Probably one of my and many others’ favorite entries into the Resident Evil Universe is Resident Evil 4. But it’s not just any port of Resident Evil 4 I am talking about, but the one made for the Nintendo Wii. There was just something about using the motion controls that were ahead of the time and I knew that someday that the controls and our view would become the best version imaginable. So has developer Armature Studio brought us the best to become the best Resident Evil 4 experience there is? Let’s find out more with Resident Evil 4 for the Quest 2.
In Resident Evil 4, you play as special agent Leon S. Kennedy where you are on a mission to rescue the president’s daughter, Ashley Graham, who has been kidnapped by a mysterious cult. Finding your way through a rural village in Europe, you will come face to face with challenges, uncover secrets, and battle horrific creates infected by the Las Plagas parasite, and discover their connection to Los Illuminados, the mysterious cult behind the abduction.
So like anything we do before we get into everything and to make sure you can survive as long as possible with the Los Ganados, there are a few things that you will want to make sure of. First, please make sure your Quest 2 and controllers are fully charged. If you have the Elite Strap with the battery or a battery pack, don’t forget about those as well. You do not want that low battery warning coming up as you are facing a boss and in VR, when things are much bigger, just make sure everything is fully charged. Second, set some time aside. There is no need to try and get the fastest time in trying to complete Resident Evil 4, so if you need to spread out your time between family and your VR time. Third, just get ready to have some fun. And finally, I am not going to spoil anything for anyone. So with all that said, let’s continue…
When you first start, you will want to go into the options for a few decisions to make. Some are there as default, but it’s best to make the game the best experience for you. Here is where you can learn about things such as the moment, controls, and inventory. Plus you get to learn how to use your watch that can show things like your health and ammo. Once you have everything set, you can either jump right into the game or go practice with the shooting range. I started with the shooting range just to get used to everything as you can try out different weapons as well as see how the reloading will work which I found to be quite helpful when I actually started playing.
Now that I have had some time in the shooting range, I decided it was time to actually re-live my nostalgia memories and make some new ones and actually get into the game. But before you even get into the game, Armature Studio wants you to customize the game which you can change at any time, but it wants to know if you are playing standing or seated, your height, your dominant hand, and even your comfort setting. I will say this if you are new to VR and might be in any way, shape, or form, motion-sensitive, go with the Comfort Mode. You will be teleporting, but you may be better feeling good rather than not. For those that are fine and are prone to any motion sickness, you might want to go with Full Motion, and even before actually starting with the first cut scene, you do get to see the options you have selected.
Even with the first communication with what seems like your only ally at times, Ingrid Hannigan, the phone looks great in VR and made me think that the communication device that was used in this game that was first released over 16 years ago, was even ahead of its time with phones that we have today such as the Galaxy Fold.
There is one more option to select from before really starting your adventure and that is the Weapon Management Modes, Immersive and Quick Select. WIth Immersive Mode, the weapons and items are attached to your body. Want to grab that shotgun, then you will need to reach over your shoulder or grab your knife, for example, then you will need to grab it from your chest. With Quick Select, the weapons and items use a selecting wheel by pressing the Left Trigger button and then using the Left Thumbstick to make the selection. I found this mode the best for me and when coming face to face with multiple enemies, I found it easier to select from the knife and weapon with just a press of a button.
The familiarity that we have all come to know when using the ladder. Some may think that playing in VR that maybe the ability to climb up and down would be the best way to go. That would require additional work that really is not needed here. Also, saving using the typewriters and in VR, I don’t know, it just feels a little better. Being able to type your own name as a save file just seems a little rewarding. What can I say, sometimes it’s the small things that can add a lot. But the action is where playing Resident Evil 4 in VR brings what we love about the game into this immersive wonderland. Being able to shoot enemies from afar think to the laser of your weapon and try to find all the bullets and herbs you can. It’s when you didn’t think…ok, I didn’t think as much as I should since I was having too much fun about the bullets. Because once the bullets are gone, then you will be dancing with the devil in the pale moonlight via your knife and if that doesn’t work, have to shake and move the Touch Controllers like nothing else. And not only that, you will want to keep a watch out on the ground for any traps that could lessen your health as well, have even more enemies come after you, and before you know it, we will see those famous words we all have come to expect…
One of the many things I like about the experience in this Resident Evil 4, is how easily with a click of a button you can switch between gameplay to seeing the map to even inventory management with the ability to move your weapons and items as well as combine items works very well here. But even walking around fighting enemies in closed confined spaces or even with more space between you and them, you really get even more of a sense of how immersive Resident Evil 4 in VR really is when you are in even more unsettling environments just waiting for something to happen.
Let’s talk about the graphics and sound. Graphically from the foggy skies to murky waters to even the interactive puzzles that need to be solved, the setting is so perfect for VR that allowing us to be in this immersive world is somehow brought to a new level. As I mentioned from the beginning, take your time. Embrace everything that that is presented from the buildings to even fire look really good on the Quest 2. Sound is also impressive with hearing the villagers making sounds from different directions to even hearing that chainsaw made me turn around and look even though I could have easily changed the direction within the game. And then bringing back so many memories when you can hear the merchant say “What’re are you buying” and “Not enough cash, stranger” all sound great.
There are a few things that I wanted to address. For one, the cut scenes. The cut scenes are not in VR. So going even though at times your hands or an item will be in VR, the actual cut scenes are not. It might have been extra work to make them in VR, but the opening scene where Leon is in the back seat of the car is almost like a missed opportunity that would have been greatly benefited by VR. Second, I do wish the knife could be used in different ways such as in a downward motion would add to those knife fights. Third, traps. Enemies can walk right through these bear traps, but I can get stuck. I think the bear traps should be an equal opportunity bear trap. Anyone who steps in it gets trapped. Plus this would make knife battles even more fun if you had an enemy that was trapped so can take them out with a knife and save those bullets. Finally, is the additional Merceraries and Ada Wong mission are missing. Keep in mind that the mini-game, The Mercenaries is coming next year and will be free. Let’s just hope that the Ada Wong mission is also coming as well to give the complete Resident Evil 4 package in VR.
Resident Evil 4 in VR shows us what is old is new again in even exciting and immersive ways while staying faithful all thanks to the power of Virtual Reality. Like in life, we always try to be the best version of ourselves that we can be in the best way possible, and would any of us really want it any other way?
Resident Evil 4 is out now for the Quest 2 on the Oculus Store. A review code was provided.
To learn more about Armature Studio, please visit their site, like them on Facebook, follow them on Twitter, follow them on Instagram, and subscribe to their YouTube channel.
In case you missed the trailer, please enjoy. Until next time, I am going to go back into this world.
