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[Lucentto]

Looks like you never played the "back to the roots" Resident Evil.

I've been with the series ever since it released on the PS1 all those years ago. So I would appreciate it if you wouldn't start that "you're not a real fan!" bullshit with me. Besides, "back to the roots" is their words, not mine.

Over the years Resident Evil has changed time and time again. Now the series has taken yet another change of direction. Either you get over it or go cry in the corner like the rest of the butthurt fans. You seem to be doing the latter rather well, reading your post in this thread.

 

[Daante]

I think this demo is very clearly designed to do things: First, and foremost, it's designed to excite the PT crowd. Having Silent Hills ripped away from us left a huge void in the horror-loving crowd; I don't think most that were excited have really fully gotten over it at this point. So to have a demo released during E3 of a Resident Evil that might attempt to claw at that kind of atmosphere is kind a megaton.

Second, it's a tech demo. For real. I mean, when you play it, the first thing you'll notice that is distinctly *unlike* PT is the framerate -- it's 60 fps, maybe higher, which is necessary for VR. But unlike most VR games and demos shown up to this point, it's on a different visual level -- it doesn't have quite the photo-realism sheen that PT had, but it's attempt is actually pretty good, and this means a VR-enabled game that might actually look great. But how do they know unless they test the waters? If people don't complain about the visual fidelity of the game (some will), it will probably make them feel like they made the right choice.

All that said (which is probably stuff you don't want to hear), here's some stuff you probably do want to hear: There is 0 indication in this demo, in my opinion, that this game is going to be the Outlast or Amnesia of Resident Evil. Hell, there's even a

Spoiler

weapon

hidden in the game -- which is simply not compatible with what both of those games attempt to do. It actually feels really good to use to, even though as of right now nobody has figured out what to use it *on*. In Amnesia and Outlast, it's stealth, stealth, stealth. All the time, erryday, because those games don't have systems for anything else. In this demo there isn't even a *lean* functionality, much less a look behind you functionality. There are no places to hide -- no beds to slide under, or closets to open. There's no indication of any stealth systems at all -- there are, however, many indications of a competent action system in place, even if it's not used in this demo much.

What we're looking at, I'd imagine, is a game on the scale / size of RE1 -- a large place to explore, underground connections, various smaller houses on a estate, puzzles to solve, and -- yes -- bosses and enemies to kill. You can sprint in the game, and there are various active slots for weapons (and an inventory). I'd expect a typewriter (or something a bit more modern) to return. I'd expect an item box to stash all your stuff. And based on the less-than-witty dialogue in the demo, I'd expect characters that are silly, set against a backdrop of horror that is decidedly not. I have no idea why anyone wouldn't expect any of this based on this demo -- it makes too much sense not to have everything people liked in the original, but in first person, which, while it may take some getting used to, can probably provide a better action-oriented experience in portions of the game than people might expect.

But yes, expect them to actually try and sell the horror angle a bit more. It's going to be a darker game, probably not as funny. Probably the action will be a lot more personal, and less 4 or 5 things headed for you at once. But I'd really wait and see before getting to worried here -- it's still Resident Evil, and that means something more than what is on show in what is arguably a tech demo meant to test the waters in numerous ways. Who knows, maybe there will even be another demo showing off a different side, a more familiar side, of the game.

I like this post.

 

[Astral Dog]

No QTEs confirmed.

omg really!??

better than RE6 Confirmed already, not much left to pass 5 either.

 

[Syder]

Any good videos of the demo out there yet?

 

[brawly]

PS+ exclusive...ugh. Guess I'll wait for the Xbox demo.

 

[Bl@de]

As someone who has never been a fan of the Resident Evil games but has seen gameplay of most of the games and has a basic understanding of the series, outside of it being first person, it doesn't look all that different from the early games.

With that being said, I was surprised at all the negativity. I'm assuming it's mainly the first person aspect, because outside of that, it looks like a Resident Evil game.

It's Resident Evil. Everything they do is wrong. Always That's how it is with this franchise and the community^^

 

[AuthenticM]

Is there anything to do with the axe besides smashing boxes and mannequins?

 

[Alfredo]

The thing that keeps me from being disappointed with what RE7 looks like it's going to be is the fact that we're still getting a remake of RE2.

 

[haikira]

But it is First Person, so I don't know how they are gonna incorporate RE elements.

I really don't see how going first person stops them from incorporating other aspects that made the original games what they are. When I think Resident Evil, I think puzzles, exploration, horror atmosphere, item management, a penalty to dying, and a lot of other things, and those are still achievable.

