If there’s an unsung hero of the Resident Evil games, it’s the humble knife. When your ammo is running low, and the zombies are moving slow, slashing your enemies to pieces is extremely satisfying. The knife is getting its due in Resident Evil 4’s upcoming remake, where it is more crucial to survival horror gameplay than ever.
Capcom released a new trailer for Resident Evil 4 last week, and a new 17-minute gameplay video to media this week, showing off what’s changed since the 2005 original. The videos show off how much more capable in combat Leon S. Kennedy is: He’s parrying flying hatchets out of the air with a knife, suplexing Ganados cultists, and roundhouse-kicking anything with a face — even stuff without a face! Leon’s knife appears to be indispensable in surviving encounters with Plagas, who could just straight-up bite your head off in the original Resident Evil 4, and for battling Jack Krauser, a knife enthusiast himself.
In gameplay footage shared by Capcom, Leon is also shown parrying Plagas tentacles and throwables, like villagers’ Molotov cocktails, back at enemies, and finishing off downed-but-not-dead cultists by stabbing them in the head.
Yes, the knife can degrade and break, but unlike in the Resident Evil 2 and 3 remakes, Resident Evil 4 will let players upgrade and repair their knife. The beloved Merchant of the RE4 remake will let Leon “tune up” his blade (just like his other weapons) to upgrade its durability.
Leon’s attaché case is also getting some fun new perks, and it’s not just about upgrading his case’s storage. The new Resident Evil 4 will let players unlock multiple cases, some of which have their own bonuses. In new gameplay footage, Capcom showed off two types of attaché cases: silver, which increases the drop rate for handgun ammo, and black, which boosts resource drops. (Seemingly, that would mean things like gunpowder, which is used to craft ammo.)
Charms can also be attached to a case — up to three at a time — which confer additional bonuses. One charm revealed in the gameplay video is a tiny chicken; that perk will give Leon 100% health recovery any time he eats an egg. Other charms have been revealed through Resident Evil 4 remake’s pre-order bonuses, and include an ammo charm (which can earn Leon more ammo when crafting it) and a green herb charm. Those charms can be earned by completing requests (aka side missions) for the Merchant, tasks that can be found posted on flyers posted around Resident Evil 4’s world.
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Capcom’s new footage of RE4 remake also showed off other new features, including:
- While escorting her, Leon can ask Ashley to “give him some room” or to stick close, giving Mr. Kennedy ample space to fight bad guys without fear of bringing her to harm
- In the castle section of the game, Leon can now use the cannons to blow up cultists
- The village’s blue medallion collectibles also appear in the castle area, implying that the Merchant will have more tasks for you
- Leon has a new weapon called the Bolt Thrower, which can also launch mines
- Stealth gameplay lets Leon and Ashley hide from enemies and offers a new way to approach enemy encounters — and the Bolt Thrower is a stealth weapon, being much quieter than Leon’s other firearms
- In addition to his attaché case, Leon can access extra storage at typewriters
- Leon’s got some bad jokes; after cultists use a catapult to launch fireballs and him and Ashley, he says, “I guess this is their idea of warm welcome”
These updates and more are coming to the Resident Evil 4 remake on March 24, when the game arrives on PlayStation 5, Windows PC, and Xbox Series X.