One of the nice surprises from today’s Capcom Spotlight was a Resident Evil 4 demo.

We’re only a few weeks from launch, but it’s still good to get a feel for how this remake is going to play and after whizzing through, I’m extremely impressed.

The spoiler is in the title, I guess. You’re going to have a confrontation with the infamous Chainsaw Man, but it’s perhaps not in the spot where you expect.

Also, the eyes. Oh, God, the eyes…

The demo covers the very opening portion of the game and if you’ve ever played RE 4 at any point, you’ll probably have a pretty good idea of where I’m talking about.

Suffice to say, it’s more intense than ever with infected grabbing you and leaving you vulnerable. The rooms are tight and enclosed, leaving you with nowhere left to run, and now there’s a Chainsaw Man. Just to add to the fun.

Like the other Res remakes before it, Res 4 looks fantastic. The creepy assed woods have never been spookier with brambles and weeds waving wildly in the wind. You’ll pay attention to every footstep and look at every angle, shining your torch wherever you can.

The wooden houses somehow look more weathered and weary which not just adds to the horrifying effect, but somehow makes them familiarly unfamiliar. You feel like you know exactly where you’re going and what you’re doing, but the game still has surprises to share.

Speaking of, the demo already goes off script a couple of times. Not in any dramatic way, but enough to add to the tension, keep you on your toes and maybe make you feel a little less smug that you know what’s about to happen.

Also, a word about the brutality. As you know, Res 4’s enemies come at you with pickaxes and rakes in addition to chainsaws, and you’ll see Leon get some war wounds if you let enemies get up too close, the axe going right through the shoulder and leaving a hole and a gush of blood.

It’s pretty graphic but it’s distinctly Res Evil and it reminds you that while this is the umpteenth re-release of this game, you’ve never seen Res Evil 4 quite like this before.

You can also see that through the slick UI and inventory system that feels much more modernised and akin to what we’ve been working with in Res 2 and 3.

There’s even additional cutscenes now, so gone are the days of those Metal Gear esque radio calls. We’re actually going to see live action cinematic sequences to move the story forward.

The demo is over before it even really begins, but it gives you more than enough of a taste of what’s to come, how it controls, flows, feels, and looks.

Simply put, Resident Evil 4 is going to scare the shit out of us all over again and I can’t fucking wait.