I'm getting flash backs to just before the launch of the recent Doom title, and how many posts there were saying it wasn't going to be a real Doom game, and what a Doom title really was. I think we should at least wait for more details about the full game before decrying this as an imposter.

 

[tomato shrub]

but it isn't "fresh" unlike when RE4 came out.
This is just straight up copying the likes of Amnesia, PT, Outlast, etc... and judging from the demo it is not even up to quality.

I am more intrigued when they show the actual game and if the final thing doesn't get good reviews, its gonna be another first person horror knock off.

Yeah, this isn't exactly the same ,,innovation" as RE4. Also, both previous styles of RE were at least about iconic characters and environments. This game looks good, but also generic. You could have called it Outlast 2 or Slender and no one would have noticed, since it completely lacks a unique style like previous REs (so far). I think first person view is among the biggest factors for this. Now it really just feels like yet another indie clone.

Hopefully Revelations continues.

 

[Ducktail]

I am starting to believe it is capcom indirectly giving us the finger.

No doubt.

We still have RE2 remake to look forward to, I guess.

 

[ArkkAngel007]

Signed up, went to my page and it say ambassador "no".

Odd. Went through the same method, signed in through my Capcom account (also used FB) and it's there. Got the confirmation email and everything?

Looks like you never played the "back to the roots" Resident Evil.

Only superhero-esque characters in classic titles were villains like Albert Wesker and maybe Alexia Ashford (not sure if it counts after mutating). Given that the team was likely referring to the protagonist/playable character I'm not seeing what you're referring to.

 

[MMarston]

I really don't see how going first person stops them from incorporating other aspects that made the original games what they are. When I think Resident Evil, I think puzzles, exploration, horror atmosphere, item management, a penalty to dying, and a lot of other things, and those are still achievable.

Co-signed.


Like I said earlier, Alien: Isolation manages to do a lot of things classic early RE is known for even with the first person perspective quite well.

 

[Bloodporne]

They probably thought people would appreciate the horror, exploration etc. after all the bitching and moaning people did about RE6 being an action game.

So they put out a demo that doesn't play like the actual game it's supposed to represent...what?

It's stupid no matter which way it's sliced. It isn't an argument between 'Action' or 'Horror' game, the series always did just perfectly fine mixing both, which is what I loved about it. Problem is, this demo/teaser is all I can judge RE7 by and to me it mirrors my criticisms of RE6 but it happens to be the other side of the coin in terms of veering too far into one extreme and seems creatively bankrupt while doing so.

 

[Lernaean]

As someone who has never been a fan of the Resident Evil games but has seen gameplay of most of the games and has a basic understanding of the series, outside of it being first person, it doesn't look all that different from the early games.

You answered your own questions there.

 

[ArkkAngel007]

Co-signed.


Like I said earlier, Alien: Isolation manages to do a lot of things classic early RE is known for even with the first person perspective quite well.

There's also, unpolished and underbaked as it was, Zombi/U.

So they put out a demo that doesn't play like the actual game it's supposed to represent...what?

It's stupid no matter which way it's sliced. It isn't an argument between 'Action' or 'Horror' game, the series always did just perfectly fine mixing both, which is what I loved about it. Problem is, this demo/teaser is all I can judge RE7 by and to me it mirrors my criticisms of RE6 but it happens to be the other side of the coin in terms of veering too far into one extreme and seems creatively bankrupt while doing so.

PT was the same case. While it's possible some indoor sections may have had similar elements, the game was going to be quite different overall from what I recall. Just a proof of concept, except PT was for a revival of a game still in conception while 'Beginning Hour' is for VR in a product well into development.

 

[ArjanN]

It's Resident Evil. Everything they do is wrong. Always That's how it is with this franchise and the community^^

The community is a bunch of people who like different things, especially because RE has been several different types of games at this point.

 

[March of the Crabs]

As a fan of every RE game except 5 (which was stupidly boring): this demo is awesome. Love the new direction. Can't wait for the full game.

 

[Neff]

Good to know that the demo isn't representative of the main game. I'm still doubtful, but we'll see how it turns out.

Almost everything else said in the interview though feels like such a hard, premature reaction to criticisms of modern RE, particularly 6, and I'm hoping it didn't come at a cost.

Is there anything to do with the axe besides smashing boxes and mannequins?

Considering the demo isn't part of the main game, meaning there's no more to it we're not supposed to access, I'm guessing yes. Ditto the finger.

