Resident Evil 4 Remake Sets a Gold Standard for Replayability

For over two decades, Resident Evil has been a series that rewards those who want to return to the campaigns over and over again. New game modes, new unlockables, and a plethora of secrets ensure that each playthrough has even more to offer than the last.  

Resident Evil 4 Remake is no exception. Where the original RE4 set one of the best New Game Plus precedents by allowing you to carry over treasure, money, and weapons from one playthrough to the next, the Resident Evil 4 Remake takes that idea and ramps things up. Now there are countless cosmetic items, helpful accessories, and additional weapons to unlock.

It's not uncommon for video games to offer a New Game Plus, though some (like God of War Ragnarok) don't have it available at launch. With the exception of the extra game modes like Mercenaries, Resident Evil 4 Remake was able to ship with the vast majority of the game content intact. That means those who blasted through the campaign have even more to look forward to.

And for a game packed with as much stuff to do and discover as Resident Evil 4, it's designed for its players to run through multiple times. 

Resident Evil 4 Turns from a Nightmare to a Thrill Ride

A huge selling point of not just Resident Evil 4, but most Resident Evil games, is the ability to unlock ultra-powerful weapons with unlimited ammo after your first playthrough. One of the areas the RE4 Remake excels it is its difficulty curve – my first playthrough was on Hardcore, and I got my butt kicked, a lot. Even playing through on Professional with a fully upgraded Handcannon and Infinite Rocket Launcher has me getting killed frequently. 

But when I'm not getting killed, the once stressful and terrifying scenes in the game now take on the aura of a shooting gallery (not to be confused with the actual Resident Evil 4 shooting gallery). In a first playthrough you're conserving ammunition, strategizing the best way to take down bosses, and doing your best to stretch your precious herbs as far as they'll go. Once you have the Handcannon, Chicago Sweeper, or an Infinite Rocket Launcher, the core concerns of the game disappear.

The Resident Evil 4 Remake time to beat is hilariously varied. I spent about 30 hours on my first playthrough, and about 11 hours on my second – though that playthrough was bogged down by collecting all the treasures in each area. An endeavor that was made exceedingly more annoying by the game soft-locking areas at random times without notifying you. 

As much as I love video games, I'm not one to replay games that often. Resident Evil 4 Remake is definitely an exception though. I have the Dead Space Remake half-finished and Star Wars: Jedi Survivor and Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom weeks away. But the moment I cleared Resident Evil 4 my first time, all I wanted to do was jump back in and get going again. 

Want the Resident Evil 4 Platinum Trophy? Gear Up for Multiple Playthroughs 

Let me start off by saying I am not a trophy hunter. I bought into the PlayStation ecosystem in 2014 and since then have platinumed a grand total of three games: Ghost of Tsushima, Bugsnax, and Persona 5 Royal. I think achievements can be a fun way to encourage people to play a game in an interesting way, but when it leads to more frustration than it's worth, I pretty quickly throw in the towel. 

Resident Evil 4 Remake has me on a quest though. Some trophies definitely lead to playing the game in new and interesting ways (I never thought I'd try to defeat a Garrador with only a knife, but that gold trophy isn't going to earn itself), while others seem to just be there to be obnoxious (do I really need to clear the game without using herbs once for the Frugalist trophy?).

As a rule, I like my Platinum trophies obtainable on a single playthrough. Resident Evil 4 Remake is the one game that I'm willing to give a pass to for tying the Platinum to multiple playthroughs. It was never really intended to be played only once, and longtime fans will have clocked dozens of finished files over the years. 

Most online guides will suggest a minimum of 4-5 playthroughs to unlock the Resident Evil 4 Remake Platinum trophy. Tedious? Maybe. But once you unlock a couple super weapons it makes the experience enjoyable in a whole new way. And that's the biggest factor for the franchise's replayability: it's fun to go back once you're powered up and destroy everything that you used to run from. Like enacting some kind of sick revenge. 

By being a game you can knock out in an afternoon once you have the right unlockables and knowledge of the map, Resident Evil 4 Remake becomes more of an arcade experience instead of a heavy narrative that needs to be followed, playing into the pick-it-up and put-it-down style that appeals to me and so many others. 

How Many Resident Evil 4 Remake Playthroughs Is Too Many? 

How many times are you planning on playing through Resident Evil 4? I'm currently on playthrough number three, with many more in mind as I continue my quest for the platinum.

Resident Evil 4 is the ultimate comfort food for me; it's a world I'm so familiar with that I know exactly what I'm getting into every time. The Resident Evil 4 Remake has improved upon and changed the game in a number of ways, and I'm so excited to give it the time it deserves.

After all, games are a $70 premium now. The more enjoyable and valuable playtime I can get out of my titles, the better. With a long list of unlocks and achievements ahead, Resident Evil 4 Remake is the perfect game to play again and again.