Being the fourth remake of a mainlineResident Eviltitle, there is no doubt theResident Evil 4remake shares a lot in common with its predecessors (particularly withResident Evil 2andResident Evil 3). The past twoResident Evilremakes are third-person shooters set in eerie environments; quite ironic since they take inspiration from the originalResident Evil 4. But one thing theResident Evil 4remake also shares with the past games is that it also uses Capcom’s proprietary Reach for the Moon Engine.
First introduced inResident Evil 7: Biohazard, the RE Engine has served Capcom well when it comes to delivering high-fidelity graphics while maintaining a stable frame rate and performance on both consoles and computers. Aside from theResident Evilfranchise, the RE engine has been used onpast Capcom projects likeDevil May Cry 5andMonster Hunter: Risewhile seeing future use on titles likeStreet Fighter 6andExoprimal.Resident Evil 4may be the latest game to use the RE engine, but one thing it should address is how the engine handles draw distances.
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The RE Engine Isn’t Great When It Comes To Rendering Objects At A Distance
Since the RE Engine was made specifically forResident Evil 7: Biohazard, Capcom wanted an engine that took advantage of the title’s linear nature.Locations like the Baker Houseand the wrecked Annabelle ship are enclosed areas surrounded by walls and shrouded in darkness. Because of this, Capcom was able to pay more attention to things in the players' immediate vicinity and less to objects at a distance that were harder to see.
The difficulty with which the RE Engine can handle distant objects first made itself known duringResident Evil 7: Biohazard’s final act.Upon reaching the maniacal Evelinefor the hundredth time, players were thrust into broad daylight and forced to fight a giant mold monster the size of which dwarfs the game’s other enemies. With nowhere to hide, the massive boss’s tentacles moved and swayed unrealistically in such a way that it felt like the game engine was buckling under the number of distant assets it had to render all at once. While this was negligible considering how most players were focused on shooting the boss’s face rather than its appendages, it nevertheless left a stain on the RE Engine’s otherwise great first performance.
But as time passed and more games utilized the RE Engine, players started seeing a trend. The engine just wasn’t great at rendering moving things at a distance.Areas like the Raccoon City Plazain theResident Evil 3remake and the village area inResident Evil: Villagemake it difficult for players to aim at distant enemies because of how janky their movements are. The same can be said for the environments. Using the village inResident Evil: Villageas an example, the destroyed settlements can be hard to look at because of how jittery the Megamycete’s tentacles move.
Resident Evil 4 Has Its Share Of Large Environments
Using the original game as a blueprint, there is a high chance theResident Evil 4remake will have locations that are just as spacious as the ones found in past RE Engine games. The game’s starting area features a dense village where Leon must survive his first encounter with the Los Illuminados. Likewise,Ramon Salazar’s castle and the mines underneath itare another couple of places that the engine might struggle with. SinceResident Evil 4will be more action-oriented than past titles, the RE Engine will have its work cut out for it when it comes to balancing gameplay and graphics.
With less than a month until theResident Evil 4remake releases,Capcom has either already put in the work to fix its proprietary engine’s shortcomingsor found a workaround for them. All the gameplay footage looks promising, and the upcoming pre-release demo will help put players' minds at ease. But the true test on whether the RE Engine can handle theResident Evil 4remake will surely come upon the game’s full release.
Resident Evil 4 Remakeis scheduled to release on March 24 on PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.
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