 

[IonicSnake]

It's gonna take me a long time to beat this game in VR. Reminds me of when I played Silent Hill 2 when I was younger, I could only play it for like 30 min at a time before I needed to take a break and do something less intense. I feel like this in VR will be the same, I liked the demo though.

 

[Majmun]

I'm downloading it.

Only 99+ hours to go!!

 

[BadWolf]

So they put out a demo that doesn't play like the actual game it's supposed to represent...what?

They put out a demo that focuses on things outside of combat such as horror, item finding, exploration, mystery etc. Things people complained about not being in RE6.

 

[DarkLordMalik]

I've been with the series ever since it released on the PS1 all those years ago. So I would appreciate it if you wouldn't start that "you're not a real fan!" bullshit with me. Besides, "back to the roots" is their words, not mine.

Over the years Resident Evil has changed time and time again. Now the series has taken yet another change of direction. Either you get over it or go cry in the corner like the rest of the butthurt fans. You seem to be doing the latter rather well, reading your post in this thread.

Don't use words like "no more super hero characters" if you are such a die-hard fan of the series.

Resident Evil has never taken such a drastic change in direction until this latest entry. Previously, Capcom always made sure to keep the gimmicks to spin-offs. We had some pretty good ones like Resident Evil: Dead Aim and Umberalla Chronicles for spin-offs that had first person gameplay, but this is the first time when a mainline game is going full first person.

Ah well, it is useless trying to argue here with someone who is still under the illusion that the series is back. Even when it was clearly mentioned how the new engine is especially tailored for VR.

 

[ElephantShell]

Finally played the demo and I understand the complaints of hardcore RE fans but at the same time there are things I find encouraging.

For example there is an inventory with equipment slots. Equiping key items in these slots seems to do nothing which makes me think they are primarily for weapons, meaning you'll likely get a bunch of weapons in the game. I'd bet anything you get guns and herbs and first aid spray and all that RE shit. You won't just be walking around avoiding enemies like in Outlast or Amnesia.

 

[gconsole]

It doesn't matter whether the demo is part of the main game or not. If the main game is still FPS, then it won't change people perception here (who complain). It's obvious from the demo that there is a lot more limitation we could do action wise, and the game speed is a lot slower compare to the previous game, even if it allow sprint.

BTW, just finished demo. While the style give a very strong impression of PT, gameplay wise is not. The only thing that remind me of PT is the view point, and the character stuck in the house trying to find the way to get out. This demo is not as scary as PT (or maybe it doesn't try to be that type of scary at all), but it has a lot more than PT, system wise, you can collect item, you can sprint, you can interact with things, you can solve the puzzle just like traditional game. Thus, I'm abvolutely sure that people who keep screaming PT doesn't even touch the game yet. To be fair, I don't mind even if this game try to be PT , because I'm so in love with that game/demo. But RE7 demo is obviously not. Don't just watch the video and jump the gun. And I can feel that this game could go back to the same feeling we have with first RE if they implement it properly ( more science, no super natural bullshit )

 

[ArkkAngel007]

The community is a bunch of people who like different things, especially because RE has been several different types of games at this point.

Seriously. We've had:

Classic survival horror w/ 1, REmake, 0, 2, Nemesis, and CV.

Multiplayer survival horror w/ the Outbreaks.

Isometric mobile survival horror w/Gaiden.

FPS w/ Gun Survivors and Chronicle titles.

Multiplayer shooter w/ ORC and Umbrella Corps

Action horror w/ RE4

Survival horror light w/REvelations 2

Co-op action 'horror' w/ RE5&6

Side mode gone wild w/ Mercenaries 3D

Whatever REvelations could be classified.

Resident Evil movie

Resident Evil movie sequels

Many of them with huge tone shifts, gameplay misrepresenting canon (RE0 lab and Jake's strength), and writing/character quality. All with their own fans (yes, even Gaiden).

I'm not sure if there's a more divisive fanbase anywhere in all forms of media.

 

[Lucentto]

Don't use words like "no more super hero characters" if you are such a die-hard fan of the series.

Resident Evil has never taken such a drastic change in direction until this latest entry. Previously, Capcom always made sure to keep the gimmicks to spin-offs. We had some pretty good ones like Resident Evil: Dead Aim and Umberalla Chronicles for spin-offs that had first person gameplay, but this is the first time when a mainline game is going full first person.

