Resident Evil 4 Remake Excites, But The Last of Us Part 1 Remake Raises Questions!

Looking at the artwork of these two games, a sudden similarity emerges, prompting me to discuss the third-person horror genre...

So, after all, The Last of Us Part 1 remake is set to land on PS5 on 2 September, with the PC version following later. The first thing we notice about this remake is the significantly improved graphics. It's not just about enhancing the visuals with higher-resolution textures like the 2014 remastered version; it's built entirely on the new engine of The Last of Us Part 2, with graphics assets rebuilt from scratch.

According to the studio behind the game, Naughty Dog, character models and environmental landscapes are entirely rebuilt. Character animation is improved, and of course, it runs at 60fps. The enemy AI will be as smart as in The Last of Us Part 2. So theoretically, not only will there be graphical improvements, but gameplay will also be upgraded or diversified, as Sony's marketing suggests. But the most important question here is, is this game worth $70? Or in Vietnam, nearly 2 million đồng.

Okay, to answer this question, if you've been following the latest PlayStation news, this isn't the first game to have such a high price tag. Right from the launch of the PS5, Sony set this price for games from their first-party studios. Demon's Souls, for example. Later, Returnal, the PS5 version of Forbidden West, and after The Last of Us Part 1 Remake, it will be God of War Ragnarok. So Sony games always default to $70 regardless of whether you like it or not.

But with The Last of Us Part 1 Remake selling at $70, it feels a bit steep to me. So before hearing my personal opinion, there are a few things to clarify. The original The Last of Us on PS3 is an excellent game, even though the first time I played it was the remastered version on PS4, and perhaps experiencing this version right away impressed me even though I'm not a big fan of Sony's third-person perspective games. If I had to choose a TPS game, I prefer Gears of War on Xbox. So, stating this viewpoint to clarify that I won't advise you on whether to spend your money on this game or not; it's your decision. Because I once spent over 200,000 đồng on a glass of fresh beer. Actually, over 500,000 đồng in total, because I covered everyone's bill.

Back to the topic, I want to talk about another game that will also have a remake released in the near future, also about survival horror with zombies, so that everyone can see the bigger picture. That game is Resident Evil 4 Remake. A brief background on this game for those who have never played it but would like to understand: the game is set in the midst of a zombie outbreak caused by a virus created by a biotech corporation called Umbrella. The climax is when the city of Raccoon becomes infected with this virus, leading to a global threat. The handsome young man Leon joins the police force in this city to do good deeds, but on the very day he joins, Raccoon City becomes like Wuhan in China. And then, he becomes a police officer fighting zombies involuntarily, and that's just one character among many others in this series. But because Resident Evil 4 continues Leon's story, in this part, he will go to rescue the President's daughter, who has been kidnapped and taken to a remote village in Europe.

The main issue here is that Resident Evil 4 was a game-changer and brought the horror genre to its deserved position. Horror games are a niche, not because they are difficult to play, but because not everyone enjoys the feeling of fear throughout the entire gaming experience. There aren't many successful AAA horror games, a painful fact. But Resident Evil 4 helped many young people like me open up and try the horror genre. Honestly, I don't like playing horror games, but with the Resident Evil series, I've played quite a few versions, enough to see how influential Resident Evil is.

And this fourth installment is also praised by many fans as the best Resident Evil of all time until now. If it's that good, why does it need a remake? We all know why; it's because Capcom believes that if they make a Resident Evil 4 remake, they'll make as much money as they did with Resident Evil 2 Remake. Resident Evil 4 is a great name, and just its name alone will help it sell like hotcakes. And of course, that's the obvious reason, so I'll move on to talk about another aspect, which is the comprehensive changes in a game from the original to the remake.

Resident Evil 4 itself is praised because it was the first game in the series to abandon fixed camera angles from previous RE versions, to adopt a third-person perspective, freer, more flexible, and more cinematic. Changing the camera perspective during gameplay made the gameplay more diverse and opened up many possibilities for Capcom in level design. So if calling Resident Evil 4 a revolution is not wrong, because it was the inspiration for many action and horror games later on, like EA's Dead Space. And Dead Space will also have a remake and be released close to Resident Evil 4 Remake, early next year.

Okay, there seems to be quite a few horror game remakes lately, huh? But what I want to address is that the remake of Resident Evil 4 could benefit from significant changes. Meanwhile, the case of The Last of Us is not quite the same. Speaking of the original Resident Evil 4, the control system is still good, but compared to today's gaming standards, it's outdated. Surely, you'd feel uncomfortable if your character had to stand still to shoot, right? That's how it was in the original, so if you were to go back and try this game again, you'd need some time to get used to it. Therefore, a remake with gameplay style similar to the remakes of 2 and 3, reaching the third-person shooter standard, we can imagine how comfortable Resident Evil 4 remake would be.

While the original The Last of Us 1 was released just nine years ago. And honestly, the control system of the original is still very similar to modern third-person shooter games today. And if you have the chance to play the PS3 or PS4 version now, I believe you wouldn't need much time to get used to it, especially if you've played other third-person games from Sony.

So, the key here is the difference. That difference will determine whether the price you pay is worth it, and in my opinion, this price is still too high. Even considering the factor of time, nine years for a remake is not a short time, nor is it long. And if there's a remake, it's fine, but why did The Last of Us Part 1 remake receive so many dislikes on YouTube?

Let's look at this example: Resident Evil 1 had a remake just six years after its release. Metal Gear Solid also had a remake just five years after its release. But here's the key, the number of years isn't the important thing; it's the elevation of gaming standards. In the six years between Resident Evil 1 and its remake, the industry changed dramatically. If you don't believe me, look at this image.

The sixth-generation consoles, including PS2, Xbox, and GameCube, had much more powerful graphics capabilities than the fifth generation before it. And that allowed developers to modernize their games to the point where it felt like an entirely new version. Those six years are also just as short as ⅔ of the time between The Last of Us Part 1 and its remake. But we all know, over the past nine years, there hasn't been much improvement in third-person shooter TPS gameplay.

So why would I accept the remake of Resident Evil 4 while not accepting The Last of Us Part 1? That's because the changes in gameplay structure and presentation make me feel like the price I have to pay is more reasonable. Of course, we still don't know how much the Resident Evil 4 Remake will be sold for, but it's very likely to still be only $60, and in the Vietnamese market, it might even be cheaper. So it's understandable why Resident Evil 4 Remake is received favorably by fans while The Last of Us 1 Remake isn't.