I have a bit of a rocky relationship with Resident Evil 4. The GameCube was when I first fully dipped my toes into the franchise, and I fell in love with all three exclusive entries released on the console. The fourth entry in particular felt like a technical marvel, and I loved it as much as everyone else did at the time (heck, I even wrote an FAQ for it!).

However, since that era I started to sour on the game a little. Whilst my love of the other games in the series (both before and after), has only increased over time, I found myself finding Resident Evil 4 somewhat of a chore to get through each time. I found the endless set-pieces exhausting, and constantly found myself thinking ‘oh, it’s this bit’ in practically every room.

Which is why it has taken me up until now to play the VR version on the Meta Quest 3. And now, having finally played it, I can honestly say it has reignited my previous love for the game. What tired me so much in the flat version now feels perfect in virtual reality. In fact, it may very well be the best game on the platform.

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DETRÁS DE TI, IMBÉCIL
Nothing about the main plot is altered in the VR version of the game (albeit the unfortunate omission of the Separate Ways bonus campaign), as you find yourself in the shoes of Leon S. Kennedy. He used to be a rookie cop, but the Raccoon City incident has seen him promoted to a special agent for the U.S. President. His latest assignment has him heading to a village in rural Spain to track down the President’s daughter, who has been kidnapped by a strange cult that seems to be located there.

What starts as a simple rescue mission soon turns into something far more sinister as Leon uncovers a nightmarish town full of villagers brainwashed by a parasite known as Las Plagas. After many games focusing on Zombies, Resident Evil 4 is a nice break to the formula that adds something both new and interesting to the franchise’s lore.

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For a twenty year old game, you’d be forgiven for expecting the game to look rather unimpressive in VR, but the Meta Quest 3 manages to make the environments feel vivid with its improved resolution, making it far more suspenseful as you creep around a decaying castle or run-down village. Sure, it’s nowhere near as visually stunning as the remake on the PSVR2, but you’ll honestly be surprised at just how good this looks on the Quest.

To add to the immersion, the sound design is also particularly impressive. The spatial audio allows you to find out where those voices or revving chainsaws are coming from, and in turn it makes the game feel far more fair as a result. In particular, one early fight against a massive creature lurking in a lake now feels so intuitive as you know exactly where the danger is coming from at all times. 

Of course the true immersion comes from the gameplay itself, and you really have to applaud Armature Studio for the work they’ve done in making it feel perfect in VR. The third person perspective has been moved into first person, and almost every action has now been turned into an proper interaction. Some things, of course are now harder than they were before (I’m terrible at throwing grenades, for example), but aiming is now far quicker and easier than ever. Combined with the spatial audio, it makes the game a breeze to play – especially for those familiar with the flat version.

The most impressive part about the VR implementation though is just how in-depth they’ve gone with it. You can customise everything from how you want to move, to how immersive you want the reloading and vehicle sections to be. You really get the impression that the developers want everyone to play this game, and I’d say that with so many options available it’s hard to imagine that anyone would ever have a problem with VR sickness in the game.

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As for the game itself, I found myself praising sections that I once criticised. Resident Evil 4 is a far more linear affair than its predecessors, which essentially rips out almost all exploration in favour of constant action. Even the puzzles that the series is known for have been largely removed, with most boiling down to simple key hunts. But the absence of these elements don’t feel so problematic in VR, as it allows the game to keep a constant sense of pacing whilst still allowing you to engage with the combat in a multitude of ways. Do you opt to use your sniper rifle to blast through your opponents heads, or do you stagger them with the weak TMP and perform a suplex on them instead? 

The variety of enemies and bosses contained within the game helps to keep you on your toes, and the game does a good job at keeping the excitement up as you try to manage your resources in your limited amount of space. One of the best parts of the original game was fiddling around with the inventory like it was Tetris in order to fit in just one more thing, and thankfully it translates well into VR too. 

A key part of your inventory management though will be your visits to the Merchant, a strange character who will sell you weapons and upgrades for a price. With so many strong upgrades available, as well as a multitude of weapons that you’ll never be able to afford in a single run, it encourages you to not only find as much treasure as possible to increase your bank balance, but also do another run trying out some of the different guns.

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Is the game perfect? Well, not really, although it could be argued that the faults it does have are due to it being originally a flat game. Cutscenes are frequent, whether they be for small scenes or QTE events, and they’re just as flat as they were before. An attempt has been made to stylise them, but to admittedly very little effect. There are also transitional moments too that still require a button press to function, and it’s a shame that these weren’t tweaked a little to allow for full immersion. These moments are minimal enough not to be all that noticeable, but they do exist.

But these moments are easy to forgive due to just how well everything else is done. And when you have a game that will probably take you over ten hours on your first playthough, and you’ve got a winner on your hands. And I’ve not even mentioned the great implementation of the Mercenaries gameplay mode that manages to capture the fast paced arcade action of the original in VR. In this mode, you’re challenged to rack up high points with various characters in order to unlock new stages and new weapons. It’s such a blast to play, even if it’s very tough to score highly. New to this version of the game are special VR challenges too for the mode that throw a special spanner into the works. Perhaps you need to use only a certain weapon, or there’s a heavy fog obscuring your view. It’s a nice addition to an already addictive mode and it will ensure that you’ll play for at least another ten hours outside of the main game!

VERDICT
Resident Evil 4 on the Meta Quest 3 made me fall in love with the game all over again. Aside from the flat cutscenes and the odd button prompt, the game feels like it was made for virtual reality. You may think that a 20 year old third-person game wouldn’t work all that well in VR, but this is not only a fantastic experience but may even be the best game on the Meta Quest 3. And I do not say that lightly.