Ah well, it is useless trying to argue here with someone who is still under the illusion that the series is back. Even when it was clearly mentioned how the new engine is especially tailored for VR.

Man, I can tell you are actually kind of upset. That's actually amusing.

Well since it seems you're not interested in continuing this conversation. I would like to correct one thing: "no more superhero characters" was once again, their words not mine. All of the information about the game I posted in this thread was all I heard from the Capcom Unity stream, I didn't inject any opinions from myself in them.

 

[ZeroCDR]

Finally played the demo and I understand the complaints of hardcore RE fans but at the same time there are things I find encouraging.

For example there is an inventory with equipment slots. Equiping key items in these slots seems to do nothing which makes me think they are primarily for weapons, meaning you'll likely get a bunch of weapons in the game. I'd bet anything you get guns and herbs and first aid spray and all that RE shit. You won't just be walking around avoiding enemies like in Outlast or Amnesia.

I'm hoping for the best, what you suggest may put it in the direction of a first-person RE 3.5 which looked very cool.

 

[Scotia]

Don't use words like "no more super hero characters" if you are such a die-hard fan of the series.

Resident Evil has never taken such a drastic change in direction until this latest entry. Previously, Capcom always made sure to keep the gimmicks to spin-offs. We had some pretty good ones like Resident Evil: Dead Aim and Umberalla Chronicles for spin-offs that had first person gameplay, but this is the first time when a mainline game is going full first person.

Ah well, it is useless trying to argue here with someone who is still under the illusion that the series is back. Even when it was clearly mentioned how the new engine is especially tailored for VR.

What? RE4 was a massive change in direction compared to the previous game.

 

[FireRises]

hmm not sure what to think based on the trailer. I'm glad they're going for survival horror but 1st person and it's style reminds me more of Silent Hill. I dunno.

 

[Bloodporne]

They put out a demo that focuses on things outside of combat such as horror, item finding, exploration, mystery etc. Things people complained about not being in RE6.

Different wave lengths, nevermind.

 

[TGO]

What? RE4 was a massive change in direction compared to the previous game.

But you could tell it was Resident Evil, it still felt like Resident Evil.
This is neither, This is Kitchen tech demo they made into a full game and slapped RE on it, in the world of Resident Evil's this is mundane and out of place and that is the problem, the only thing this has in common with RE is walking through doors and FPS tank controls.

 

[Astral]

But you could tell it was Resident Evil, it still felt like Resident Evil.
This is neither, This is Kitchen tech demo they made into a full game and slapped RE on it, in the world of Resident Evil's this is mundane and out of place and that is the problem, the only thing this has in common with RE is walking through doors and FPS tank controls.

This guy gets it. Until they show more, this isn't RE.

 

[Scotia]

But you could tell it was Resident Evil, it still felt like Resident Evil.
This is neither, This is Kitchen tech demo they made into a full game and slapped RE on it, in the world of Resident Evil's this is mundane and out of place and that is the problem, the only thing this has in common with RE is walking through doors and FPS tank controls.

This is a [VR] tech demo that is confirmed to have nothing to do with the actual game. Judging the final product of RE7 based off this is like judging RE4 off of RE3.5 gameplay.

 

[KORNdoggy]

VR is not going to fix the campy slasher horror narrative & tone.

The campy slasher tone is great. Like until dawn (another excelent game) And much MUCH better then that of the old resident evils...all of them.

 

[Shauni]

The campy slasher tone is great. Like until dawn (another excelent game) And much MUCH better then that of the old resident evils...all of them.

Some people may like apples over oranges, but an apple can never be a better orange.

 

[TGO]

The fact it's out January says a lot

 

[DarkLordMalik]

Man, I can tell you are actually kind of upset. That's actually amusing.

Well since it seems you're not interested in continuing this conversation. I would like to correct one thing: "no more superhero characters" was once again, their words not mine. All of the information about the game I posted in this thread was all I heard from the Capcom Unity stream, I didn't inject any opinions from myself in them.

Just a heads up since your source was Capcom, as you said.

This same Capcom said they listened to fan feedback and will go back to survival horror roots with Resident Evil 6 and we all know what happened. Don't take their words as gospel. That's all.

All I am seeing is them trying to sell their VR game by slapping Resident Evil on it.

This is a [VR] tech demo that is confirmed to have nothing to do with the actual game. Judging the final product of RE7 based off this is like judging RE4 off of RE3.5 gameplay.

Looks like you missed this crucial piece of info from the OP.

