Summary
Resident Evilhas bore new ground in the most common of ways with theResident Evil 4remake’s knife parry, and while parries are ubiquitous in action gaming nowadays they mark a profound change for Capcom survival-horror franchise.Resident Evilhas always been able to walk that tightrope confidentlyand has bounced back from its depiction of purely action-oriented entries to reinvent itself with a return to horror. However, now that it’s seemingly headed back into that action territory with a possible remake ofResident Evil 5, the franchise has a lot it can bring with it to make the remake feel novel.
Of course, this was already achieved with the remake ofResident Evil 4, which still managed to preserve the campy occult ambiance it revolves around while being full of grotesque enemies and quippy dialogue. Much of what makes the remake special is content preserved from the original, though much of it involves tweaks that actually rounded it out more or helped to omit needlessly arduous segments of gameplay. Rather, its knife parry was clearly the most paramount change with regard to how players approached combat, and adding it toaResident Evil 5remakecould help amplify the sequel similarly.
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Resident Evil 5’s Mobs May Be Much Easier to Handle in a Remake
Resident Evil 5players that have become particularly skilled at the pseudo-tank controls it adopted fromResident Evil 4will likely know that strategic movement is their best defense. This involves knowing the distance each hitbox will reach when an enemy lunges at them, and how far back the player needs to step in order to get out of the way of that attack before bolting past them in a sprint.
This works surprisingly well unless enough enemies are near and their attacks all land at different times, but unfortunately it is one of the few defensive strategies players could rely on. Now thatResident Evil 4’s remake introduced a knife parry, though, it would be disappointing to not see that same mechanic reprised in a remake ofResident Evil 5. Because gameplay between4and5was already so similar, any quality-of-life improvements and mechanical additions made should carry over between their remakes as well, giving Chris and Sheva the chance to parry incoming attacks as a new way to avert damage when backed into a corner.
Resident Evil 5’s Remake Could Lean on Satisfying Parry Counterattacks
If Leon is an acrobatic kickboxer archetype, being much leaner, thenChris is the body-building brawler. Prompts appear inResident Evil 5for Chris to land a hook or an uppercut on a vulnerable enemy, for example, and Sheva’s nimbler frame allows her to execute gymnastic attacks and roundhouse kicks at the same time. The pair creates a great balance this way as a hulking brawler and nimble grappler, and these archetypes could be expanded upon further if they had counterattacks associated withResident Evil 4’s new parry system.
Leon is able to execute a melee strike on enemies who’ve been parried perfectly, and the sequel should make this even more satisfying. Enhanced counterattacks could allow Chris to follow parries with a flurry of punches or Sheva to follow parries with several kicks, offering AoE follow-ups that could help clear mobs and establish crowd control. Likewise, ifChris and Sheva are almost always going to have the other with them as an NPC companion, it would be incredible if enemies grabbed them more and allowed the other character to rescue them.
This could give them the same alert status and deliver a swift animation to show Sheva attacking an enemy that’s latched onto Chris like the original but with much more cinematic animations involved. Parries and subsequent counterattacks could also come in handy when defending against Jill and Wesker later on in the game since the player won’t want to attack Jill to inflict damage purposefully and Wesker may be too quick to inflict any damage on anyhow.
AResident Evil 5remake is rumored to be in development.
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