Resident Evil 4 Chainsaw Demo Hands On Impressions

Release Date: March 24, 2023

Platforms: PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Xbox Series X and Series S, Microsoft Windows

Publishers: Capcom, Capcom U.S.A., Inc.

Genres: Action-Adventure Survival Horror

Mode: Single-Player Campaign

Developer: Capcom

Good news everyone! After playing through Resident Evil 4’s new “Chainsaw Demo” I can say with confidence that Capcom will nail the full game. Boy did it feel great being Leon S. Kennedy and going back to El Pueblo to take out a few Ganado along the way.

For reference, I played The Resident Evil 4 Chainsaw Demo on performance mode on my Playstation 5. After the initial game start up you go through the usual set-up process of setting gamma and privacy forms.

Next, I went through the Playstation 5 default options such as gameplay, controls and audio. Everything looked good on default so I jumped in. The demo starts off with Leon S. Kennedy reciting his past Raccoon City events along with his special forces training flashbacks via cutscene. You start out in a foggy, dank forest.

Your mission at the start is to “See What’s Going On”. You enter a nearby Hunter’s Lodge where the game starts to show it’s visuals and sound design. The Hunter’s Lodge introduces the newer contemporary controls involving item management and combat mechanics.

This new Resident Evil 4 plays way faster than the old school version. Turning, running, aiming, knifing all feel better when executed. No tank controls here! With that said, Leon still manages to have some weight to his movements. Bravo Capcom.

The Hunter’s Lodge has a few cutscenes involving investigating the whereabouts of the local police officer. Leon finds his badge in the basement. After the latter you escape the lodge dealing with two more Ganado Villagers. Next, you head to El Pueblo and learn about the new map and inventory systems (both improved).

Hey man, I love modern gaming most of the time and Resident Evil 4 2023 proves why. It’s so much improved over the old school version. Next, Hunnigan via in-game cutscene contacts Leon and briefs him on the locals. Leon must head For The Lake.

At this point Leon is close to El Pueblo. Take out a few more Ganado Villagers and pick up a Flashbang prompting a “switching weapons” tutorial. As Leon enters the village square with the church tower. Leon sees the Ganado burn the local officer alive.

I chose to sneak around the back and knife a lady stealthily. At any rate the Chainsaw Man sequence activates even if you stealth kill anyone. Since I played the old school Resident Evil 4s on my Gamecube and later Playstation 4 I ran into the house and grabbed the shotgun.

After avoiding the pitchfork mob I grabbed a grenade threw it at the Chainsaw Man. I continued to pelt Chainsaw Bro with shotgun blasts till the church bell rang. All of the mob heads to the tower and Leon jokingly makes a “Bingo” comment.

Demo over. What stuch out the most was obviously the visuals, sound and gameplay. It’s all modernized but in a great way. I was able to jump in and have complete control over the gameplay.

Nothing felt bad other than getting grabbed from behind over and over during the final Chainsaw Man sequence. But other than that the demo was great. Bring on March 24th, 2023. Thank you for visiting my gaming blog – Jason