Capcom is able to achieve a shocking degree of visual fidelity thanks to the new proprietary in-house RE Engine that includes VR oriented tools. Last year’s “KITCHEN” tech demo for PlayStation VR was in fact built on this new engine as well. With the RE Engine plus industry leading audio and visual technologies, you experience every abhorrent detail up close and personal in Resident Evil 7. Playing the game in the PlayStation VR Mode escalates the unsettling feeling of presence to a level that horror fans have never experienced. That’s right, the full gameplay experience is available in the included PlayStation VR Mode from beginning to end. No Resident Evil you’ve ever survived could prepare you for this.

It is essentially a mid-budget VR game with Resident Evil name to sell more copies than the average YouTube promotion.

 

[ArkkAngel007]

What? RE4 was a massive change in direction compared to the previous game.

Yep. While it retained tank controls, item management, and featured a couple of established characters, it also:

• Shifted perspective to a shooter favoring element. Gameplay and item drop frequencies support it being a shooter first, rather than with item conservation.
• Entirely forced combat. There's no options to avoid combat in nearly all encounters. There's ways I believe where it can be slightly mitigated and there might be some maneuvering for the late game Regenerators/Iron Maidans, but that's the extent.
• Shifted enemies to use weapons and act intelligently. Starting with torches and farm tools and concluding with firearms.
• No strong ties to past games. We have Ada, Leon, and the shadow of Albert Wesker. Beyond the intro cutscene and these figures, there's nothing holding this game to the RE title.
• Theme. Prior, it was corporations abusing the system and establishing corruption locally and in government utilizing bioweapons research, by men and women seeking the power of gods. RE4 was just a single individual (driven by the alpha/queen parasite) attempting to spread the disease because of "terrorism" and "evil USA".
• QTEs! RE Nemesis and Dino Crisis had the choice mechanic (can't remember the specific name), but nothing like the good ol' button mashing of running away from boulders.
• Saving can be done freely with no consequence to game progression.

Spoiler

Still love RE4 for what it was

But you could tell it was Resident Evil, it still felt like Resident Evil.
This is neither, This is Kitchen tech demo they made into a full game and slapped RE on it, in the world of Resident Evil's this is mundane and out of place and that is the problem, the only thing this has in common with RE is walking through doors and FPS tank controls.

No, this is still just the Kitchen Tech demo with RE slapped on to it to promote the real game. They confirmed in the Unity Stream that Kitchen came about later, likely in exploring how they could incorporate VR into their game.

 

[JayEH]

This is a [VR] tech demo that is confirmed to have nothing to do with the actual game. Judging the final product of RE7 based off this is like judging RE4 off of RE3.5 gameplay.

but they said this is an idea for the tone of the game. this tone is not RE.

 

[Reizo Ryuu]

But you could tell it was Resident Evil, it still felt like Resident Evil.
This is neither, This is Kitchen tech demo they made into a full game and slapped RE on it, in the world of Resident Evil's this is mundane and out of place and that is the problem, the only thing this has in common with RE is walking through doors and FPS tank controls.

From the community thread:

Stream also just confirmed that RE7, the actual main game, was already coming along quite a bit when they developed the kitchen tech demo.

So this debunks development started then.

 

[Lucentto]

The fact it's out January says a lot

... That they've been working on it a while? I haven't seen anything that may indicate because its out soon = issues.

 

[swearing-circle]

I'm perfectly content. Ive enjoyed every mainline RE game barring Zero and I have high hopes for this after playing the demo. We have so little to go on but traditional RE to me has always been about item/ammo management, puzzles and horror. This seems like it could introduce all of those things. Perspective doesn't bother me and I don't necessarily think it'll make combat a breeze.

Also, while the tone in the demo for the most part was played pretty straight Im sure that capcom cheese will naturally find its way in.

 

[DarkLordMalik]

From the community thread:

I hope they show the actual gameplay soon then. I will remain skeptical of it until then.

 

[TGO]

This is a [VR] tech demo that is confirmed to have nothing to do with the actual game. Judging the final product of RE7 based off this is like judging RE4 off of RE3.5 gameplay.

VR? We have VR yet until October, this is demo to RE7, doesn't matter if the farmhouse isn't in the game, this is RE7 .
Which means the final game will be a FP walk in dark hall peekaboo welcome to the family game that this demo represents, it's like PT all over again except atleast PT was good.

 

[ArkkAngel007]

I actually don't want much cheese in the game. Bad VAs, poor writing, and bad localization efforts, at least IMO, shouldn't be upheld. Especially when the unintended stuff seems better than their intended attempts to display that aspect.

