Resident Evil 4: Separate Ways DLC Review (PS5): Ada’s Excellent Adventure

Separate Ways was at all times only a tacked-on bonus for the PS2 model of Resident Evil 4, a mode that gave that port one thing to name its personal. It made its option to nearly each rerelease after, however by no means stood out and, in contrast to the bottom sport, was merely a one-off distraction. A disposable and forgettable further marketing campaign like this wouldn’t make a worthy growth. This remake of Separate Ways is by no means a haphazard assortment of recycled situations, however is as an alternative an entire reimagining that addresses its previous failures and now stands proper alongside the bottom marketing campaign. 

Separate Ways is ready to escape the notion of being an pointless further by having its personal story with cutscenes and new areas. Ada’s journey overlaps with Leon’s in some methods — which is pure for a parallel plotline — however with the ability to run by barely completely different levels provides Separate Ways its personal identification. These new locations additionally construct out the world and present how Ada may control Leon with out him seeing. 

Capcom, extra importantly, makes use of these authentic locations to arrange authentic encounters. Like the bottom sport, there are only a few simple battles; there’s nearly at all times some type of hook. One part might have gamers blasting bugs hiding beneath the water, whereas one other has them capturing contaminated armor units in a cramped room as errant crossbow photographs pour in. 

Some are scary, a number of are filled with motion, and others discover a pleased medium, all of which reveal Resident Evil 4’s unbelievable selection. A number of of them are even remixed sections from the 2005 sport that didn’t make their means into the remake, as soon as once more displaying Capcom’s potential to cleverly subvert expectations. Many of those callbacks match extra naturally right here, too, and provides Ada a few of the climactic fights she lacked within the authentic Separate Ways.

Ada strikes and shoots simply as fluidly as Leon, however has one benefit over him: her grapple gun. This software provides gamers the means to zoom over to a faraway enemy and fan kick them and their close by buddies or zip to designated grappling factors. The added utility makes Ada a bit of extra agile, however doesn’t ratchet up the depth an excessive amount of or make Separate Ways too straightforward. Not each encounter is plagued by grappling factors, both, so it’s a novel mechanic that doesn’t get overused or skew the sport’s delicate steadiness. 

Separate Ways can be capable of have a extra clear issue curve as a result of it’s now doable to improve Ada’s arsenal. It’s seemingly a small contact, however it provides gamers causes to discover and search treasure and lets them develop in energy alongside their foes. Resident Evil 4’s improve economic system has at all times been one among its strengths, so its absence within the first Separate Ways contributed to its shallow nature. Mixed with its own set of unlockables, Separate Ways is now a extra full expertise that totally understands that merely placing Ada in the identical ranges as Leon just isn’t sufficient. Emulating Resident Evil 4’s success is far more advanced, and the improve loop and suite of unlockables are very important items of that puzzle.

A extra full narrative presentation is one more means this remade growth excels over its supply materials. Whereas boring voiceover narration and jarring cuts tried to sew collectively a separate story out of present content material within the authentic, Separate Ways now has its personal set of cutscenes that organically lead from one place to a different. It’s a extra cohesive story that makes use of these further scenes to additional discover Ada’s relationship with Wesker and Luis. And though Ada’s monotone voice performing nonetheless drags it down, her added private stakes to the story give it extra nuance and in addition effectively arrange its most tense boss battle that has a number of thrilling phases.

Resident Evil 4: Separate Ways DLC Review: Closing Verdict

Separate Ways is now not a superfluous further due to all of those astute adjustments. With its concentrate on replayability, upgrades, and distinctive encounters, this growth extra deeply understands what makes Resident Evil 4 Resident Evil 4 and has all of the unpredictability of the remake. However in contrast to the remake, Capcom couldn’t simply preserve the essence of what was already there as a result of the unique Separate Ways was so underwhelming. As an alternative, it deftly rebuilt Ada’s facet story and turned it into an integral a part of the Resident Evil 4 remake.

Disclaimer: This Resident Evil 4: Separate Ways DLC evaluation is predicated on a PS5 copy supplied by the writer. Performed on model 1.100.000.