Rumored Resident Evil 4 Remake will reportedly go for a scarier tone

Turn out the lights

A remake of Resident Evil 4 has been going around the rumor mill for a little while now. And according to a new report, it’ll be taking a little bit of a different tone.

Fanbyte has some new details on the reported remake, and how it will make some changes to the GameCube-era classic Resident Evil 4. According to their sources, Capcom wants to adjust the tone of the game, making it spookier. It’s not a “scene-for-scene” recreation, but taking some inspiration from the concepts in old RE4 demos and preview reels left on the cutting room floor.

Other side characters are reportedly set to have some more screen time and larger roles, and other aspects like Assignment: Ada and Separate Ways will get fleshed out. Earlier leaks about a Wesker redesign are, according to Fanbyte’s sources, not accurate; those are from a different, apparently canceled, Resident Evil project at Capcom.

The report does indicate that Capcom is hoping to announce the remake early this year, though that timeframe could shift.

The story changes line up with a recent statement from Resident Evil 4 director Shinji Mikami, where he said that if a remake did happen, it would be great if Capcom could “make the story better.” One aspect Fanbyte’s report highlights is potentially setting the village, and other sections, at night. That would certainly ramp up the horror aspect. The report indicates that Capcom approached Mikami and he was intrigued by the offer, but declined so he could stay at Tango Gameworks.

With the success of the previous Resident Evil remakes, it certainly seems like RE4 would happen. Nothing’s been formally announced yet, but with rumors swirling about it for years now, you’d hope it’s just a matter of time. Until then, there’s both a VR version and brand-new HD mod to tide us over.