone else seemed to. When I played through it, I was wondering if they'd added loads to the game since, because there was loads of story bits I couldn't remember at all. I checked when I finished it, and it turns out I'd actually owned it on steam and refunded it before my 2 hours were up, which actually really surprised me. I found an old post I'd made on a forum at the time which said "It's absolutely not a bad game at all, in fact I think some people will play it and have an excellent time with it, but you can also tell you've kinda seen almost everything within the first hour, and I just don't see me pouring hours into it trying to beat levels more fluidly and stuff. It's cool in a lot of ways, but it has ridiculously limited enemy variety, and I don't find the mechanics all that deep or satisfying in a twitch way."
I actually still agree with that in a lot of ways - the gameplay is fun, but it never really evolves and it starts to feel a little rote pretty quickly. I hate when games just shoehorn in pointless skilltrees and stuff, but I do think it's just a few new abilities or level mechanics or enemy types away from being something much more special. I'm surprised I completely jacket it in though, because I actually really loved the story and the setting of it. The Cyberpunkish/Noir setting is already very cool and well executed visually, but even with it's pixel style, it manages to be a genuinely really moody, atmopsheric, engaging story that I thought really engaging and managed to be really visually emotive - much more so than most games in this graphical style. It's a surprisingly engaging, oddly touching and often resonant story and I am surprised I just ducked out of it considering how much I enjoyed that part of it. It reminds me a lot of Hotline Miami in that regard - I mean it's got a lot of similarities with Hotline Miami in general, but I think the elements where it tries to lean into PTSD and tries to be a lot more serious are very similar, except I think Katana Zero manages to do them in a better and more compelling way. Yet some of this all felt so familiar that I am still sure I have completed this at some point in my past, I feel like im going senile
Either way, the story ends at what is very much the close of the middle arc, and it turns out that the story is supposed to be concluded via some free DLC coming at some point in the vague future. Im kinda glad I've only gotten into it now, because I think it would have been a bit of a bummer waiting like 2+ years just to get the conclusion of the story, but now it feels like something to look forward to.
Also made myself laugh because I somehow skipped over the mechanic where you could slow down time even though loads of the encounters are specifically designed around it, and completed most of the game instead just becoming absolutely ill at it blocking bullets in real time and that
Golden Tee Fore! 2006 [Arcade]
I played a bunch of this last week and have continued to play more, trying out a bunch of the different courses. Just an awesome game
Simpson's Bowling [Arcade]
I spent ages getting this running properly as it's quite a beloved game, but I was quite underwhelmed to be honest. It has a decent amount of personality (which you'd hope tbf), but as a game its somehow a mix of feeling way too simplistic, but also plodding and slow. It's really easy too, I bowled a 290 my first game, and I feel like I could confidently bowl a 300 within a couple of goes if I really concentrated. Too many other better bowling arcade games out there for this one to get a look really
