According to Capcom, theResident Evil 4remake is going to substantially revamp Ashley both as a character and as a key pillar of its gameplay loop. The remake itself is, much like the original title, centered around Leon’s mission to rescue Ashley from the parasite-laden Ganado cult, which necessarily means that her presence needs to be underlined from the start to the very end.
While there’s been much discussion as to how theResident Evil 4remake could change Ashleyfor the better, the specifics were fairly murky up until now, though Capcom has finally discussed the NPC in greater detail. In a recent interview, game directors Yasuhiro Ampo and Kazunori Kadoi took some time to explain what sorts of changes players should expect in this regard.
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Ampo and Kadoi spoke with Game Informer’s interviewer about theResident Evil 4remake and its various gameplay systems. As one might expect, Ashley herself came up as a major gameplay element, and the devs admitted that there are big changes being made. “We wanted the game to change when Ashley is with you,” said Ampo. Whereas players could tell Ashley to hold a position and stay back from combat in the original game, this will no longer be possible in the remake, because the goal is to make her presence known without making it outright overbearing.
Notably, Capcom isn’t shy about getting rid of certain elements of the 2005 release, such asremoving QTEs from theResident Evil 4remake, for example. This couldn’t happen with Ashley, however, and the developer said that it’s made her more serious, believable, and self-reliant than she used to be. The final result should make for a more enjoyable and engaging gameplay experience, with the game itself being designed to make better use of Ashley’s revamped AI.
So far, everything points to the notion that the newResident Evil 4is a very faithful re-envisioning of the original experience. Avoiding comparisons with thewidely praisedDead Spaceremakein this sense is going to be impossible, of course, but it seems that Capcom is doing its best to maintain the classic atmosphere that fans know and love, all the while revamping parts of the game that didn’t function all that well.
ConsideringCapcom’s latest game sale stats, it remains to be seen whether theResident Evil 4remake could hope to beat massively popular blockbusters like the publisher’s hit flagship,Monster Hunter World. Yet, the original game remains one of the company’s most popular releases of all time, and it’s practically a given that it’s going to move many copies no matter what. Whatever the case may be, things are certainly looking good for Capcom.
Resident Evil 4launches on March 24 for PC, PS4, PS5, and Xbox Series X/S.