I want more things like the Trevor family subplot of REmake.

That doesn't mean some wouldn't be unwelcome. Some of the things said in REv2 got a chuckle out of me, as have some in other titles. But it has to be more natural than trying to make it ooze out of every corner.

 

[Bloodporne]

This is a [VR] tech demo that is confirmed to have nothing to do with the actual game. Judging the final product of RE7 based off this is like judging RE4 off of RE3.5 gameplay.

But was RE3.5 released as a public demo titled Resident Evil 4? I don't think this is a comparable situation at all.

Last major Capcom release was 'should've done your in-depth research before buying Street Fighter V', now they're kicking it up to 'should've done your in-depth research and scoured obscure corners of the internet before judging a demo we put out to the public to judge our new game Resident Evil 7 by'.

Capcom being Capcom, don't know why anyone gives them the benefit of the doubt here at all.

If the game turns out to be cool and include all sorts of well-integrated RE systems, I'd be way into it, love the franchise since day 1 literally. However, it can't be judged on good faith. They put their demo out there to represent Resident Evil 7, end of story.

 

[Fuser]

They really needed to do something to shake up the series, five and six were getting progressively worse and less interesting but this is very interesting indeed. Whether or not this is the right direction time will tell, but good on Capcom for being so bold.

It's a great teaser in that it shows the game to have a lot of promise, but I hope the game has a lot more polish than what was shown here. A few things really bugged me:
- the world is very inconsistent in how interactive it is. Which drawers can be interacted with, which doors you can check, which things you can smash. I know previous entries were the same, but perhaps because of progress in gaming raising standards, or the perspective change, it felt very jarring. Sounds like a minor issue, and it might be once the game is out, but it bugged me here.

- The invisible wall that prevented you from following the second guy in the videotape. I admit the first time through the game did a good job keeping me with the presenter quite naturally, but the illusion was very easy to break the second time.

I've gone through the demo three times and if there is more to it than finding the axe then damned if I can find it. At every phase of the demo I've gone back through and checked every little detail and not found anything new, I've even ran the tape through twice to see if anything changed. I didn't see anything.

One thing I noticed was the pictures - The paintings of people cover their faces apart from the photo in the first room of the couple and one of a woman which has her face half covered. In the trailer there are a couple of quick shots of a photo with a woman's face scribbled out, and another with woman's face clearly shown but whatever she is holding - a baby? - either scribbled or burnt out of the picture. The picture of the couple again but the man has a bullet hole through the picture, I don't remember it being like this in the demo. Some weird ooze goes that up picture in the trailer, and a few seconds later you see the same picture reflected in another picture on the wall. It's obviously important, though I didn't notice if the guy from the picture is the guy that grabs you on each ending.
What I'm talking about is here from 2:35.

 

[GAMEPROFF]

I love that there has to be so many time machines avaiable today.

Cant think of any other reasons Everyone can already judge the quality of the 7 main game.
But I guess you would like to have another pile of shit like Resident Evil 5 or 6.

 

[DarkLordMalik]

Yep. While it retained tank controls, item management, and featured a couple of established characters, it also:

• Shifted perspective to a shooter favoring element. Gameplay and item drop frequencies support it being a shooter first, rather than with item conservation.
• Entirely forced combat. There's no options to avoid combat in nearly all encounters. There's ways I believe where it can be slightly mitigated and there might be some maneuvering for the late game Regenerators/Iron Maidans, but that's the extent.
• Shifted enemies to use weapons and act intelligently. Starting with torches and farm tools and concluding with firearms.
• No strong ties to past games. We have Ada, Leon, and the shadow of Albert Wesker. Beyond the intro cutscene and these figures, there's nothing holding this game to the RE title.
• Theme. Prior, it was corporations abusing the system and establishing corruption locally and in government utilizing bioweapons research, by men and women seeking the power of gods. RE4 was just a single individual (driven by the alpha/queen parasite) attempting to spread the disease because of "terrorism" and "evil USA".
• QTEs! RE Nemesis and Dino Crisis had the choice mechanic (can't remember the specific name), but nothing like the good ol' button mashing of running away from boulders.
• Saving can be done freely with no consequence to game progression.

Spoiler

Still love RE4 for what it was

For all intents and purpose, whatever changes happened with Resident Evil 4 were all made by the father of the series, Mikami. Judging from how the game was received by critics at that time and was hailed as "game of the generation", I am sure he made the right choice.