In a new Game Informer cover story, Capcom detailed some of the changes that the hotly anticipated remake of Resident Evil 4 is making to the original, hugely influential horror game.
One of the major changes coming to the RE4 remake revolves around how Ashley Graham (not the supermodel) works in scenes when protagonist Leon S. Kennedy must escort and protect her. In the original RE4, players had to keep a watchful eye over Ashley’s health bar and ensure enemies didn’t carry her away. Ashley desperately, and frequently, screams out Leon’s name the instant players fail to do any of the aforementioned tasks.
In the remake, Ashley no longer has a health bar. Should President Graham’s Dumbo-eared daughter take too much damage while Leon attempts to escort her safely away from Las Plagas, she’ll enter a downed state and need to be revived, IGN reports.
According to a Capcom representative, this change to Ashley’s gameplay mechanic was made to make her “feel more like a natural companion and less like a second health bar to babysit.”
Read more: All The Changes We Spotted In The New Resident Evil 4 Remake Trailers
G/O Media may get a commission
Improve your blood flow
BrainMD claims this proprietary supplement increases blood flow to help your cognitive and cardiovascular functions
Another change coming to RE4‘s remake is weapon durability, specifically for Leon’s combat knife. As seen at the end of last October’s extended gameplay trailer, Leon’s trusty knife being capable of parrying a chainsaw comes at a hefty cost. Instead of toting around “ol’ reliable” throughout the entirety of the RE4 remake to open wooden boxes, chip away at zombies, and conserve ammo, Leon’s knife will deteriorate over time, but players can have multiple knives in their inventory, which still takes the form of Leon’s iconic attache case.
Read more: Someone Finally Made The Inventory Briefcase From Resident Evil 4 A Puzzle Game
Side-quests are also making their way to the RE4 remake. According to IGN, blue flyers scattered about the game let you acquire optional tasks you can complete as side-quests. Finally, the Game Informer cover story mentions that quick-time events, a frequent element of the original RE4have effectively been removed, although this aspect of the remake had been mentioned in earlier interviews as well.
“I’d say there are ‘barely any’ QTEs. Different people have different definitions of what a QTE is, so while I can’t tell you that there aren’t any at all, I can say that there aren’t prompts to press buttons mid-cutscene,” producer Yoshiaki Hirabayashi told IGN in a previous interview.
Resident Evil 4 (Remake) is slated to release on March 24 on PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, PC, and Xbox Series X/S.
.